This highly original study looks at rituals of sociability in new and creative ways. Based upon thousands of personal letters, it reconstructs the changing country and London worlds of an English gentry family and reveals intimate details about the social and cultural life of the period. Challenging current views, the book observes strong connections, instead of deep divisions, between country and city, land and trade, sociability and power. Its very different view undermines established stereotypes of omnipotent male patriarchs, powerless wives and kin, autonomous elder sons, and dependent younger brothers. Gifts of venison and visits in a coach reveal unexpected findings about the subtle power of women over the social code, the importance of younger sons, and the overwhelming impact of London. Successfully combining storytelling and historical analysis, the book recreates everyday lives in a period of overseas expansion, financial revolution, and political turmoil.

"Whyman's work is built upon impressive foundations. She has meticulously examined over seven thousand letters in the Verney archive, and constructed a formidable database...Yet, as valuable as her statistics are, Whyman does not allow the counting of subjects...to stifle the Verneys' story. She combines her quantifying with a subtle examination of context and enlivens the text with an eye for detail....Susan Whyman's superb study reveals a great deal about gentry life and should be read by anyone with an interest in England's transformation to modernity." --Victor Stater in H-NET

Offering a comprehensive model for the evolution of the European Community's monetary system and budget, this study outlines and discusses recent political decisions made by the Community and their implications for its future.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [261]-279) and index.

Susan Whyman was a visiting scholar at Wadham College in Oxford in 1989, and gained a Ph.D. in British History from Princeton University in 1993.

Part I. COUNTRY AND CITY NETWORKS

Introduction

1. Sir Ralph Verney: Networks of a Country Gentleman--The Gifts of Venison

2. John Verney: A Younger Son Enters the World of Commerce

3. John Verney: Networks of a London Merchant

Part II. RESPONSE TO LONDON

4. London Modes of Sociability: The Visit and the Coach

5. Choosing Partners: The Marriage Market

6. Party Politics and Power: The Verneys and the Temples

Conclusion

Appendices