Detailed and comprehensive, the first volume of the Venns' directory, in four parts, includes all known alumni until 1751.

This dictionary attempts in nearly 2,200 entries to cover all workers in the various branches of the Dublin book trade until the Act of Union in 1800. All grades of workers from apprentice to master, and papermakers, engravers, hawkers and other peripheral traders are considered, as well as the all-important printers and booksellers. Entries naturally vary from one or two lines to one or two pages in length. The aim is to illustrate the working life of each subject by reference to contemporary sources such as records of the stationer's Guild, state papers, imprints, newspaper advertisements, customers' accounts, etc, with documentation for each statement made. Entries will thus give practical clues to dating undated books, as well as provide a basis for further research into individual traders' work and the Dublin trade as a whole. Some account of the history and organization of the Dublin Guild of St Luke (cutlers, painter-stainers, and stationers) appears as introduction.

The Irish Parliament met for the first time on June 18, 1264 at Castledermott and for the last time in the Parliament House, Dublin, on August 2, 1800. It had lasted for over 500 years, and from 1707 it was the only parliament in the British Empire with the medieval structure of King (represented by the Lord Lieutenant), Lords and Commons. Like the English/British parliament it only met regularly from the end of the 17th century. In 1692 Ireland had a minimal infrastructure; by 1800 it had become recognisable as the country in whose history and culture there is a continuing and irresistible tide of interest worldwide. Since its publication, "History of the Irish Parliament "has acquired an already legendary status. This companion volume looks at Irish society and the personal concerns which influenced the MPs. This volume will form a valuable reference work in addition and complementary to the "History of the Irish Parliament." The six-volume "History of the Irish Parliament 1692-1800" was published in 2002. The online resource is available at www.historyoftheirishparliament.com.

The story of early modern medicine, with its extremes of scientific brilliance and barbaric practice, has long held a fascination for scholars. The great discoveries of Harvey and Jenner sit incongruously with the persistence of Galenic theory, superstition and blood-letting. Yet despite continued research into the period as a whole, most work has focussed on the metropolitan centres of England, Scotland and France, ignoring the huge range of national and regional practice. This collection aims to go some way to rectifying this situation, providing an exploration of the changes and developments in medicine as practised in Ireland and by Irish physicians studying and working abroad during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bringing together research undertaken into the neglected area of Irish medical and social history across a variety of disciplines, including history of medicine, Colonial Latin American history, Irish, and French history, it builds upon ground-breaking work recently published by several of the contributors, thereby augmenting our understanding of the role of medicine within early modern Irish society and its broader scientific and intellectual networks. By addressing fundamental issues that reach beyond the medical institutions, the collection expands our understanding of Irish medicine and throws new light on medical practices and the broader cultural and social issues of early modern Ireland, Europe, and Latin America. Taking a variety of approaches and sources, ranging from the use of eplistolary exchange to the study of medical receipt books, legislative practice to belief in miracles, local professionalization to international networks, each essay offers a fascinating insight into a still largely neglected area. Furthermore, the collection argues for the importance of widening current research to consider the importance and impact of early Irish medical traditions, networks, and practices, and their interaction with related issues, such as politics, gender, economic demand, and religious belief.

This is the first scholarly edition of the Memoirs of Laetitia Van Lewen Pilkington (1709?-1750), a poet, ghostwriter, and protégée of Jonathan Swift and the playwright/stage manager Colley Cibber. Swift's first biographer by virtue of her lively portrayals of him, Pilkington remains the best chronicler of the great satirist's private life while he was at the height of his influence and creativity. Offering as well an account of Pilkington's own tumultuous and unconventional life, the Memoirs caused a scandal when they first appeared, owing to their details about her divorce and the many would-be Lotharios (most of them married) who subsequently pestered her with their attentions. Originally appearing in three volumes between 1748 and 1754, the Memoirs have been periodically reprinted and are often quoted by scholars in different disciplines. Until now, however, the work has not received serious editorial attention. In this edition, A. C. Elias Jr. has established for the first time a critical text based on the earliest and most definitive printings, which Pilkington and her son oversaw. For the first time there are explanatory notes that identify the many veiled or anonymous figures in the text and establish the reliability of each anecdote about them. Other new features include an index, a census of early editions, a full bibliography, and a chronology. This edition is produced in a two-volume format, the first comprising the actual Memoirs, and the second the commentary. Readers are at last in a position to understand exactly what Pilkington is saying in her Memoirs--and what she may be suppressing in the process. They can now approach Pilkington's Swift with confidence at each step, and appreciate her rendering of the many other real-life personages who populate her disarmingly breezy narrative: bishops, scientists, and statesmen; authors, artists, and printers; and assorted rogues, wits, bawds, and eccentrics. More than any other early-eighteenth-century woman writing in English, says Elias, Pilkington remains accessible to readers today. As a portrayal of Swift, as the recollections of a woman making her way in the male-dominated world of letters, as a source of Irish and English cultural and historical minutiae, and as a delightfully gossipy poke at social pretense, Pilkington's Memoirs are a classic of her era.