Sir Roger de Coverley

fictional character

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Article History

Sir Roger de Coverley, fictional character, devised by Joseph Addison, who portrayed him as the ostensible author of papers and letters that were published in Addison and Richard Steele’s influential periodical The Spectator. As imagined by Addison, Sir Roger was a baronet of Worcestershire and was meant to represent a typical landed country gentleman. He was also a member of the fictitious Spectator Club, and the de Coverley writings included entertaining vignettes of early 18th-century English life that were often considered The Spectator’s best feature.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.