Eighteenth Century Vignettes

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dobson, Austin, 1840-1921

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Other Title:

18th Century Vignettes

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Eighteenth Century Vignettes" by Austin Dobson is a collection of historical essays written in the late 19th century. The work presents a series of episodic portraits and reflections on significant figures and events of the 18th century, blending fact with a light degree of narrative elaboration. This compilation aims to capture the essence of the era, focusing on both personal stories and broader cultural moments that shaped the time. The opening portion of the book introduces the reader to a scene from 1708 involving Captain Richard Steele and his wife, Mary Scurlock Steele. The narrative describes a moment of impatience experienced by Mrs. Steele as she awaits her husband in a coach outside Lord Sunderland's office in Whitehall. The text paints a vivid picture of their marriage, highlighting Steele's charming yet tumultuous nature, conflicts over his frequent absences from home, and Mrs. Steele's wrestling emotions. Through letters exchanged between the couple, we gain insights into their relationship dynamics, revealing both affection and underlying tensions that characterize their life together in a bustling 18th century London. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

Preface to the first edition of 1892

Eighteenth century vignettes

Prior's 'Kitty'

Spence's 'Anecdotes'

Captain Coram's charity

'The female Quixote'

Fielding's 'Voyage to Lisbon'

Hanway's travels

A garret in Gough Square

Hogarth's Sigismunda

'The citizen of the world'

The old London bookseller

Gray's library

The new Chesterfield

A day at Strawberry Hill

Goldsmith's library

In Cowper's arbour

The Quaker of art

Bewick's tailpieces

A German in England

Old Vauxhall Gardens

At Leicester Fields.

Credits:

Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the Internet Archive

Notes:

Reading ease score: 61.2 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2015-03-13