Junius was the pseudonym of a writer who contributed a series of letters to the Public Advertiser, from 21 January 1769 to 21 January 1772. The signature had been already used, apparently by him, in a letter of 21 November 1768. These and numerous other personal letters were not included in his Letters of Junius collection, published in 1772.
Choice of "Junius" as a pseudonym
The name may have been chosen because the same author had already signed Lucius and Brutus, and wished to exhaust the name of Lucius Junius Brutus, the Roman patriot who led the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. Alternatively, the name may have been derived from the Roman poet Juvenal, who was thought also to have had the nomen Junius. Some say that the author of the Junius letters had previously written under numerous other pseudonyms, and that he continued to do so, under different pseudonyms, after the 36-month period (January 1769 – January 1772) in which the Junius letters were published. He may, for example, have written as Philo-Junius, a character who came to the rescue of Junius when it was clear that the public was misinterpreting his messages. There is weak evidence that he also wrote as Veteran, Nemesis and other anonymous correspondents published in the Public Advertiser.
Objectives, goals and achievements
There is a marked distinction between the main Letters of Junius, intended for the erudite public, and his miscellaneous letters. The latter deal with a variety of subjects, some of a purely personal nature, such as the alleged injustice of the Viscount Barrington, the secretary at war, to the officials of his department.
The Letters of Junius had a definite objective: to inform the public of their historical and constitutional rights and liberties as Englishmen; to highlight where and how the government had infringed upon these rights.
Foremost in his sights was the ministry of Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, a fellow Whig whom Junius viewed as particularly corrupt. Grafton's administration had been formed in October 1768, when William Pitt the Elder was compelled by ill health to retire from office, and was a reconstruction of his cabinet of July 1766. Junius fought for the return to power of Pitt, who had recovered and was not on good terms with his successors.
Amongst the letters' promotion of Whig causes (e.g. sympathy with the American colonists and with John Wilkes) is the recurrent Whig hostility towards Scots and a resentment of perceived Scottish political and Court influence. As with Wilkes's satirically named publication The North Briton, Junius resented the King's identity as a Briton, not an Englishman, claiming "believe me, Sir, you were persuaded to pay a very ill-judged compliment to one part of your subjects at the expense of another" and asserting that the Scots "have no claim to your favour".
Junius' private correspondence has been preserved, written in his usual disguised handwriting. He communicated with Pitt, with George Grenville, with Wilkes (all opponents of the Duke of Grafton), and also with Henry Sampson Woodfall, printer and part owner of the Public Advertiser.
The letters are of interest on three grounds: their political significance; their style; and the mystery which long surrounded their authorship.
The matter of his letters is considered by some to be invective, though close inspection of his writings reveals a principled man ahead of his time, exposing blatant corruption by the only means available (anonymity) in a country struggling with the idea of freedom of speech.
He began with a general attack on the ministry for their personal immorality. An ill-judged defence of John Manners, Marquess of Granby, the popular Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, by Sir William Draper gave Junius an easy victory over a vulnerable opponent with weak arguments. It was in this short tussle that Junius' style and wit first developed a reputation and public audience. Junius then realised the potential he had to influence public opinion.