The Reading Lives of English Men and Women, 1695-1830 Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in the History Department, Royal Holloway, University of London 2012 Polly Elizabeth Bull 1 Declaration I declare that this thesis, presented by me for examination of the PhD degree, is solely my own work and where contributions from others have been included, they have been clearly indicated and credited. .................................................................................................... Polly Elizabeth Bull Date 2 Abstract This thesis examines the reading lives of eighteenth-century English men and women. Diaries of the middling sort and the gentry show that reading entwined daily routines and long-term aspirations. This life-writing also demonstrates that readers performed and contextualised reading within a specific cultural milieu. Finally, autobiographical accounts reveal that books could challenge or reinforce contemporary constructs of gender. These three strands of readership—self, culture and gender—weave throughout the thesis. The first chapter is an analysis of the expectations for ‘ideal reading’. Some advice literature attempted to dictate engagement with books, often warning of the ‘dangers’ of certain reading, particularly for women. While much historiography focuses on prescriptions of print culture, this thesis shows that practice did not live up to precept. Case studies of real readers present examples of proactive reading. A group of male ‘occupational readers’ relied on books for education and training, piety, sociability and the reckoning of financial accounts. Propagandist Thomas Hollis gifted books in the 1750s and 1760s in order to influence collective political opinion through the reading of specific liberty texts, chosen according to his conception of masculine civic duty. Catherine Talbot and Elizabeth Montagu devoted themselves to scholarly reading, which enabled exceptional authorial achievements in the second half of the century. From 1773 to 1830, Anna Larpent judged all her reading critically within a domestic setting, demonstrating an assiduous commitment to literary review. Finally, Anne Lister interpreted texts to reinforce her sense of social distinction and to facilitate her same-sex love affairs. This thesis provides critical new insights into the history of reading in the eighteenth century, showing that men and women, unrestricted by advice literature, hoped to gain a multiplicity of opportunities through active ‘reading for life’. 3 Preface I owe my first heartfelt debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Amanda Vickery. She has provided invaluable guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and ceaseless wisdom. Since I arrived eagerly upon Britain’s green shores, I have found her to be a source of tremendous inspiration both in work and in life. Her infectious passion and unquestionable brilliance as a historian have been marvellous to witness. Amanda has made me feel like anything is possible and she will always be one of my most important role models. I thank Professor Justin Champion, whose wise counsel has enriched my ideas throughout, and whose supervision in the latter stages of the thesis has helped to shape the final work. Justin introduced me to Thomas Hollis and generously lent me his Hollis microfilms. I have benefitted from Justin’s warm reassurance and assistance, especially in helping me to present my ideas more effectively. I am grateful to Professor Penelope Corfield, a true standard- bearer for the historical profession. Penelope’s brilliant lifetime work is an inspiration to all historians, and I feel privileged to have her as an academic godmother. I thank the History Department at Royal Holloway for awarding me with an Overseas Research Students Award along with a College Research Scholarship, without which this work would not have been possible. I am grateful to Dr Jane Hamlett, my advisor, and Marie-Christine Ockenden, for her tireless work in aid of the postgraduate community. Members of the ‘British History in the Long 18th Century’ seminar and the ‘Education in the Long 18th Century’ seminar at the Institute of Historical Research have lent helpful advice on my work. Dr Susan Whyman has always taken a kind 4 interest. Similarly, the History Department at Queen Mary, University of London has been very encouraging. I am thankful to all the staff at the British Library. Sue Hodson and Mary Robertson assisted me at the Huntington Library in California. Dr Elizabeth Eger offered guidance on the bluestockings whilst at the Huntington. I am also grateful to the archivists at West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale for direction on Anne Lister. I thank Dr Julie Clark at the Royal Veterinary College, who has been entirely supportive