text: the covent - garden journal the covent - garden journal ( modernised as the covent garden journal ) was an english literary periodical published twice a week for most of 1752 . it was edited and almost entirely funded by novelist , playwright , and essayist henry fielding , under the pseudonym , " sir alexander drawcansir , . censor of great britain " . it was fielding 's fourth and final periodical , and one of his last written works . the journal incited the " paper war " of 1752 – 1753 , a conflict among a number of contemporary literary critics and writers , which began after fielding declared war on the " armies of grub street " in the first issue . his proclamation attracted multiple aggressors and instigated a long - lasting debate argued in the pages of their respective publications . initially waged for the sake of increasing sales , the paper war ultimately became much larger than fielding had expected and generated a huge volume of secondary commentary and literature . further controversy erupted in june , when fielding expressed support for a letter decrying the government 's 1751 disorderly houses act in the journal . his remarks were viewed by the public as an endorsement of the legality of prostitution , and it soon became common opinion that the letter , initially attributed to a " humphrey meanwell " , was in fact written by fielding . fielding refuted this assertion in the 1 august issue of the journal , while labelling prostitutes a source of social evils . the final issue of the journal was released on 25 november 1752 . in its last months , poor sales had resulted in a transition from semi - weekly to weekly release . ill - health and a disinclination to continue led fielding to end its run after the number 72 issue . he died two years later while staying in lisbon , portugal . background the first mention of the covent - garden journal dates to 5 december 1749 , when a broadsheet pamphlet was printed with the title " the covent - garden journal . no 1 . to be published 'd once every month , during the present westminster election by paul , of the fleet , esq . " it was organized as a standard paper , with sections called " introductory essay " , " foreign affairs " , " home affairs " , and " advertisement " . published with a list of fake printers ( t. smith , r. webb , and s. johnson ) , it claimed that the sellers were " all the people of london and westminster " . it was later revealed that the paper was created as a hoax by the duke of bedford to mock sir george , 2nd baronet and his supporters . the printer , richard francklin , ran off 13 , 000 copies on 5 – 6 december , only one of which still survives . although the true author of the pamphlet remains uncertain , it was believed at the time to be fielding 's work ; later critics , such as martin and ruthe battestin , cite a letter written on behalf of the duke of richmond that was used as evidence of fielding 's involvement . dated 7 december 1749 , the letter states : " the enclosed is a paper generally given to mr. fielding , as the author . the humor that is in it is at least akin to his . it may possibly divert you & your company . " fielding 's authorship would have been limited to the paper 's introduction , which was used to target prominent tories such as paul whitehead : a minor poet who had pseudonymously attacked fielding before and was vocal on political issues . in late 1751 , just before the publication of his novel , amelia , fielding began plotting his next literary work . he expressed a desire to use a periodical to promote the universal register office – a business which connected service providers with consumers – and his other activities and views . alluding to the earlier publication , he gave it the title the covent - garden journal , and announced in the daily advertiser that the first number would be issued on 23 november 1751 . the release was delayed until january because of work related to the publication of amelia . at the time of the publication of the journal , covent garden , although formally associated with the theatre industry , was more widely known as london 's red light district . fielding had earlier written the covent garden tragedy , a mock - tragic play concerning the tale of two prostitutes . content the first number of the periodical was published on 4 january 1752 , and sold at a price of three pence . for most of its run , the journal was issued twice a week , on tuesday and saturday . each number consisted of an introductory remark or essay ( written by fielding ) , domestic and foreign news with annotations , advertisements , an obituary , a births and marriages panel , and other sundries . one section , entitled " covent garden " , concerned fielding 's position as a magistrate at bow street . the column ran in every issue until 27 june 1752 , appearing irregularly thereafter . it dealt with crime and legal matters and provided insight into the cases that fielding dealt with on a regular basis , but the presentation was less organized and more informal than standard legal records . most of the information on the cases was provided by joshua brogden , one of fielding 's clerks . particularly in the opening comment and the news , fielding injected a degree of wit or " liveliness " not seen in his previous publications ; he stated in the first number that he planned to avoid