The Kit-Cat Club by Ophelia Field
The fascinating history of the male-only members of the Kit-Cat Club, the unofficial centre of Whig power in 17th century Britain, and home to the greatest political and artistic thinkers of a generation.
'In a general book such as this, with such broad general themes, the details matterHere Field has succeeded admirably. She has a native gift for historical retrieval so that we see the past in close-up, as it were, as well as in wide view.' The Times 'After reading this stimulating book, it is shocking to realise that the Kit-Cat Club has had to wait so long for its influence to be recognised. Field offers rich compensation , in a book that is both instructive and engrossingly readable.' The Guardian (Book of the Week) 'What particularly distinguishes this book is the humane perspective in which the writer places her protagonists... As an essay in group biography her book presents an authoritative portrait of a genuinely revolutionary era.' The Sunday Telegraph 'bold and hugely entertaining book" written "with wit and verve! Field's identification with the Whigs gives rise to some startling and maybe salutary rearrangements of the cultural furniture.' Standpoint 'highly intelligent! Field argues persuasively that the club transformed both politics and English cultural identity!' The Observer 'It is testament to Field's skill that the members of the Club come to life in such vivid and dynamic ways. There is a great deal of panache and pungency alongside the unfussy explication of the finer points of Georgian political intrigue.' Scotland on Sunday 'The sort of brainy, literate history that most publishers have forsworn. It reminds you of an England where values were not determined by retailers.' New Statesman Praise for: 'The Favourite: Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough': 'Scholarly, highly articulate, and above all never dull.' John Adamson, Sunday Telegraph 'The particular strengths of Field's book lie in areas unexplored by others, in particular the discussion of contemporary writing.' Carola Hicks, The Times Literary Supplement 'A profile of society's fear of forceful women.' Image Magazine "Ophelia Field has written an often engaging book, with plenty to say about the emergence of the Whig hegemony, and about the part played in this emergence by various members of the Kit-Cat Club. It offers interesting insights into the lives of some great individuals.' Henry Power, TLS "This enterprising club required an enterprising commentator, and in Ophelia Field it has found one. Her extensive -- indeed, exhaustive -- study covers everything from politics, wars, and international relations to literary, architectural, theoretical and social history, right down to the Kit-Cat diet of mutton pies, cheese-cakes, golden custards, puff pastry apple tarts, rose-water codling and so on (explaining the stoutness of some of it's members), and prodigious quantities of alcohol including Vanburgh's special punch.' Patricia Craig. The Irish Times
Ophelia Field was educated at Christ Church, Oxford and the London School of Economics. She has worked for a variety of refugee and human rights organisations for many years and is the Director of the Writers in Prison Programme at the English Centre of PEN. Ophelia is the author of The Favourite: Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and has written for the TLS, Literary Review and Sunday Telegraph. Her work on the Kit-Cat Club was awarded the inaugural Elizabeth Longford grant for biographical research in 2003.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780007178926 |
| ISBN 10 | 0007178921 |
| Title | The Kit-Cat Club |
| Author | Ophelia Field |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Year published | 2008-07-01 |
| Number of pages | 544 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |