British Literary Salons of the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, British salons were veritable hothouses of political and cultural agitation, with renowned guests such as Byron, Moore, Thackeray, and Baillie. In this comprehensive study of the British salon, Susanne Schmid traces the activities of three salonnières: Mary Berry, Lady Holland, and the Countess of Blessington. Mapping out the central place these circles held in London, this study explains to what extent they shaped intellectual debate and publishing ventures. Using a large number of sources — diaries, letters, silver-fork novels, satires, travel writing, Keepsakes, and imaginary conversations — the book establishes sociable networks of days gone by.

Susanne Schmid teaches at Mainz University, Germany. She has published several books, among the Helene Richter-prize winning Shelley's German Afterlives (2007), as well as articles on Romanticism, film studies, and cultural studies.