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This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1695.

Events

  • April – The Parliament of England decides not to renew the Licensing Order of 1643, thus effectively abolishing most press censorship.
  • unknown dates
  • After twelve years of de facto theatrical monopoly in London, the senior actors of the mismanaged United Company break away to form a rival cooperative company led by Thomas Betterton, Elizabeth Barry and Anne Bracegirdle. This makes a brilliant start with the première on April 30 of William Congreve's comedy Love for Love, at the New Theatre, Lincoln's Inn Fields.
  • Antoine Le Maistre and his brother Louis-Isaac Lemaistre de Sacy complete their translation of the Catholic Bible into French (the Bible de Port-Royal).
  • Wren Library, Cambridge, the library of Trinity College, designed by Christopher Wren, is completed.

New books

Prose

  • Mary Astell (anonymous) – A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, for the Advancement of Their True and Greatest Interest
  • Charles Blount – Miscellaneous Works (ed. Charles Gildon)
  • Gilbert Burnet – An Essay on the Memory of the Late Queen (see 1694 in literature, as many memorials were written to Mary II of England)
  • Jeremy Collier – Miscellanies upon Moral Subjects: The second part
  • John Dennis – The Court of Death
  • John Dryden – De Arte Graphica (trans. of Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy)
  • Laurence Echard – The Roman History (vol. I)
  • "N. H." – The Ladies Dictionary, being a general entertainment of the fair-sex: a work never attempted before in English (published by John Dunton)
  • Nicolaas Heinsius the Younger – The Delightful Adventures and Wonderful Life of Mirandor ()
  • William Laud – The History of the Troubles and Tryal of William Laud
  • John Locke
  • Further Considerations Concerning Raising the Value of Money
  • The Reasonableness of Christianity as Delivered in the Scriptures
  • A Vindication of the Reasonableness of Christianity (reply to John Edwards)
  • John Norris – Letters Concerning the Love of God (letters to Mary Astell)
  • Sir William Petty – Quantulumcunque Concerning Money (published posthumously)
  • John Phillips – A Reflection on Our Modern Poetry
  • Sujan Rai – Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh
  • Robert South – Tritheism (vs. William Sherlock)
  • Sir William Temple – An Introduction to the History of England
  • Lionel Wafer – A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of America
  • Ned Ward – Female Policy Detected; or, The Arts of a Designing Woman Laid Open
  • Wu Chucai and Wu Diaohou (compiled and edited) – Guwen Guanzhi, anthology of more than 200 works from Warring States period to Ming dynasty

Children

  • Charles Perrault – ' (Tales and stories of the past with morals. Tales of Mother Goose)

Drama

  • John Banks – Cyrus the Great
  • Catherine Trotter Cockburn – Agnes de Castro
  • William Congreve – Love for Love
  • Robert Gould – The Rival Sisters
  • George Granville – The She-Gallants
  • Charles Hopkins – Pyrrhus King of Epirus
  • Peter Anthony Motteux – The Loves of Mars and Venus
  • George Powell – Bonduca, or the British Heroine
  • Elkanah Settle – Philaster; or, Love Lies A-Bleeding (adapted from Fletcher's Philaster)
  • Thomas Scott – The Mock Marriage
  • Thomas Southerne – Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave: a tragedy (adapted from Aphra Behn's novel Oroonoko)
  • Ariadne – She Ventures and He Wins

Poetry

  • Joseph Addison – A Poem to His Majesty
  • Richard Blackmore – Prince Arthur
  • Colley Cibber – A Poem on the Death of our Late Sovereign Lady, Queen Mary
  • William Congreve – The Mourning Muse of Alexas: A pastoral (on Mary II)
  • John Milton – The Poetical Works of Mr John Milton (ed. Patrick Hume)
  • Matthew Prior – An English Ballad: In answer to Mr Despreaux's Pindarique ode on the taking of Namure
  • Richard Steele – The Procession: A poem on Her Majesties funeral
  • See also 1695 in poetry

Births

  • April 8 – Johann Christian Günther, German poet (died 1723)
  • September 20 – Hedvig Catharina Lillie, Swedish salonnière (died 1745)

Deaths

  • February 7 – Dorothy Osborne (Lady Temple), English letter writer (born 1627)
  • April 13 – Jean de la Fontaine, French poet and fabulist (born 1621)
  • April 17 – Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican poet (born 1651; plague)
  • April 23 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh metaphysical poet (born 1622)
  • June 11 – André Félibien, French court historian (born 1619)
  • August 12 – Huang Zongxi, Chinese political theorist (born 1610)
  • October – Sir William Killigrew, English playwright and courtier (born 1606)
  • November 28 – Anthony Wood, English antiquary (born 1632)

References