Recent years have witnessed a heightened interest in eighteenth-century literary journalism and popular culture. This book provides an account of the early periodical as a literary genre and traces the development of journalism from the 1690s to the 1760s, covering a range of publications by both well-known and obscure writers. The book's central theme is the struggle of eighteenth-century journalists to attain literary respectability and the strategies by which editors sought to improve the literary and social status of their publications.

Iona Italia provides an account of the early periodical as a literary genre. Tracing the development of journalism from the 1690s to the 1760s, the text covers a range of publications by well-known writers and obscure hacks.