Family and Friends in Eighteenth-Century England: Household, Kinship and Patronage
Cambridge University Press, 11/1/2001
EAN 9780521771474, ISBN10: 0521771471
Hardcover, 324 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm
Language: English
This 2001 book concerns the history of the family in eighteenth-century England. Naomi Tadmor provides an interpretation of concepts of household, family and kinship starting from her analysis of contemporary language (in the diaries of Thomas Turner; in conduct treatises by Samuel Richardson and Eliza Haywood; in three novels, Richardson's Pamela and Clarissa and Haywood's The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless and a variety of other sources). Naomi Tadmor emphasises the importance of the household in constructing notions of the family in the eighteenth century. She uncovers a vibrant language of kinship which recasts our understanding of kinship ties in the period. She also shows how strong ties of 'friendship' formed vital social, economic and political networks among kin and non-kin. Family and Friends in Eighteenth-Century England makes a substantial contribution to eighteenth-century history, and will be of value to all historians and literary scholars of the period.
Acknowledgements
A note on the text
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1. The concept of the household-family
2. The concept of the household-family in novels and conduct treatises
3. The concept of the lineage-family
4. The language of kinship
5. Friends
6. Political friends
7. Ideas about friendship and the constructions of friendship in literary texts
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.