SOURCE: Lynch, Kathleen M. “Dryden and Tonson,” “Jacob's Ladder to Fame,” and “Eminent Publisher.” In Jacob Tonson, Kit-Cat Publisher, pp. 17-36; 67-94; 116-37. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1971.

In the following essays, Lynch examines Tonson's complex relationship with John Dryden; explores some of his ambitious publishing projects; and discusses his influence and the distinguished authors whose careers flourished after their association with him

Dryden and Tonson

For twenty years, until Dryden's death, Jacob Tonson was to remain the poet's publisher. Those who have made much of their quarrels might instead have reflected on the mutual respect and loyalty which preserved for so long a period the friendship of two such positive men. They held radically different views on issues of major importance to them both, yet their relationship, if at times acrimonious, was strong enough to endure divergences of aims and opinions on which many less solid alliances...