Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2014 Brandy Nan and Farmer George: Public Perceptions of Royal Health and the Demystification of English Monarchy During the Long Eighteenth Century Steven Catania Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Catania, Steven, "Brandy Nan and Farmer George: Public Perceptions of Royal Health and the Demystification of English Monarchy During the Long Eighteenth Century" (2014). Dissertations. 1255. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/1255 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2014 Steven Catania LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO BRANDY NAN AND FARMER GEORGE: PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF ROYAL HEALTH AND THE DEMYSTIFICATION OF ENGLISH MONARCHY DURING THE LONG EIGHTEENTH CENTURY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN HISTORY BY STEVEN J. CATANIA CHICAGO, IL DECEMBER 2014 Copyright by Steven J. Catania, 2014 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the three and a half years that this project has been underway, I have incurred a number of debts to those who have helped me along the path toward completion. This support began at Loyola University Chicago, where both the History Department and The Graduate School provided me with financial support, not only for an extended research trip to the United Kingdom, but also conferences where I have presented parts of this dissertation. I also received financial support from the History Graduate Student Association that allowed me to spend extra time in the archives. While in London, I had the good fortune to stay at a Jesuit community. Through the generosity of Fr. Michael Kirwan, SJ, I was able to stretch my financial resources and extend my stay long enough to complete my research. More than just a place to rest my head, the brothers at Garnet House made me feel at home, and provided a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere where I was able to discuss my research, along with a variety of philosophical and theological topics. Without their flexibility in accommodating my scheduling needs, this dissertation would still be in the works. Also while in England, I had the chance to meet with Dr. Timothy Peters. Timothy and his wife, Judith, let me stay with them for a few days just outside of Chester. My discussions with Timothy helped clarify parts of this dissertation’s arguments, and he also recommended a number of archival sources I might have iii otherwise overlooked. I am grateful to them for their hospitality and willingness to let a then-unknown stranger into their lives. I spent much time over the last few years at archives and libraries. I have been helped by numerous enthusiastic librarians and archivists along the way. In particular, I would like to thank John Hodgson, of The John Rylands Library at the University of Manchester, and Vicky Thorpe, from the Gloucestershire Archives, for their exceptional assistance. They each pulled material for me that did not appear in the catalog, located missing files, and continued to follow up on my research, even after I left Britain. Their efforts allowed me to examine correspondence that proved useful in the final version of the dissertation. Closer to home, the staff at Loyola’s Cudahy Library have been very responsive to my needs. Particularly, I would like to thank Jennifer Stegen and Linda Lotton for all their help in procuring my numerous requests through Interlibrary Loan. Jeanette Pierce, formerly the History Librarian at Cudahy, was wonderful in procuring new works for the library’s permanent collection, in addition to securing subscriptions to databases that expedited the completion of this project. I am also appreciative for the efforts of Dr. Steven Ruggiero of the Physics Department and Thurston Miller, the Physical Sciences Librarian, at The University of Notre Dame. They were able to help me locate important primary source material on very short notice, allowing me to meet a deadline. Many thanks also to Tom Ancona, Victoria Forth, and Brandon DeLallo for their library assistance. iv The History Department at Loyola surrounded me with excellent resources and knowledgeable individuals. I owe many thanks to Dr. Patricia Mooney-Melvin, Dr. Kyle Roberts, Dr. Suzanne Kaufman, Mrs. Lillian Hardison, and Mrs. Patricia Clemente. They have all been great supporters of mine and have been willing to assist me with their time and patience while I’ve been in the Ph.D. program. My neighbors in the Classics Department, especially Dr. Penny Livermore, through their generosity, warmth, and willingness to listen made all the late nights of writing at the Crown Center a pleasant experience. Similar thanks are necessary for all the members of the Dissertation Writing Group and the English Atlantic Writing Group, who have read and provided valuable feedback on dissertation chapters over the last two years. A very large thank you to my drinking companions and colleagues at Hamilton’s, Edgewater Lounge, and Argo Tea: John Krenzke, Amy Oberlin, Pete Kotowski, Kat Latham, Molly VanDeelen, Ashley Eckhardt, Tom Juettner, Stella Ress, Susan Garneau, and Kelly O’Connor. They have provided sage advice, receptive ears, wonderful conversation, and plenty of entertainment over the years. Ken George, although not a historian, proved himself to be an excellent person to brainstorm with, and through our conversations, I was able to improve the overall structure of this project. Some of the greatest debts that I owe are to the members of my dissertation committee. Dr. John Donoghue provided helpful feedback during the process and constantly challenged me to look at new possibilities and connections that I had not initially considered. His efforts to help clarify terms central to this project, while increasing the focus on reader reception, rather than just what the newspapers said, has v helped me produce a more nuanced dissertation. Fr. John McManamon, SJ has been invaluable throughout my entire graduate career at Loyola. Through many meetings in his office and over meals, we talked through a number of the problems and issues that arose during the research and writing phases. Every time we met, he had helpful suggestions and was, without fail, a positive and supportive voice reminding me that I could complete this project. His comments, corrections, and ‘big picture questions’ helped me refine a number of rough drafts into a more polished final product. My supervisor, Dr. Robert Bucholz, deserves more credit and thanks than I could ever hope to express in this acknowledgment section. From the very first class I took at Loyola, he has challenged and pushed me to be a better scholar, teacher, and person. Although when he agreed to become my supervisor he downplayed the amount of time and assistance he would be able to provide, after seven years, countless office visits, and hundreds of pre-dawn emails, I can confidently state he went above and beyond anything that could be expected of him. His style of supervision was exactly what I needed: supportive, helpful, and encouraging, but still forcing me to tackle difficult questions and to ‘think harder.’ While I owe a great deal to Dr. Bucholz and the rest of my committee for all their assistance, any errors that remain in this dissertation are solely my responsibility. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to undertake this dissertation without the support of my friends and family. To my friends at Western Illinois University, especially Dr. Lee Brice and Dr. Georgia Tsouvala, I appreciate all the encouragement, from the day I showed up in an introductory Western Civilization course, vi through late nights on the Acropolis during study abroad, and down to the present day. My friends at the University of Chicago and from back home have always been supportive and provided a much-needed release from writing and researching. My family, including my grandmothers, Marge Ruffatti and Doris Catania, have encouraged me during the many holidays to keep plugging along and been two of the greatest cheerleaders whenever I achieved a new milestone in the program. My parents, Frank and Sharon Catania, have, without fail, supported me throughout the dissertation process. Although they, at times, did not fully grasp the scope of what I was working on, they continued to encourage me to keep researching and writing. Their dedication to my craft goes back to my childhood, even if they do not realize it. My father’s love of history meant that whenever there was a new museum exhibit or an historic marker on the side of the road, he would be there. And I was always along for the trip. This helped spark my passion for the field. My mother’s dislike of history provided me other opportunities to continue my intellectual pursuits, particularly through her affinity for mathematics. Through her countless hours of dedicated and patient instruction, I mastered the material that confounded me and saw, first-hand, the importance of good teaching. Over the years, both of them have read hundreds of drafts of papers and submissions, always seeking to help me put my best foot forward. Whenever I am in a classroom, talking to students about my own research, or reading through an essay, I see the results of my parents’ support. My brother, Mike Catania, has supported me in every conceivable way while I have worked on this project, but also since I entered graduate school for my MA.