Literary Events and Publications of 1657
This article details the notable literary events and significant publications that occurred in the year 1657.
Events
January – Madame de la Fayette returns to Paris, where she is introduced to and forms a friendship with Madame de Sévigné.
March 2 – The Great Fire of Meireki in Edo, Japan, devastates the city’s theatres, compelling actors to relocate to Osaka.
New Books
Prose
- William Allen – Killing No Murder (authorship contested; attributed to Colonel Silius Titus, Edward Sexby, or William Allen; Sexby acknowledges authorship under pressure)
- Cave Beck – The Universal Character
- Theodore Haak (translator) – The Dutch Annotations Upon the Whole Bible (originally published in 1637)
- Li Yu (probable author) – The Carnal Prayer Mat (published in 1693)
- Richard Ligon – A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes
- Jeremy Taylor – Discourse of the Nature, Offices and Measures of Friendship
- Brian Walton, Bishop of Chester – Polyglot Bible
- Baltasar Gracián – El criticón (third part)
- François Hédelin, abbé d’Aubignac – Pratique du théâtre
- Cyrano de Bergerac (posthumous) – L’Autre Monde: ou les États et Empires de la Lune
- Christiaan Huygens – De ratiociniis in ludo aleae
- Nihon Ōdai Ichiran (日本王代一覧, Table of the Rulers of Japan)
- Paul Scarron – Roman comique (Comic romance, publication concluded)
Children
- Les Jeux et plaisirs de l’enfance
Drama
- Anonymous – Lust’s Dominion (published, misattributed in some editions to Marlowe; likely authored by Dekker and others, written circa 1600)
- Richard Brome – The Queen’s Exchange (published)
- Sir Aston Cockayne – The Obstinate Lady (published)
- Lodowick Carlell – The Fool Would be a Favorite, or The Discreet Lover (published)
- The Tragedy of Osmond the Great Turk, or the Noble Servant (published)
- George Gerbier d’Ouvilly – The False Favourite Disgraced, and the Reward of Loyalty (published)
- Franciscus van den Enden – Philedonius
- Andreas Gryphius – Katharina von Georgien
- Thomas Jordan – Fancy’s Festivals (masque) (published)
- Thomas Middleton (died 1627) – No Wit, No Help Like a Woman’s (published)
- Two New Plays – first publication of Women Beware Women and More Dissemblers Besides Women
Poetry
- William Davenant – Poems on Several Occasions
- Angelus Silesius – Heilige Seelenlust (collection of hymns)
Births
- February 11 – Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, French author (died 1757)
- March 24 – Arai Hakuseki, Japanese scholar-bureaucrat and writer (died 1725)
- November 26 – William Derham, English natural philosopher and cleric (died 1735)
- unknown date – Matthew Tindal, English deist writer (died 1733)
Deaths
- March 7 – Hayashi Razan (林羅山), Japanese philosopher (born 1583)
- April ? – Richard Lovelace, English Cavalier poet (born 1617)
- August 29 – John Lilburne, English writer and agitator (born c. 1614)
- November 18 – Luke Wadding, Irish historian (born 1588)
- November 19 – Théodore Tronchin, Swiss theologian (born 1582)
- unknown dates
- Junije Palmotić, Ragusan (Dubrovnik) dramatist and poet (born c. 1606)
- Thomas Tuke, English controversialist and cleric (born c. 1580)
- probable – Thomas Bayly, English religious controversialist (born early 17th century)
References
This section would typically include citations or references for further reading.