1776 - Literature

Literature

Nonfiction: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by English historian Edward Gibbon, 39, appears in the first of its five quarto volumes at London February 17, becomes an instant bestseller, and creates a controversy with its critique of Christianity. Short, fat, unattractive, and unmarried, Gibbon got the idea for his work in October 1764 while visiting the ruins of Rome and begins with the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 (see 1779); Observations on the nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles of Government, and the Justice and Policy of the War with America by moral philosopher Richard Price enjoys wide sales on both sides of the Atlantic.

Philosopher David Hume dies of cancer at Edinburgh August 25 at age 65. The pamphlet "Remarks" by his friend Adam Ferguson, now 53, is published with proposals for peace terms in North America (Ferguson will voyage to Philadelphia in 1778 with a commission sent to negotiate terms with the revolutionaries).

Fiction: The Corrupted [Male] Peasant (Le Paysan perverti) by French novelist Nicolas-Edme Restif, 41, who uses the nom de plume Restif de la Bretonne for his erotic novel of peasant life.

Poetry: A 42-line poem by Phillis Wheatley appears in the Pennsylvania magazine. It is addressed to General Washington, with whom she has corresponded.