Irish literary salons of the long eighteenth century

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Amy Prendergast (Trinity College Dublin)
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Introduction

Important literary salons began to emerge in seventeenth-century France, and their fame increased with the eighteenth-century hostesses, or salonnières, the Marquise du Deffand, Madame Geoffrin, and Mademoiselle Lespinasse. Throughout eighteenth-century Europe, literary salons played a major role in polite life, allowing writers and social elites to come together in mixed-gender gatherings, usually held in luxurious settings. In addition to their role in promoting elite sociability for both men and women, these salons also played a significant role in literary creation, evaluation and circulation. Salons flourished in Britain, and a key example of these were the London salons attended by a group of literary …

2008 words

Citation: Prendergast, Amy. "Irish literary salons of the long eighteenth century". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 April 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19346, accessed 07 October 2024.]

19346 Irish literary salons of the long eighteenth century 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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