Literary Salons Across Britain and Ireland in the Long Eighteenth Century

Literary Salons Across Britain and Ireland in the Long Eighteenth Century examines the central role played by salons in the transnational circulation of ideas, goods and cultural practices. With its interdisciplinary emphasis, and a focus on archival research, the book examines how the nature of elite sociability changed during the period, exploring literary patronage and networks, material culture, and social transformations.

The celebrated salons of the Irish Bluestocking Elizabeth Vesey at Lucan, Co. Dublin, and Bolton Street in London, receive particular emphasis, as does that of Lady Moira in Dublin. These influential salons reveal much about the nature of elite society in the English and Irish capitals, while enhancing appreciation of the role of salon hostess as cultural intermediary. Also explored is the important contribution made by the salons to literature, antiquarianism, performance, and translation, together with the salon's role in creating and sustaining cosmopolitan networks and influencing intellectual debate.

Amy Prendergast is Adjunct Lecturer in the School of English, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. She completed her doctoral studies there in 2012 after being awarded a PRTLI Government of Ireland scholarship, and was subsequently the recipient of an Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship. This is her first monograph.