According to Defoe, there's no such thing as a true-born Englishman. They're all mutts.

This satirical pamphlet about the Church of England got Defoe into a whole lot of trouble.

What did Defoe do when he was sentenced to three days of punishment in the gruesome pillory? Wrote about how wonderful it was.

In this satire, classical and modern books do battle in a library. Yes, really.

No it's not a satire about a tub. It's a satire about religious excess.

Richard Steele tattles away in the first issue of The Tatler.

Joseph Addison speculates to (and about) his readers in this first issue of The Spectator.

It's an essay, but it's also a poem. Hey, why not?

Ahhh! A gentleman has stolen a lady's lock of hair… and all hell breaks loose.

Pope praises the high and mighty Queen Anne in this poem.

Okay, so the full title is The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. That about sums it up, doesn't it?

Haywood sticks up for women's rights in this novel.

Defoe plays with the line between fact and fiction in this novel about the great London plague of 1665.

Don't you just love how many Fs there are in the title of this novel? Defoe's novel tackles gender (and other) issues head on.

Swift exposes how the English love messing with currency and money in Ireland—to the detriment of the Irish, naturally.

Gulliver travels to some pretty incredible places in this novel: there's an island full of tiny people and an island full of giants, for a start.

In this ballad opera, John Gay lampoons the corrupt morals of English high society.

What do you do if you have a problem with poverty in Ireland? Eat Irish babies, of course.

Pamela, the heroine of Richardson's novel, is such a goody two-shoes that she manages to win over her oppressor, Mr. B, with her virtue.

Pope published several versions of this satire, in which he goes after his literary enemies.

If you want to understand issues of form in Augustan literature, you can start right here.

This collection of essays covers the Augustan age and much more. It's a comprehensive introduction to the literature of the time.

You'll learn a lot about Alexander Pope in this in-depth study about the author's super innovative style and themes.

Learn more about the topsy-turvy life of one of the age's greatest writers in this biography, which also provides an analysis of his works.

This collection is packed with information about Swift and his writings.