First published in 1709, The New Atalantis is a dazzling satirical expose of the sexual and political intrigues of the charmed circle of courtiers, courtesans, politicians, and aristocrats of early eighteenth-century England, which led to the arrest of the author, publisher, and printer on charges of scandalum magnatum. The book was later published, ran to seven editions, and was translated into French.
The author, Delarivier Manley (1663-1724), was in her day as well known and potent a political satirist as her friend and coeditor Jonathan Swift. A fervent Tory, she skillfully interweaves sexual and political allegory in an acerbic vilification of her Whig opponents. The story concerns the return to earth of the goddess of Justice, Astrea, to gather information about private and public behavior on the island of Atalantis. Manley drew on her experience as well as on an obsessive observation of her milieu to produce this fast-paced narrative of political and erotic intrigue.
