BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cutting, Rose Marie. “Writings About William Byrd II, 1817-1974.” In John and William Bartram, William Byrd II and St. John de Crèvecoeur: A Reference Guide, pp. 73-106. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1976.

Annotated bibliography of critical studies on Byrd published between 1817 and 1974.

BIOGRAPHIES

Beatty, Richmond Croom. William Byrd of Westover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1932, 223 p.

Important early biography that attempts to presents a faithful picture of an idealized persona, distinguishing between reality and myth and not neglecting the more unfortunate side of colonial life.

Hatch, Alden. The Byrds of Virginia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969, 535 p.

Study of the public service of the Byrd family, beginning with William I. The chapter on William Byrd II offers a detailed, chronological account of his life.

Lockridge, Kenneth A. The Diary, and Life, of William Byrd II of Virginia, 1674-1744. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987, 199 p.

Attempts to explore Byrd's inner life by looking at his diaries and suggesting how the early culture of Virginia shaped his personality.

CRITICISM

Arner, Robert D. “Westover and the Wilderness: William Byrd's Images of Virginia.” Southern Literary Journal 7, no. 2 (spring 1975): 105-23.

Examines Byrd's images of, and attitudes toward, the American wilderness, discussing the author's indebtedness to other writers of pastoral literature and his use of classical allusions.

Berland, K. J. H. “William Byrd's Sexual Lexicography.” Eighteenth-Century Life 23, no. 1 (February 1999): 1-11.

Offers a view of Byrd's private life, gleaned from a new manuscript found in the blank pages of a book from his library and focusing on his sexual interests.

Davis, Richard B. “William Byrd: Taste and Tolerance.” In Major Writers of Early American Literature, edited by Everett Emerson, pp. 151-77. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1972.

Concise, comprehensive study of Byrd as a writer, surveying his prose, diaries, and letters.

Dolmetsch, Carl R. “William Byrd II: Comic Dramatist?” Early American Literature 6, no. 1 (spring 1971): 18-30.

Explores the question of Byrd's possible authorship or collaboration on one or more plays, suggesting that Byrd may have been America's first comic dramatist.

Folks, Jeffrey J. “Crowd Types in William Byrd's Histories.” Southern Literary Journal 26, no. 2 (spring 1994): 3-10.

Examines Byrd's psychological state in relation to acquiring wealth and avoiding loss.

Marambaud, Pierre. William Byrd of Westover. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1971, 297 p.

Biographical-critical study of Byrd as a diarist, historian, scholar, and colonial gentleman; contains extensive critical evaluations of his works.

Nye, Russel B. “The Disposition of Virginia: William Byrd's Journal.” In American Literary History, pp. 90-4. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1971.

Maintains that Byrd's History of the Dividing Line is written in an urbane style and admires its satirical tinge.

———. “The Disposition of Virginia: William Byrd's Journal.” American Literary History 16, no. 4 (winter 1977): 429-56.

Explores the values, experiences, and aspirations of Byrd, noting that he articulated many of the apparent contradictions among men of his class.

Sturtz, Linda L. “The Ladies and the Lottery: Elite Women's Gambling in Eighteenth-Century Virginia.” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 104, no. 2 (spring 1996): 165-84.

Includes a discussion of the account found in Byrd's diaries of heated contests between women and men at the card table.

Treckel, Paula A. “‘The Empire of My Heart’: The Marriage of William Byrd II and Lucy Parke Byrd.” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 105, no. 2 (spring 1997): 125-56.

Explores Byrd's descriptions of his tempestuous relationship with his first wife, which offer a view of marriage and gender relations among the Virginia elite during the colonial period.

Wohlpart, A. James. “The Creation of the Ordered State: William Byrd's (Re)Vision in the History of the Dividing Line.” Southern Literary Journal 25, no. 1 (fall 1992): 3-18.

Analyzes the reasons for the changes made between Secret History of the Line and the History of the Dividing Line, noting the differences in the author's persona as well as his historical, narrative, and structural approach.

Wright, Louis B. “Introduction: William Byrd as a Man of Letters.” In The Prose Works of William Byrd of Westover (Narratives of a Colonial Virginian), pp. 1-38. Boston: Harvard University Press, 1966.

Surveys Byrd's writings, excluding the diaries, and commending their satirical tone.

Additional coverage of Byrd's life and career is contained in the following sources published by Thomson Gale: Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vols. 24, 140; Literature Resource Center; and Reference Guide to American Literature, Ed. 4.