Some of the most trusted political voices in 18th-century Britain were fictional – why this tradition lives on

By Adam J Smith, Associate Professor in 18th-century Literature, York St John University

British writers in the 18th century repeatedly invented fictional characters to intervene in the politics and culture of their day. These usually began as jokes aimed at particular people or issues, but the most successful outlived their original purpose. They accumulated personalities, histories and audiences of their own, becoming trusted voices through which readers could make sense of the world.

We see a continuation of this tradition in Clacton by-election loser Count…

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