Author: [BURNET (Sir Thomas)]
Title: A Second Tale of a Tub: or, The History of Robert Powel the Puppet-Show-Man.
Description: London: Printed for J. Roberts, 1715. First Edition, imprimatur leaf, engraved frontispiece, [4], 219, [5] pp., contemporary panelled calf, hinges partly cracked, label, a nice copy. Written by the judge, traveller, diplomatist and pamphleteer, Sir Thomas Burnet, (with the collaboration of George Duckett). In fact the correspondence between Burnet and Duffett (Roxburghe 1914) makes it clear that this was a joint production. This political satire on the statesman Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, is far from being destitute of wit and humour and takes the form of an account of Martin Powell (fl.1709-29), the somewhat physically deformed showman who ran a celebrated puppet-show in Covent Garden. It also, of course, adopts the title of Swift's celebrated 'Tale of a Tub' (but is not recorded by Teerink-Scouten in the list of this work's spurious sequels etc.).

Keywords: POETRY ANTIQUARIAN JOHNATHAN SWIFT SWIFTIANA SATIRE ENGLISH LITERATURE ECONOMICS