"The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship”: A Late Eighteenth-Century Satire of Grub Street
Originally printed in the first issue of The British Mercury in 1787, “The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship” is a piece of satirical short fiction that has so far received only little attention in discussions of eighteenth-century print culture and practices of authorship. Probably writt...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ghent University
2015-06-01
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| Series: | Authorship |
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| Online Access: | http://www.authorship.ugent.be/article/id/63943/ |
| _version_ | 1798025876367998976 |
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| author | Jasper Schelstraete |
| author_facet | Jasper Schelstraete |
| author_sort | Jasper Schelstraete |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Originally printed in the first issue of The British Mercury in 1787, “The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship” is a piece of satirical short fiction that has so far received only little attention in discussions of eighteenth-century print culture and practices of authorship. Probably written by the Scottish radical John Oswald (c. 1760-1793), “The Brain-Sucker” is told in the form of a letter by a farmer who tells an absent friend about his unfortunate son Dick, whose brain has become infected by poetry. This “disorder” leads Dick to London, where he falls prey to a ruthless publisher, known as “the Brain-sucker”, who keeps him like a slave in a Grub Street garret. The farmer then travels to London to save his son from the clutches of the Brain-Sucker. We present the text, for the first time, in a critical edition, collated from the three surviving copies, with textual and explanatory notes. In the accompanying essay, we discuss the text’s context of origin in late eighteenth-century Grub Street and the cultural implications of its satirical presentation of authorship. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T18:25:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-07d3c66f931c486186f5b2b0f24368bb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2034-4643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T18:25:59Z |
| publishDate | 2015-06-01 |
| publisher | Ghent University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Authorship |
| spelling | doaj.art-07d3c66f931c486186f5b2b0f24368bb2022-12-22T04:09:36ZengGhent UniversityAuthorship2034-46432015-06-014110.21825/aj.v4i1.1103"The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship”: A Late Eighteenth-Century Satire of Grub StreetJasper SchelstraeteOriginally printed in the first issue of The British Mercury in 1787, “The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship” is a piece of satirical short fiction that has so far received only little attention in discussions of eighteenth-century print culture and practices of authorship. Probably written by the Scottish radical John Oswald (c. 1760-1793), “The Brain-Sucker” is told in the form of a letter by a farmer who tells an absent friend about his unfortunate son Dick, whose brain has become infected by poetry. This “disorder” leads Dick to London, where he falls prey to a ruthless publisher, known as “the Brain-sucker”, who keeps him like a slave in a Grub Street garret. The farmer then travels to London to save his son from the clutches of the Brain-Sucker. We present the text, for the first time, in a critical edition, collated from the three surviving copies, with textual and explanatory notes. In the accompanying essay, we discuss the text’s context of origin in late eighteenth-century Grub Street and the cultural implications of its satirical presentation of authorship.http://www.authorship.ugent.be/article/id/63943/Grub StreetSatireJohn OswaldAuthorshipPoetry |
| spellingShingle | Jasper Schelstraete "The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship”: A Late Eighteenth-Century Satire of Grub Street Authorship Grub Street Satire John Oswald Authorship Poetry |
| title | "The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship”: A Late Eighteenth-Century Satire of Grub Street |
| title_full | "The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship”: A Late Eighteenth-Century Satire of Grub Street |
| title_fullStr | "The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship”: A Late Eighteenth-Century Satire of Grub Street |
| title_full_unstemmed | "The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship”: A Late Eighteenth-Century Satire of Grub Street |
| title_short | "The Brain-Sucker: Or, the Distress of Authorship”: A Late Eighteenth-Century Satire of Grub Street |
| title_sort | the brain sucker or the distress of authorship a late eighteenth century satire of grub street |
| topic | Grub Street Satire John Oswald Authorship Poetry |
| url | http://www.authorship.ugent.be/article/id/63943/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jasperschelstraete thebrainsuckerorthedistressofauthorshipalateeighteenthcenturysatireofgrubstreet |