Bath (and the reinvention of spa sociability) [ Cities / Politics & Society ]
… spa sociability in the first half of the eighteenth century. At a time when the British nation was being forged, manners were crucial in the rivalry with France, as they were redefined in an attempt to create a distinct model of … favoured the creation of a new image for the British nation. 1 In a context of rivalry with France, the refinement of manners meant a degree of emancipation from the French model of politeness. 2 The desire to change social behaviour was … in Queen Square with its deceptive appearance of a single unit. Such an undertaking chimes in with the refinement of manners at work in the spa, since, as explained by Lawrence Klein, politeness had a ‘moral potential’ and ‘manners were …
Codes | Fashion | Health | Leisure | Politeness | Ritual | Spa
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