and flexible in enabling me to complete my thesis. I thank my friends and advocates: Cathy Machado, Dr Christopher Shaw, Kristen Thompson, Susan Ring-Harris, Marianne Frank, Hannah Chapman, Dr Davide Lorenzoli, Jaki Dinse, Helen Adams, Dr Larissa Allwork, Antonia Brodie, Dr Beverley Duguid, Sally Holloway, Tul Israngura Na Ayudhya, Mia Jackson, Dr Katherine Rawling, Beth Robinson, David Turner, Ya-Lei Yen and all my friends at the Oak. I am grateful to Richard Casey, who has been the perfect flatmate, and enthusiastic about discussing my ‘cast of characters’. I thank Rebecca Wombwell for consistent and heartfelt support. I owe a special debt of thanks to Dr Leonie Hannan for readings and for sharing her impressive historical wisdom and unwavering friendship. Melanie Buchanon provided loving encouragement and insightful conversations, for which I will be forever grateful. I thank my two oldest friends, Carrie Coates, for happy memories in London, and Minna Ninova, for readings and ongoing camaraderie. Finally, to my family, I thank Simon and Holly Bull for moral support. Sophie Bull, my closest ally, has always inspired me with her dynamic intelligence. Lastly, I thank my parents, Andrew and Harriet Bull. They have provided books from a young age, but more importantly, they have loved and cared for me from the beginning. I dedicate this thesis to them. 5 Table of Contents Abstract 3 Preface 4 Table of Contents 6 List of Figures 10 Conventions 11 1. Introduction 12 Sources and definitions Diaries Reading: Historiography, theory and methodology Print culture in the eighteenth century Gender: Historiography, theory and methodology Structure of the thesis 2. Ideal Reader 60 The context of education The prescriptive canon Men, women and goals of education History and language Pious reading Imaginative literature Science and philosophy How to read Conclusion 6 3. Occupational Reader 103 Masculinity, class and reading Access to books and genre range Scholarship, knowledge acquisition and politeness Useful reading: law books Useful reading: geography and history books Pious reading Reading lives and male sociability Books and money Reading of fiction Conclusion 4. Philosophical Reader 148 Thomas Hollis and the historians Virtù and masculinity Hollis’ ‘plan’ of readership Sociability, reading and distribution The ‘plan’ and the ‘gift’ Reading life and self-reflection Conclusion 5. Bluestocking Reader 186 Bluestockings and the historians The life of Catherine Talbot Times and spaces of Talbot’s reading Social pressure and gender 7 Talbot and Elizabeth Carter Talbot and the circulating library Flexible reading: intensive and extensive ‘The considering drawer’: materiality and review The life of Elizabeth Montagu Montagu and learning Women’s education Public recognition Piety and the bluestockings Conclusion 6. Virtuous Reader 236 Anna Larpent and the historians Pious reading The material book Larpent and novels Femininity, morality and authorship History, biography, politics and travels Periodicals and taste Reading as ‘therapy’ Reading, the life-cycle and domestic education Larpent as ‘author’ Conclusion 7. Romantic Reader 277 Anne Lister and the historians Accessibility to books 8 Reading routines The diary as an aid to reading Reading and class identity Authorial aspirations Women, reading, love and sex Useful knowledge Social pressure Conclusion 8. Conclusion 305 Bibliography 318 Appendices 343 9 List of Figures Appendix 1: List of contemporary publications used to study ‘ideal reading’. Appendix 2: Books read by John Marsh, as mentioned in his diary. Appendix 3: Reproduced sections from Thomas Hollis’ manuscript diary. Appendix 4: Reproduced sections from Anne Lister’s manuscript diary. 10 List of Conventions In all quotations from manuscript diaries and letters, the spelling and grammar used in the original source have been kept. In published versions of diaries and letters, I have followed the editor’s conventions. In excerpts from diaries and letters, words in bracketed italics are my own, unless otherwise indicated. BIWLD British and Irish Women’s Letters and Diaries Online BLARS Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service BOD Bodleian Library, Oxford BL British Library ECCO Eighteenth Century Collections Online HL Huntington Library, California LA Lincolnshire Archives MRCL Manchester Room at City Library NRO Norfolk Record Office OED Oxford English Dictionary: also online ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: also online. SHC Somerset Heritage Centre WYAS West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale 11 Chapter One: Introduction Chapter One Introduction Reading experiences shaped the lives of literate men and women in the long eighteenth century. The middling sort and the gentry relied on books on a daily basis.