Byrd Ii, William
March 28, 1674
Richmond, Virginia
August 26, 1744
Westover, Virginia
Planter, colonial official, and writer
Portrait: William Byrd II. Reproduced by permission of Archive Photos, ...
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The Virginia diarist and government official William Byrd II (1674-1744) revealed much about 18th-century American life in his important, charming, and witty diaries.William Byrd II was the son of Wil...
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William Byrd II, the proprietor of Westover plantation in Virginia, left an entertaining and varied body of factual reportage about colonial America during the age of Pope and Swift. Byrd's four trave...
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William Byrd II created the most diverse library in colonial America. His collection of belletristic literature was unsurpassed. His collection of law books rivaled that of John Mercer's, generally co...
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In the following essay, Masterson considers whether Byrd's negative impressions of colonial North Carolina were shared by other travelers.
During the spring and autumn of 1728, as one of the...
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In the following excerpt, Wright presents an overview of Byrd's life, interests, attitudes, character, and writing.
A large part of Byrd's life before his return to Virginia in 1705 h...
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In the following excerpt, Marambaud examines Byrd's diaries, which, the critic maintains, are examples of intimate self-expression but also valuable historical documents.
Byrd's diari...
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In the following essay, Pudaloff explores Byrd's secret diaries and contrasts the persona revealed in those works with that presented in his public writings.
In most books, the I, or first p...
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In the following excerpt, Lockridge analyzes the reasons for Byrd's tempered yet intense disdain for women as set out in the satirical essay “The Female Creed” that appears in one...
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Byrd Ii, William
William Byrd, II
William Byrd, II
Critical Essay by James R. Masterson
