William Warner

"The Annual Catalogue, 1737: Or, A New and Compleat List of All The New Books, New Editions of Books, Pamphlets, & c." offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of 18th-century British publications. Compiled by J. Worrall and W. Warner, this meticulous catalogue provides a comprehensive overview of Great Britain's burgeoning book trade during the year. Serving as a bibliography of British imprints, this volume details a wide array of printed material, including new books, new editions, pamphlets, and more. Researchers and history enthusiasts will find a wealth of information about the intellectual and religious landscape of the time. The catalogue offers insights into the topics that captivated readers, reflecting trends in biblical studies, historical accounts of Great Britain, and other significant subjects of the period. It is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history of the book and the cultural fabric of 18th-century Great Britain. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

William Warner’s Syrinx, or a Sevenfold History, may be the first English novel. Unlike others of the time, though, Warner wrote a realistic novel whose ancestors include the adventure stories of Alexandrine romance, and focus not on the tales of an aristocratic class but on the lives of middle-class individuals. Wallace A. Bacon’s critical edition brings Warner’s important novel—with its young protagonists being dragged through many adventures, tried and tested by Fortune, with their tales being brought to a close by auspicious gods—to life, preserving it and introducing it to new generations of readers. Bacon’s critical apparatus, including an extensive introduction, provides significant context for Warner’s work, assessing its key role in the history of the novel and in the history of early modern literature.