Edmund Burke and the Book Reviews in Dodsley's Annual Register

Abstract

The problem of Burke's anonymous writings in Dodsley's Annual Register has baffled biographers and critics for nearly a century and a half. Since Burke himself never acknowledged any of these writings, and since no conclusive evidence exists to fix their authorship, it is impossible to make use of them with any sense of security. On the other hand, since the Register must contain, even at a low estimate, some thousands of pages of Burke's writing, important both intrinsically and as our principal record of the early development of his mind, we cannot ignore it. Burke's biographers have about evenly divided themselves into those who were willing to take the risk of asserting on their own authority that specific parts of the magazine had been written by Burke, and those who preferred to make no use whatever of the dubious material. Thus Murray boldly assumes that Burke wrote all parts of the magazine from 1758 to 1791, and constantly quotes expressions of opinion in the magazine as Burke's personal expressions. Magnus on the contrary makes no direct use of the Register's contents in his biography. Neither those who have assumed Burke's authorship, nor those who have rejected it, have ever informed the public concerning the grounds of their judgment. But, admitting that certainty is impossible, such evidence as exists to make probable Burke's authorship of parts of the magazine deserves to be carefully weighed and analyzed.