ABSTRACT
At the beginning of 1740 Pope was staying at Allen's house in Bath. Alexander Pope had the manuscript of the Patriot King with him at Prior Park because, as has already been mentioned, Bolingbroke had asked him to have about ten copies of it printed, for distribution to their friends. However, it is a fact that the final published version of the Patriot King, which was similar to the one edited by Pope, enhanced its author's reputation. One major problem was Swift himself, who would have preferred Pope to write an epistle in his praise. Pope had been wondering how he could get in touch with his old friend without going through Mrs Whiteway. Pope had stood to gain nothing personally when he arranged for a surreptitious edition of the Patriot King but the situation was a different one when he engaged in his complicated manoeuvres to get Swift's letters into print.
