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Female friendship in eighteenth-century English literature [ Feelings and Emotions ]

Friendship [ Social interaction / Character / Feelings and Emotions ]

… Abstract This entry explores the diverse uses of the language and concept of friendship in eighteenth-century Britain. Though obviously central to sociable thought and practice, friendship was also caught up in philosophical debates about the instrumentality of feeling and the nature of social obligation. These debates in turn extended to the political arena, in which the invocation of friendship could be suspect or ironic. Through examination of attitudes to friendship, we gain a broader sense of the …

Voltaire (and his social networks) [ Association ]

… was a fundamental virtue. It could manifest as anything from the most ephemeral worldliness to lifelong, intimate friendships. Voltaire was one who courted high society and gave sumptuous receptions, but the ties with those he called friend would remain sacred throughout his life. People > Association Keywords Friendship Worldliness celebrity networks Patronage theater Voltaire styled himself the ‘hermit of the Alps’ 1  in much … It would prove a decisive experience for Voltaire, conditioning his regard for sociability, and more particularly, for friendship and worldliness. Indeed, Voltaire befriended a number of high-born figures at Louis-le-Grand, such as the …

Samuel Richardson [ Art and Literature ]

… practices, fashioned links with his readers and created a society of writers and readers based on esteem, admiration and friendship, thereby promoting a special kind of sociability, relying on the qualities of the heart and mind. People > Art and Literature Keywords Samuel Richardson Writing and reading practices Letter Epistolary sociability Friendship Sentiment Heart and mind Although Samuel Richardson was a reserved, taciturn man who was ill at ease in … so that the letter takes the form of a dialogue, promotes relationships founded on depth and reflection, as well as friendship based on authenticity, or, in Richardson’s words, a contract sealed between the hearts of the parties …

Mary Berry [ Art and Literature ]

… plays as well as historiographical works. She met a large number of literati, artists, and politicians and cultivated friendships with Walpole, the sculptor Anne Damer, and the playwright Joanna Baillie, documented through letters, which provided her with support. People > Art and Literature Keywords Travel Literature Salon Horace Walpole Epistolary friendship Mary Berry (1763-1852) headed and participated in sociable circles in London and on the continent, was a … social contacts can serve to highlight her networks: Horace Walpole, Anne Seymor Damer, and Joanna Baillie. The Berrys' friendship with (or patronage through) Walpole – writer, collector, author, creator of the mock Gothic mansion Strawberry …

Kit-Cat Club [ Association / Associational culture / Politics & Society ]

… one Whig faction, yet with foundations in the literary world, it became a hub of patronage along lines of intellectual friendship rather than kinship, an informal venue of political opposition, and a prototype for Dr Johnson’s Club, among … People > Association Practices > Associational culture Practices > Politics & Society Keywords Club Whig Patronage Friendship Addison Tonson The Kit-Cat Club (c.1690s-c.1720) was one of the earliest and most influential London … one Whig faction, yet with foundations in the literary world, it became a hub of patronage along lines of intellectual friendship rather than kinship, an informal venue of political opposition, and a prototype for Dr Johnson’s Club, among …