Art et Littérature

Pierre-Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos

Pierre-Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos

D'ASCENZO Federica
Laclos embodied all forms of eighteenth-century sociability. He was a Freemason and regular visitor to the clubs and salons of the revolutionary period. Finding his military career unrewarding, he became politically active alongside Philippe d’Orléans and participated in the debates of his time through his writing. His epistolary Les liaisons dangereuses, which was based on Richardson’s Clarissa, was his ‘unique book’. More radical than its English model, it called into question a whole sociability that had descended into libertinism. The work simultaneously marked the pinnacle and dissolution of the epistolary novel, the symbol of sociable exchange.
Charles Brinsley Sheridan

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

ROCHE-TIENGO Virginie
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (1751 – 1816) was an Irish-born British playwright, poet, politician, 'clubbable' orator and owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Richard Steele

Richard Steele

KNIGHTS Mark

Richard Steele was one of the most important and controversial figures of early eighteenth-century sociability and politeness. Perhaps best known for his contributions to periodical literature, Steele achieved fame for the style and content of his writing, which had a long legacy during the eighteenth century.

Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson

INGRAM Allan
Johnson was one of the foremost and most controversial literary men of his age, and a leading figure of intellectual and conversational life in London. He loved the activities of intelligent society, and was instrumental in forming clubs for the opportunities to engage in them.
Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys

LOVEMAN Kate
Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) made a remarkable social ascent to become a powerful naval administrator with ear of two successive kings. His calculated approach to sociability was factor in this success. While mindful of how well-judged sociability could serve his ambitions, Pepys also enjoyed making the most of the leisure opportunities and meeting places of Restoration London.
Samuel Richardson

Samuel Richardson

DACHEZ Hélène
This entry shows how Richardson, through his writing and reading 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.