Known first as a poet, Dodsley opened a London bookselling business in 1735. His shop became an important gathering place for literary and publishing figures of the mid-eighteenth century.

A British writer, essayist, and scholar, Isaac D'Israeli created such works as Curiosities of Literature (1791) and The Literary Character of Men of Genius, Drawn From Their own Feelings and Confessions (1818), a revision of An Essay on the Manners and Genius of the Literary Character (1795).

The Greek god of the grape harvest, wine, fertility, and theatre.

Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily, also called "Dionysius the Elder." Although his military prowess protected Sicily from conquest by Carthage, his cruelty and greed made him an unpopular public figure.

Anglo-Irish soldier, landlord, and poet, enthusiastically praised by his contemporaries, including Alexander Pope and Joseph Addison. His most notable works include his translation of Horace's Ars Poetica and his Essay on Translated Verse.

English actor and theatre manager whose most popular roles include Jaffeir in Thomas Otway's Venice Preserv'd, Sir John Brute in John Vanbrugh's The Provoked Wife, and the eponymous hero of Joseph Addison's Cato, as well as several Shakespearean characters such as Macbeth, Shylock, King Lear, and Wolsey.

Philosopher, novelist, playwright, translator, and critic, Diderot was for his rationalism, religious skepticism, and scientific empiricism a key figure in the Enlightenment. His Encyclopédie stands as a landmark in the systemization and popular dissemination of technical and scientific knowledge.

An actor, dramatist, and songwriter known for his sea songs.

Cookbook author and sister to Mary Delany.

Character in Edward Bulwer Lytton’s Devereux (1829). An impeccably dressed, philosophical French valet.