First printing. This is the first biography of Robert Dodsley in nearly a century. He was England's most important eighteenth-century publisher, and served as protege, publisher, or patron of authors Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson, Voltaire, Horace Walpole and many more. Solomon documents Dodsley's ingenious articulation of his financial interests in newspapers, journals, and book publishing, proving that contrary to the traditional view of booksellers, Dodsley was no insignificant tradesman. Includes a bibliography and index.