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.

Radical Unitarian minister and close friend of Joseph Priestley, Rev. Price is best remembered for his sermon A Discourse on the Love of Our Country (1789), which provoked Edmund Burke to write Reflections on the Revolution in France.

The Abbé Antoine-Francois Prévost authored Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (1767). He also translated Samuel Richardson's major novels into French.

Friend of Hester Chapone, and later wife to Chapone's brother, Thomas Mulso.