The Ephemeral Eighteenth Century

Gillian Russell is Professor of English at the University of York. A Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, she is internationally renowned for her innovative interdisciplinary research that began with The Theatres of War: Performance, Culture and Society, 1793–1815 (1995). She has pioneered field-changing new directions in scholarship – on war and theatre and on the study of sociability. Her books include Romantic Sociability: Social Networks and Literary Culture 1770–1840 (Cambridge, 2002), co-edited with Clara Tuite, Women, Sociability and Theatre in Georgian London (Cambridge, 2007), and Tracing War in British Enlightenment and Romantic Culture, co-edited with Neil Ramsey (2015).

• Introduction: 'all the ephemera of our lives'; 1. Accidental readings and diurnal historiographies: the invention of ephemera; 2. Making collections: enlightenment ephemerology; 3. The natural history of sociability: Sarah Sophia Banks and her ephemera collections; 4. Sarah Sophia Banks' 'magic encyclopedia'; 5. 'Announcing each day the performances': playbills as theatre/media history; 6. Transacting hospitality: the novel networks of the visiting card; 7. England in 1814: frost fairs, peace, and persuasion; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

'A comprehensive, interdisciplinary examination, Russell's admirable volume will resonate with those researching Romanticism, English literature, print and publishing history, material culture, and the history of collecting. Twenty-four illustrations; a stunning bibliography of collections, primary, and secondary sources; and a thorough index enhance the volume's significance.' J. Decker, Choice