the " dullness " seen in other contemporary periodicals : i do promise , as far as in me lies , to avoid with the utmost care all kind of encroachment on that spacious field , in which my ... contemporaries have such large and undoubted possessions ; and which , from time immemorial , hath been called the land of . discussion in the journal was chiefly concerned with matters of literary criticism , and " the social and moral health of the body politic " . most of the opening essays took a decidedly unpolitical tone . exceptions were those in numbers 42 , 50 , and 58 . number 42 mocked the country tories by imagining how an ancient greek or roman would react to party politics : " ... convey [ him ] to a hunting - match , or horse race , or any other meeting of patriots . will he not immediately conclude from all the roaring and ranting , the hallowing and the , the gaming and drinking , ... that he is actually present at the of bacchus , or the celebration of some such festival ? " number 50 blamed the growth of the london mob on poverty laws , and number 58 targeted the " independent electors of westminster " . in his literary reviews , fielding often wrote with a biased hand . for instance , he gave immoderate praise to charlotte lennox 's the female quixote and charles macklin 's two - act comic play the covent garden theatre , or paquin turn 'd drawcansir ; lennox and macklin were long - time friends of fielding , and macklin 's play was based on fielding 's life . fielding had a noted tendency to be prejudiced toward certain authors too – rabelais and aristophanes were always met harshly , while jonathan swift , cervantes , and lucian were praised as a " great triumvirate " . samuel richardson 's clarissa – published in 1748 and one of the longest novels in the english language – is a noted exception : it was received well , even though fielding considered richardson a literary rival , and despite richardson 's calling the periodical " the common garden journal " . fielding lauded the work of friend william hogarth and poetry by edward young . he also promoted plays involving david garrick and james lacy ( among others ) . fielding frequently used the periodical to respond to criticism for his latest novel , amelia , which was published in december 1751 . the 25 and 28 january issues featured a section in which amelia 's most outspoken critics were depicted on trial and in which fielding systematically repudiated their respective complaints . " councillor town " , the fictional prosecutor , summarised these complaints in saying , " the whole book is a heap of sad stuff , dulness , and nonsense ; that it contains no wit , humour , knowledge of human nature , or of the world ; indeed , that the fable , moral character , manners , sentiments , and , are all alike bad and contemptible . " in his reply , fielding posited a paternal relationship with amelia , though conceded that it was not without flaws : ... [ n ] ay , when i go father , and , that of all my offspring she is my favourite child . i can truly say that i bestowed a more than ordinary pains in her education ... i do not think my child is entirely free from faults . i know nothing human that is so ; but surely she doth not deserve the with which she hath been treated by the public . fielding 's efforts only attracted further criticism , eventually resulting in his promise " to write no more novels " . paper war the first four numbers of the journal featured fielding 's contributions to the " paper war " , a conflict he instigated with writers of other contemporary periodicals to generate sales . in the first number , along with the promise to avoid the dullness of other periodicals , fielding confronted " the armies of grub street " and proclaimed his disdain for the literary critics of the day : " as to my brother authors , who , like mere mechanics , are envious and jealous of a rival in their trade , to silence their jealousies and fears , i declare that it is not my intention to encroach on the business now carried on by them , nor to deal in any of those wares which they at present vend to the public . " also given in the inaugural number was " an introduction to a journal of the present paper - war between the forces under sir alexander drawcansir , and the army of grub street " , written in the tradition of jonathan swift 's battle of the books . the main response to fielding 's words came from john hill , an english author , botanist , and literary critic who wrote a column called " the inspector " in the london daily advertiser . hill used this column approximately one week later to attack fielding and criticise amelia . fielding replied in much the same fashion in the second issue of the journal , while attempting to defend his novel . the two engaged in a sustained dispute , as each used their respective publication to joust with the other . several others were quick to join hill in his criticism of fielding and the grub street campaign . bonnell thornton , a poet and essayist , was responsible for have at you all ; or , the drury lane journal , a production that satirised fielding and his works . particular attention was paid to amelia in have at you all ; the fifth number , for example , featured " a new chapter in amelia , more witty than the rest , if the reader has but sense enough to find out the humour . " on 15 january , tobias smollett published a disparaging twenty - eight - page pamphlet entitled a faithful narrative of the base and inhuman arts that were lately practised upon the brain of habbakuk hilding , justice , dealer and chapman , who now lies at his own house in covent - garden , in a deplorable state of lunacy ; a dreadful monument of false friendship and delusion . the pamphlet was notorious for its viciousness , and variously accused " habbakuk hilding " ( fielding ) of literary theft , , and , while deriding his marriage to mary daniels . it also posited that fielding founded the covent - garden journal to further the ambitions of politician and statesman george lyttelton , with whom fielding had recently formed a friendship ; the source of this inference remains unclear , since lyttelton received no particular mention in the first few numbers . fielding withdrew from the conflict after the fourth number , for the " war " had become more personal and hostile than he had originally intended . although the covent - garden journal would no longer feature a section on the paper war , a similar but more moderated commentary that fielding termed the " court of criticism " later took its place . the paper war continued without fielding , ultimately embroiling a large number of other writers , among them christopher smart , william kenrick , and arthur murphy . having generated a significant amount of secondary literature ( including smart 's the hilliad and charles macklin 's aforementioned the covent garden theater , or pasquin turn 'd drawcansir ) , the paper war ended without victor in 1753 . meanwell affair in 1749 , a court decision made by fielding – in his role as magistrate – provoked rumours that he was being paid to defend brothels . three years later , a letter written by " humphry meanwell " voiced objection to the 1752 disorderly house act ( 25 geo . ii , c . 36 ) , which was intended to remove prostitutes and brothels from britain . the public soon associated this letter with fielding ; his publication of what was seen as an endorsement of the letter in the 22 june issue strengthened this feeling : " the following letter which was sent to the justice by an unknown hand , hath been transmitted to us ; and tho ' perhaps some points are carried a little too far , upon the whole i think it a very sensible performance , and worthy the attention of the public . " the text of the letter itself followed this note and was published in the " covent garden " section of the journal . fielding responded to the claims that he wrote the letter in the 1 august issue of the journal . while acknowledging that his association with the letter had made him popular with prostitutes , he went on to accuse them of being a source for social evils : prostitutes are the lowest and meanest , so are they the basest , vilest , and wickedest of all creatures . it is a trite observation , that when a woman quits her modesty , she discards with it every other virtue . to extend this to every frail individual of the sex , is to carry it too far ; but if it be confined to those who are become infamous by public prostitution , no maxim , i believe , hath a greater foundation in truth , or will be more strongly verified by experience . martin battestin believes that this passage is indicative of the fact that while fielding was opposed to prostitution , " when actually confronted with the pitiable wretches accused of such crimes and misdemeanors ... he acted toward them with the compassion and good - humored tolerance that characterize the treatment of the ' lower orders ' in his novels . " to critic lance bertelsen , the passage " seems to reveal a lurking fascination with the oldest profession – one that , paired with his earlier endorsement of " meanwell " , suggests a writer oscillating between outrage and sympathy , humor and lechery . " end of publication by the summer of 1752 , the journal 's circulation was dropping steadily and it was losing popularity . after making the transition to weekly publication on 4 july , it was advertised less , and , in the final months of 1752 , its discussion of anything other than court decisions and political actions was minimal . in addition , fielding 's health was deteriorating and his inclination to continue the periodical had declined . the 72nd and final number of the covent - garden journal was published on 25 november 1752 ; fielding there confirmed his lack of interest : " i shall here lay down a paper which i have neither inclination nor leisure to carry on any longer . " he also directed readers to turn their attention to the public advertiser , a new periodical to be released on 1 december and to replace the daily advertiser . his final statement in the journal was , " i solemnly declare that unless in revising my former works , i have at present no intention to hold any further correspondence with the gayer muses . " fielding died approximately two years later , his death caused by the gout and asthma that had , in part , compelled him to end the journal 's run . in his final year , he travelled to portugal in the hope of recovery . he wrote an account of his travels during this time , entitled the journal of a voyage to lisbon , which was published in england in 1755 . fielding died in lisbon on 8 october 1754 , and was buried in the os cemetery , a local english burial ground .