English Language and Literature Commons^™

Cutting Edge Courtship In Eighteenth-Century London, Margaret E. France

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640-1830

In 1759, an anonymous twenty-two year-old woman placed an advertisement for a husband in the London Daily Advertiser that inspired an unusual sequel: a pamphlet purporting to collect her responses. Exploring the context of this woman's actions and the letters themselves reveals attitudes regarding matrimony and the dangers of virtual social networks that feel surprisingly contemporary.