Talk Of The Town: Figurative Publics in Eighteenth-Century Britain
Files
Document Type
Book
Description
This study argues that in eighteenth-century Britain, the public sphere was a figure of speech created by juxtaposed images of more limited, local, and particular arenas of discussion. In letters, newspapers, and books, eighteenth-century British writers described the "public" qualities of three different spaces: court, coffeehouse, and meeting. Writers referred to the proliferation of these social spaces, describing multiple coffeehouses, drawing rooms, and meetings, among which the customary language of each was circulated in repeated conversations and printed newspapers.These multiple references created a set of interrelated, competing, and mutually defining metaphors and figurations: figurative public spheres.
ISBN
0838756727
Publication Date
2007
Publisher
Bucknell University Press
City
Lewisburg, PA
Keywords
Great Britain -- Intellectual life -- 18th century, Public opinion -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century, Press and politics -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century, Coffeehouses -- Social aspects -- Great Britain
Disciplines
European History | Social History
Recommended Citation
Dean, Ann C. The Talk of the Town: Figurative Publics in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Bucknell University Press, 2007.
