1782 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1782. Events January 13 – Friedrich Schiller's first play, the revolutionary melodrama The Robbers (Die Räuber), causes a sensation in Mannheim at its first performance. Schiller, a military doctor at the time, is arrested for attending the performance without having permission to leave his regiment. August 18 – William Blake marries Catherine Boucher at St Mary's Church, Battersea. In the same year, he meets his future patron, John Flaxman. October 10 – Sarah Siddons makes a triumphant return to the Drury Lane Theatre in London, in the title role of David Garrick's adaptation of Thomas Southerne's Isabella, or, The Fatal Marriage. unknown dates Charles Dibdin becomes joint manager of the Royal Circus, afterwards known as the Surrey Theatre, in London. The Complete Library of the Four Treasuries (Siku Quanshu) is completed, the largest literary compilation in China's history. The books are bound in 36,381 volumes with more than 79,000 chapters, containing about 2.3 million pages and 800 million Chinese characters. The bibliography omits some titles, which are included in the Annotated Bibliography of the Four Treasuries the following year. New books Fiction Elizabeth Blower – George Bateman Fanny Burney (anonymously) – Cecilia J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur – Letters from an American Farmer Pierre Choderlos de Laclos – Les Liaisons dangereuses Lady Mary Hamilton – The Life of Mrs. Justman Johann Karl August Musäus – Volksmärchen der Deutschen (first volume) Betje Wolff and Aagje Deken – Historie van mejuffrouw Sara Burgerhart