Anne Dodd facts for kids

Anne Dodd (around 1685–1739) was a very well-known English news seller and owner of a shop that sold small books called pamphlets. This was in the 1700s. In 1708, she married Nathaniel Dodd. He had bought a special license to sell paper and books.

Anne and Nathaniel opened their shop in late 1711. It was called the Peacock and was located near Temple Bar, London. Their shop was very successful for almost 50 years.

Running a News Shop

Nathaniel was the official owner of the business. But Anne's name was the only one printed on the items they sold. These items included newspapers and pamphlets. Nathaniel would buy many newspapers and pamphlets from printers. Then he would sell them to people who sold news on the streets. He also sold them directly in their shop.

In October 1723, Nathaniel passed away. Anne then became the full and legal owner of the business. She continued to run it herself.

Selling News and Facing Challenges

During Anne's time, people who printed or sold books and newspapers sometimes got into trouble. This happened if they shared writings that criticized the government. Nathaniel Dodd was called before the government twice because of this. Anne Dodd also faced similar problems.

In 1728, Anne was put in prison. This was for selling pamphlets that were against the government. She argued that she sold many more papers that supported the government than those that didn't. She said she was just selling what people wanted to buy.

Also in 1728, a famous writer named Alexander Pope used Anne Dodd's name on some early copies of his poem, The Dunciad. He did this as a joke or a way to make fun of how political papers were written back then. It was not meant to be a joke about Mrs. Dodd herself.

Anne Dodd's Legacy

Anne Dodd died in October 1739. She left a lot of money to her three daughters. Her oldest daughter, who was already married, received £500. Her two younger daughters each received £600. They also got her jewelry and the lease for the shop.

Her youngest daughter, who was also named Anne, kept the shop running. Years later, in 1752, another writer named Henry Fielding mentioned Anne Dodd's shop. He wrote about the many newspapers stacked up in her shop in his book, The Covent Garden Journal.

See also

• List of women printers and publishers before 1800