{"product_id":"the-club-9780300251784","title":"The Club","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrize-winning biographer Leo Damrosch tells the story of “the Club,” a group of extraordinary writers, artists, and thinkers who gathered weekly at a London tavern\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A magnificently entertaining book.”—Michael Dirda, \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Impeccable scholarship at the service of absolute lucidity. . . . Learned, penetrating, a pleasure to read. . . . [A] splendid book.”—Joseph Epstein, \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Damrosch brilliantly brings together the members’ voices. . . . As this stellar book moves from one Club member to another, it comes together as an ambitious venture homing in on the nature of creative stimulus. . . . The best historians . . . invite readers to accompany them ‘behind the scenes.’ Damrosch does precisely that here, . . . [in] a book that sustains a shared conversation, a terrific feat in keeping with that of the Club itself.”—Lyndall Gordon, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Beginning in 1764, some of Britain’s future leading lights (including Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke and Edward Gibbon) met every Friday night to talk and drink. Damrosch’s magnificent history revives the Club’s creative ferment.”—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e, Editors’ Choice\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Engaging and illuminating . . . Damrosch is a crisp guide . . . He wears his learning lightly, and his sympathetic enjoyment is infectious. . . . In \u003ci\u003eThe Club\u003c\/i\u003e, as the actors appear one by one, surrounding Johnson and Boswell on Damrosch’s stage, we are transported back to a world of conversations, arguments, ideas, and writings. And in this vibrantly realized milieu, words rarely fail.”—Jenny Uglow, \u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A very readable introduction” – Emily Jones, \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review's \u003c\/i\u003e10 Best Books of 2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e’s Best Book of 2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e’ Best Book of 2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Damrosch has a keen eye for the quirks of character and provides an engaging, informative introduction”—Henry Hitchings, \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Damrosch's strength lies in the retelling of colourful anecdotes”—Jane Darcy, \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] detailed, gripping study of genius and geniality in 18th century London”—Alex Colville, \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Lively and perceptive”—Jeffrey Meyers, \u003ci\u003eTimes Higher Education\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This is a genial book”—Clive Aslet, \u003ci\u003eCountry Life\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] generously illustrated group biography”—\u003ci\u003eOldie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This book [. . .] does combine several strands of scholarship and literary investigation to create an entertaining overview of the world in which they, and others, interacted. Damrosch brings the different characters to life, revealing them as fallible but likeable human beings, rather than just revered cultural figures. More importantly, we get a glimpse of the enjoyment that they felt in one another’s company”—Paul Flux, \u003ci\u003eAlbion\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShortlisted for the 2020 Christian Gauss Book Award, sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa Society\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFinalist for the 2019 Julia Ward Howe award for non-fiction category, sponsored by The Boston Authors Club\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinner in the PROSE Awards Biography and Autobiography category, sponsored by the Association of American Publishers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFinalist in the L.A. Times Book Prize, biography category, sponsored by the L.A.Times.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The Club \u003c\/i\u003eis a stimulating and delightful work. The portraits of Boswell, Gibbon, and Burke are extraordinary condensations granting us accurate visions of complex personalities. Leo Damrosch has addressed himself to common readers with authentic gusto.”—Harold Bloom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Brilliant, lucid, and enjoyable . . . With perfectly chosen anecdotes, \u003ci\u003eThe Club\u003c\/i\u003e vividly evokes the period.”—Norma Clarke, author of \u003ci\u003eDr Johnson's Women\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Leo Damrosch’s book is an extraordinary achievement. A lively and engaging account of the coming together of a group of famously gifted individuals—the Club, a virtual microcosm of the vibrant world of mid-to-late eighteenth-century London.”—William C. Dowling, Rutgers University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49401561710935,"sku":"9780300251784","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780300251784.jpg?v=1730477807","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-club-9780300251784","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}