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Dinner with Joseph Johnson

Books and Friendship in a Revolutionary Age
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( 74 ratings, 15 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Dinner with Joseph Johnson by Daisy Hay delves into the intriguing world of the 18th-century publisher Joseph Johnson. The book explores his influence in the literary and political arenas of his time, bringing light to his intimate dinner gatherings that served as a melting pot for revolutionary ideas. Through rich storytelling, the narrative intimately introduces readers to the remarkable personalities he dined with, shaping the landscape of literature and thought.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by the vibrant literary and political circles of 18th-century London. With engaging narratives, it illuminates the life of a bookseller and publisher who influenced major thinkers of his time, offering a captivating glimpse into the history of ideas and friendship.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A portrait of a radical age via the writers who gather around a publisher's dining table - from William Wordsworth to Mary Wollstonecraft.

Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize

In late eighteenth-century London, a group of extraordinary people gathered around a dining table once a week.

The host was Joseph Johnson, publisher and bookseller, and he was joined at dinner by a shifting constellation of great minds including William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Henry Fuseli, Anna Barbauld, and Mary Wollstonecraft.

Johnson's years as a maker of books saw profound change in Britain and abroad. In this remarkable portrait of a revolutionary age, Daisy Hay captures a changing nation through the stories of the men and women who wrote it into being, and whose ideas still influence us today.

'Rich in period and personal detail' - Guardian

'Hugely engrossing' - Sunday Times

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Daisy Hay's Dinner with Joseph Johnson is lauded for its meticulous research and rich detail, bringing to life the vibrant cultural world of the 18th century. Reviewers commend the book for shedding light on the significant ideological context of the era and capturing the lively literary debates of the time. Hay's portrayal of Johnson as a brilliant talent spotter who nurtured the best minds offers readers an engaging insight into a transformative period.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781784701079

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 August 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 34.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 440g

Pages: 528

About the Author

Daisy Hay is an award-winning biographer whose previous work includes Young Romantics- The Shelleys, Byron and Other Tangled Lives and Mr and Mrs Disraeli- A Strange Romance. She began her writing career as a doctoral student and then a Bye-Fellow at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge before moving to Oxford where she held the Alistair Horne Fellowship at St Antony's College and a Visiting Scholarship at the Oxford Centre for Life Writing at Wolfson College. She has also held a Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard. In 2016 she was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize by the Leverhulme Trust and in 2018 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She is currently Associate Professor in English Literature and Life Writing at the University of Exeter and lives in Devon with her family.

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