| Women, Sociability and Theatre in Georgian London Contributor(s): Russell, Gillian (Author) |
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ISBN: 0521867320 ISBN-13: 9780521867320 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $114.00 Product Type: Hardcover Published: July 2007 Annotation: Mid-eighteenth-century London witnessed a major expansion in public culture as a result of a rapidly commercialising society. Of the many new sites of entertainment, the most celebrated (and often notorious) were the Carlisle House club, the Pantheon, and the Ladies Club or Coterie. In the first major study of these institutions and the fashionable sociability they epitomised, Gillian Russell examines how they transformed metropolitan cultural life. Associated with lavish masquerades, excesses of fashion, such as elaborate hairstyles, and scandalous intrigues, these venues suggested a feminisation of public life which was profoundly threatening, not least to the theatre of the period. In this highly-illustrated and original contribution to the cultural history of the eighteenth century, Russell reveals new perspectives on the theatre and on canonical plays such as The School for Scandal, as well as suggesting a pre-history for British Romanticism. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Women's Studies - History | Social History - Performing Arts | Theater - History & Criticism |
| Dewey: 305.420 |
| Series: Cambridge Studies in Romanticism (Hardcover) |
| Physical Information: 0.96" H x 6.46" W x 9.17" (1.40 lbs) 308 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - British Isles - Sex & Gender - Feminine |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Mid-eighteenth-century London witnessed a major expansion in public culture as a result of a rapidly commercialising society. Of the many sites of entertainment, the most celebrated (and often notorious) were the Carlisle House club, the Pantheon, and the Ladies Club or Coterie. In this major study of these institutions and the fashionable sociability they epitomised, Gillian Russell examines how they transformed metropolitan cultural life. Associated with lavish masquerades, excesses of fashion, such as elaborate hairstyles, and scandalous intrigues, these venues suggested a feminisation of public life which was profoundly threatening, not least to the theatre of the period. In this highly illustrated and original contribution to the cultural history of the eighteenth century, Russell reveals fresh perspectives on the theatre and on canonical plays such as The School for Scandal, as well as suggesting a prehistory for British Romanticism. |