Junius Junius often refers to: * Junius (writer), the pseudonym of an 18th-century British political writer of strongly Whig principles * The nomen of the ancient Roman * or , the month of June on the ancient Roman calendar * Rosa Luxemburg's '' Junius P ...

was the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

of a writer who contributed a series of political letters critical of the government of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

to the ''

Public Advertiser The ''Public Advertiser'' was a London newspaper in the 18th century. The ''Public Advertiser'' was originally known as the ''London Daily Post and General Advertiser'', then simply the ''General Advertiser'' consisting more or less exclusively o ...

'', from 21 January 1769 to 21 January 1772 as well as several other London newspapers such as the ''

London Evening Post The ''London Evening Post'' was a pro- Jacobite Tory English language daily newspaper published in London, then the capital city of the Kingdom of Great Britain, from 1727 until 1797.Cranfield, G.A. (1963). "The ''London Evening Post'', 1727–17 ...

''. Charges were brought against several people, of whom two were convicted and sentenced. Junius himself was aware of the advantages of concealment, as he wrote in a letter to

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

dated 18 September 1771. Two generations after the appearance of the letters, speculation as to the authorship of Junius was rife. Sir Philip Francis is now generally, but not universally, believed to be the author.

Current scholarly views

According to Alan Frearson there is scholarly consensus in favour of Sir Philip Francis; he divides the evidence into four classes, and reports that each class "points most strongly to Francis". This scholarly theory has been called the "Franciscan theory", at least since Abraham Hayward's ''More about Junius: The Franciscan theory unsound'' (1868). Numerous subsequent publications have been written by those sceptical about the identification with Francis. John Cannon, editor of an edition of the ''Letters'' published in 1978, adhered to the Franciscan theory. As Francesco Cordasco puts it, "while the Franciscan theory has recently enjoyed new life, it remains contested and impossible to demonstrate categorically".

Early guesses

Joseph Parkes, author with

Herman Merivale Herman Merivale CB (8 November 1806 – 8 February 1874) was an English civil servant and historian. He was the elder brother of Charles Merivale, and father of the poet Herman Charles Merivale. He was born at Dawlish, Devon to John Her ...

of the ''Memoirs of Sir Philip Francis'' (1867), gave a list of more than forty persons who had been supposed to be Junius.An 1855 edition of ''Junius'' by John Wade has over 30 names in common, but adds: Lord Camden,

Samuel Dyer Samuel Dyer (, 20 February 1804 – 24 October 1843) was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China in the Congregationalist tradition who worked among the Chinese in Malaysia. He arrived in Penang in 1827. Dyer, his wife Maria, and t ...

. Dyer was believed to be Junius by

Edmond Malone Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish barrister, Shakespearean scholar and Literary editor, editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his ...

and

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

.()

Other candidates

There have been other hypotheses put forward. In most cases the attribution is based on nothing more than a vague guess.

Notes

References

;Attribution *

External links

* {{Authority control 1769 in England 1770s in England

Political history of England