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Full Description
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.
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
