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On December 28, 1817, the eccentric painter B. R. Haydon gave a
famous dinner party in his painting room in London. He invited,
among others, three of the greatest literary lights of the age: the
poets John Keats and William Wordsworth and the essayist and wit
Charles Lamb. Over the course of a long winter evening of delights,
the guests recited poetry, indulged in high-minded conversation,
and took part in ridiculous antics, with such displays of
brilliance and wit that the party came to be known as the Immortal
Dinner. Penelope Hughes-Hallett celebrates this unique gathering by
vividly bringing to life these illustrious diners against a
backdrop of social change. Literary London society was at its
extraordinarily gifted best just two years after Waterloo: the
Elgin Marbles controversy still raged; Mrs. Siddons performed Lady
Macbeth in her drawing room to a distinguished audience; Joseph
Ritchie, a young physician and would-be poet, prepared to explore
the River Niger with a copy of Keats in his pocket. The Immortal
Dinner offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives and thoughts of
this literary elite at a turning point in English society. It
recaptures these rare spirits, using a great many of their own
words from letters and diaries. With 75 black-and-white
illustrations and 2 maps.
A beautifully illustrated account of the letters and correspondence
of Jane Austen. It has been said that Jane Austen the woman and
Jane Austen the author are all of a piece, and nowhere is this more
evident to the lovers of her novels than in the pages of her
letters. This handsome celebration of Austen's letters is
illustrated with portraits, facsimile letters, topographical
engravings and fashion plates, all helping to bring to life the
world Jane Austen inhabited. The letters, with an accompanying
commentary by Penelope Hughes-Hallett, are separated into six
periods of Jane Austen's life, between the years 1796, when she was
twenty, and 1817, the year of her death. They celebrate Jane
Austen's talent for expressing exactly what she perceived, making
this an illuminating companion to her novels. Although the book
follows a broadly chronological scheme, the letters are arranged
round visual themes, including the Hampshire countryside, social
life in Bath and London, domestic pursuits, paying visits and
travelling by carriage. The author, who was born in Jane Austen's
Hampshire village of Steventon, lectured on English Literature for
the Open University and the Oxford University Department of
External Studies.
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