I have an interest in men’s clubs dating back to reading Around the World in 80 Days and The Time Traveler as a kid, and I have no idea why. Boys like clubs and clubhouses as a rule, I think, and the grown-up setting with serious talk and consumption of exotica like ‘mutton’ and ‘brandy’ fascinated me — and this has persisted through the years, with my loving books like the Black Widower series and anything on the Inklings. The Club was therefore of immediate interest to me, especially because of some of its personalities – Johnson, Burke, and Adam Smith. These were men whose professional interests and gifts cut across British society: playwrights, painters, literary experts, politicians, lawyers, and (in the case of Smith) creators of entire fields of study. Leo Damrosch opens with biographies-in-brief of the core members of his study before The Club was conceived and organized, which is interesting in its own right even before these strong personalities gather together and begin discussing politics and literature. Many of the figures were unknowns to me, aside from “I’ve seen that fellow’s name before, I probably should have an inkling of who he is”: these included Boswell himself (whom I know only as the biographer of Johnson), Garrick, a fantastically talented actor and director; and Sheridan. It’s safe to say that Johnson dominates The Club: regardless of the subject matter, Damrosch opens Johnson’s Dictionary to see how his definitions of a subject reflected his views therein. The members of the Club were not uniform in their tastes or political persuasions, which made for an interesting chapter on the Club in the dawn of English empire, and because of the range of their professions, readers are treated to an enormous variety of subjects. We learn about the 18th century theater, Scottish romanticism, the birth of economics, etc. There’s a great deal of historical detail encountered here that I was otherwise unaware of, like the fact that whisky had not yet made it into England, or the fact that Shakespeare editions were so adulterated and edited that even veteran actors didn’t recognize large parts of the originals when they encountered them. This is a girthy but interesting dive into the mid-late 18th century, and has some good-quality prints throughout as well as a fetching cover.
Reading Freely 
Interesting. I think this, or something very much like it, is on my Wish List. The 18th century was a very interesting time! The beginning of so much that made we world we live in today.
It’s one I need to spend more time in — my ignorance of Johnson’s works is appalling. I’ve got another history book coming up Saturday, I think, or perhaps tomorrow depending on how the last hundred pages go. Care you reccommend anything on Britbox? I subscribed to watch British movies, but so far just keep re-watching series I already know and love — Vicar of Dibley, Downton, etc.
My knowledge of the UK in the 17th & 18th centuries is a bit thin apart from (probably) the Civil Wars which we studied in school and I’ve read a *bit* on since. It’s one area where I need to focus on a bit/lot more. My main focus (as you can probably tell) is the 19th & 20th centuries where I feel most comfortable.
What kind of thing are you looking for on Britbox? Are you looking simply to be entertained or are you looking to try to understand us Brits? I couldn’t advise you on much new stuff (not having had a TV for years now) but I might be able to give you some pointers on more classic TV and movies.
Oh, definitely entertainment. Finding series is easy, but a few years ago I found a DVD that had four British comedies and four British dramas on it, and it gave me some movies I’d have never encountered otherwise. “Tom and Viv”, ”Mrs Brown”, “The Englishmen Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain”, “An Ideal Husband”, etc.
Off the top of my head I can suggest you check out – if you haven’t already:
Spooks
1990
Reilly, Ace of Spies
Sherlock
For movies I can recommend:
Attack the Block
If…
Quadrophenia
The Red Shoes
A Matter of Life and Death
Zulu
Children of Men
Get Carter
Dog Soldiers
Blithe Spirit
I’ve only watched “Zulu” from those, I think, and only heard of “Get Carter”. Will check out the rest! Wound up starting series 2 of Vicar of Dibley last night. It hasn’t gotten old in the least, even the running jokes like Trout’s “No-no-no-no”..
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