Audiobook The Spectator, Volumes 1, 2 and 3

This volume reproduces the original text of the Spectator, a daily periodical launched in March seventeen hundred and eleven by Richard Steele and Joseph Addison. The authors sought to bring philosophy out of academic closets and into coffee-houses, tea-tables, and clubs, aiming to correct the vices and follies of the age without resorting to bitter satire. The work opens with introductions to the members of the imaginary club surrounding the narrator, including the singular country gentleman Sir Roger de Coverley, the prudent merchant Sir Andrew Freeport, the military man Captain Sentry, the man of fashion Will Honeycomb, and a learned Templar. Through essays published every morning, the authors address a wide breadth of topics, from the absurdities of the Italian opera and the follies of superstition to the true nature of friendship, envy, and public credit.

Steele brings a deep social earnestness and concern for the nation's well-being, while Addison contributes a speculative turn of mind and a refined analytical grace. Their collaboration created a lasting monument to friendship and a wholesome revolution in English literature, shifting the support of letters from wealthy patrons to the reading public. The text preserves the authentic voice of the original daily folio sheets, accompanied by historical notes that illuminate the manners, politics, and literary figures of Queen Anne's reign.