Manners, Morals and Class in England, 1774-1858

215 Pages·1994·20.799 MB·English

by  Marjorie Morgan

MANNERS, MORALS AND CLASS IN ENGLAND,
1774-1858
STUDIES IN MODERN HISTORY
General Editor: J. C. D. Clark, Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford
Editorial Board
T. H. Breen, William Smith Mason Professor of History, Northwestern
University
Francois Furet, Professor of History, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences
Sociales, Paris
Peter Laslett, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
Geoffrey Parker, Professor of History, Yale University
J. G. A. Pocock, Professor of History, The Johns Hopkins University
Hagen Schulze, Professor of History, University ofBundeswehr, Munich
Norman Stone, Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford
Gordon Wood, Professor of History, Brown University
The recent proliferation of controversy in many areas of modern history has had
common causes. The revision of assumptions and orthodoxies, always professed as
the role of scholarship in each generation but seldom really attempted, has
increasingly become a reality. Historians previously unused to debating their major
premises have been confronted by fundamental challenges to their subjects - the
reconceptualisation of familiar issues and the revision of accepted chronological,
geographical and cultural frameworks have characterised much of the best recent
research. Increasingly, too, areas of scholarship have passed through this phase of
conflict and recasting, and works of synthesis are now emerging in idioms which
incorporate new perspectives on old areas of study. This series is designed to
accommodate, encourage and promote books which embody the latest thinking in
this idiom. The series aims to publish bold, innovative statements in British,
European and American history since the Reformation and it will pay particular
attention to the writings and insights of younger scholars on both sides of the
Atlantic.
Manners, Morals
and Class in England,
1774-1858
Marjorie Morgan
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
tt
© Marjorie Morgan 1994
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of
this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or
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or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
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claims for damages.
First published in Great Britain 1994 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
ISBN 0-333-57223-8
Printed in Hong Kong
First published in the United States of America 1994 by
Scholarly and Reference Division,
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 0-312-10584-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Morgan, Marjorie.
Manners, morals, and class in England, 1774-1858 / Marjorie
Morgan,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-312-10584-3
1. England—Social life and customs—19th century. 2. England-
-Social life and customs—18th century. 3. Social classes—England-
-History. 4. England—Moral conditions. I. Title.
DA533.M74 1994
395,.0942,09034—dc20 93-5864
CIP
For my parents
Leonard and Carolyn Lustick

Contents
List of Plates ix
Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
1. Courtesy, Conduct and Etiquette: An Overview 8
Courtesy Books 9
Conduct Books 12
Etiquette Books 19
The Problem of Influence: Print, Cities, Fashion and
'Society' 32
Print 33
Cities 42
Fashion and 'Society' 51
Conduct as Antidote to Influence 59
Personal Influence 60
Character 62
Sincerity 69
The Paradox of Sincerity 78
The Triumph of Etiquette 87
Social Mobility 91
Impersonality 95
Reputation 100
Protean Identity 106
Deception 109
Vlll Contents
5. Reconciliation and Resolution: Etiquette, Ethics and
Professionalisation 119
Etiquette and Ethics 120
Professionalisation 132
Conclusion 146
Notes 149
Bibliography 176
Index 192
List of Plates
1 Edward Archer by Robert Pine, 1782 (courtesy of the Royal College
of Physicians of London)
2 John Hunter by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1786 (reproduced by kind
permission of the President and Council of the Royal College of
Surgeons of England)
3 Medical Dispatch, or Doctor Doubledose Killing Two Birds with One
Stone, 1810 (copyright British Museum)
4 Ague and Fever by T. Rowlandson, 1788 (copyright British Museum)
5 Dangerous Practice by Arthur Miles, [1861] (Wellcome Institute
Library, London)
6 Visit by the Doctor by Edward Bird, 1809-19 (reproduced by courtesy
of Sotheby's)
7 Arthur Farre by Laverio Altamura, 1862 (courtesy of the Royal
College of Physicians of London)
8 Robert Hooper by Philip Reinagle, 1813 (courtesy of the Royal
College of Physicians of London)
IX