Overview

The story of Hester Thrale's life after her second marriage to Gabriel Piozzi in 1784, told through the letters she wrote to her daughter Sophia. The chance discovery of letters from Hester Thrale (1741–1821) to her daughter Sophia provides an opportunity to rethink our understanding of one of the key people in the life of the dictionary-maker and moralist Dr Samuel Johnson. Much-maligned after the death of her first husband for her decision to marry Gabriel Piozzi, an Italian musician and Catholic, Hester has often been portrayed as cold-hearted and lacking in the essentials of motherhood. These letters shed new light on her relations with her four surviving daughters (she gave birth to 12 children in 14 years). They also reveal her desire for recognition as a scholar and poet, and her keen awareness of her shortcomings. They provide a fascinating portrait of a complex woman, determining her independence and that of her daughters, in spite of family tragedy and vicious criticism in the press. AUTHOR: Kate Chisholm is the author of Fanny Burney: Her Life and Wits and Wives: Dr Johnson in the Company of Women. She has written biographical essays on the Burney family for The Cambridge Companion to Frances Burney, on Mary Wollstonecraft for Mary Wollstonecraft in Context and on her family's connection with India for The Last Bungalow: Writings from Allahabad. A former fellow of the Royal Literary Fund, she was the radio critic of the Spectator for 13 years. SELLING POINTS: . Newly discovered letters . New insights into Hester Thrale, a key figure in the Georgian world, friend of Dr Samuel Johnson and Sarah Siddons . A series of 16 miniatures by Sophia Thrale Hoare published for the first time . Commentary on the latest books, plays, actors and actresses, and singers . Political gossip from the period . How the Napoleonic wars were affecting local communities, and in Italy . A woman's fight for independence in the early nineteenth century 20 colour illustrations

Full Product Details

Author:   Kate Chisholm ,  Loren Rothschild
Publisher:   Kulturalis
Imprint:   Kulturalis
Weight:   0.520kg
ISBN:  

9781836360131

ISBN 10:   1836360134
Pages:   194
Publication Date:   04 November 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

(16 full-page illustrations of miniatures by Sophia Thrale Hoare) Foreword, by Loren Rothschild ‘Most affectionately yours’: Hester Thrale after her second marriage, by Kate Chisholm ‘Verses for Sophia Thrale’s Album’, by her mother Letters to Sophia from her mother, from early 1801 to 13 April 1821 Letters to Sophia from other correspondents: Samuel Johnson, 24 July 1783 Arthur Murphy, 15 March 1797 Maria Siddons, to Sophia and Susanna Thrale, 29 August [1798] Sarah M. Siddons, 5 September 1798 Sarah Siddons, after 7 October, 1798 Lady Eleanor Butler, 18 September 1808 Lady Eleanor Butler, 19 March 1809 Appendix: Letter to ‘Queeney’ Thrale from her mother, 27 August 1805 ‘Love and Reason’: Verses addressed to ‘the elegant Thrales’ Acknowledgements Family Connections Sources Index

Reviews

Author Information

Kate Chisholm is the author of Fanny Burney: Her Life and Wits and Wives: Dr Johnson in the Company of Women. She has written biographical essays on the Burney family for The Cambridge Companion to Frances Burney, on Mary Wollstonecraft for Mary Wollstonecraft in Context and on her family’s connection with India for The Last Bungalow: Writings from Allahabad. A former fellow of the Royal Literary Fund, she was the radio critic of The Spectator for 13 years. 

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions