French dramatist, poet, and historiographer best known for his mastery of the French classical tragedy, particularly through his adept use of the alexandrine line, a prominent feature of the poetic meter of seventeenth century French tragedy. He is also renowned for his characters, crafted through the Racinian view of humanity as driven by a need for acceptance in order to compensate for consuming feelings of inadequacy.

Rabelais's Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532-64) is a satirical epic that earned its author wide acclaim.

The conservative Quarterly Review, first edited by William Gifford and published by John Murray from 1809 to 1967, was the Edinburgh Review's most important rival.

English poet, best known for Emblems (1635) and Heiroglyphikes of the Life of Man (1638).

English courtier and literary critic, generally accepted as the author of The Arte of English Poesie, an influential critical work on poetry and rhetoric. Although the authorship of the work has been disputed, with some suggesting his brother, Richard, to be the true author, the style and ideas of the book strongly align with Puttenham's other writings, affirming his claim to authorship.

Though probably born in France, Psalmanazar claimed to be a native of the island of Formosa kidnapped by European missionaries and brought to Europe against his will. In that capacity he authored several works, including the far-fetched yet very successful An historical and geographical description of Formosa (1704) and a number of contributions to the seven volume An universal history; from the earliest account of time to the present (with G. Sale, A. Bower, G. Shelvocke, J. Campbell, J. Swinton, etc., 1736-44).

The fictional protagonist of Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, banished to sea by his usurping brother, Antonio. Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, find refuge on an island, where Prospero learns sorcery from books and uses it to protect his daughter and control the other characters, such as Ariel and Caliban, whom he has enslaved. At the end of the play, Prospero sinks his books in the sea, likely in an effort to appease Shakespeare's audiences, who viewed magic as devilish.

Roman goddess of the Underworld.

An important and influential poet, Prior was most successful with his publication of Poems on Several Occasions (1718), which included his longest poem, "Solomon on the Vanity of the World," a soliloquy on the failure to find worldly happiness.

Unitarian minister Joseph Priestley was a well known radical philosopher, theologian, historian, scientist, and reform writer. An important member of the Dissenting circle that frequented Joseph Johnson's publishing establishment, he was also a particularly close friend of Anna Letitia Barbauld. During the 1791 "church and king" riots in Birmingham, Priestley's home and laboratory were destroyed by the mob, and in 1794 he emigrated to America.