1740 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1740. Events November 6 – Samuel Richardson's epistolary novel Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded is published anonymously in London in two volumes, rapidly becoming a popular work that inspires many imitations, translations and adaptations. Autumn – John Cleland leaves government service in Bombay to return to Britain. unknown dates Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve publishes La Belle et la Bête, the oldest known variant of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, in La Jeune Américaine, et les contes marins. Thomas Witherby establishes a stationery business in London, specialising in printing and publishing for the marine insurance industry. By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, it will claim as the Witherby Publishing Group to be the oldest independent publisher in the English-speaking world. New books Prose Johann Jakob Bodmer – Von dem Wunderbaren in der Poesie Colley Cibber – An Apology for the Life of Mr Colley Cibber, Comedian Daniel Defoe (attributed) – The Life and Adventures of Mrs. Christian Davies, Commonly Call'd Mother Ross John Dyer – The Ruins of Rome Richard Glover – Admiral Hosier's Ghost David Hume – An Abstract of . . . A Treatise of Human Nature William Law An Earnest and Serious Answer to Dr. Trapp's Discourse An Appeal to all that Doubt, or Disbelieve the Truths of the Gospel William Oldys – The Life of Sir Walter Raleigh Thomas Pellow – The History of the Long Captivity and Adventures of Thomas Pellow in South-Barbary Antoine François Prévost – Histoire d'une Grecque moderne (The Greek Girl's Story) William Pulteney – An Epistle from L--- to Lord C-------d (supposedly from Thomas Coke to Lord Chesterfield) Samuel Richardson – Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke – The Idea of a Patriot King (published after the intervention of Alexander Pope) Pu Songling (蒲松齡, died 1715) – Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (possible date of first publication; includes "The Bookworm", "Dragon Dormant", "A Sequel to the Yellow Millet Dream", "Stealing Peaches" and "Zhang Hongjian") William Stukeley – Stonehenge: A temple restor'd to the British Druids Emanuel Swedenborg – Economy of the Animal Kingdom (Dynamics of the Soul's Domain) (1740–41) Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve – La Jeune Américaine, et les contes marins (introduces the tale Beauty and the Beast) William Warburton – A Vindication of Mr.