This book re-examines spa and assembly culture as key venues for sociability in the eighteenth century.

Focused chiefly on the eighteenth century, this book looks forward into the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While many of the chapters concern aspects of the city of Bath, the book stretches beyond Bath’s confines, taking in comparative British towns such as Tunbridge Wells, European spa towns, such as Nice, and the impact Bath had on spa towns in America. The chapters not only reconsider familiar themes such as the marriage market but also offer new insights into the architectural development of the city and the role of Masters of Ceremonies: the officials who oversaw Assembly Rooms’ rules and culture. There are also insights into the musical culture of spa towns and the varied backgrounds of the artists and performers. As places that attracted the wealthy and powerful, the book rounds off with consideration of Bath and other spa towns’ importance as centres of culture and diplomacy and of their place in the tourist industry.

This accessibly written book appeals to a broad readership, including undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as academics and informed non-specialists interested in social and cultural history, British history, and modern history.