Claire Harman
The Best of Friends
Hester: The Remarkable Life of Dr Johnson’s ‘Dear Mistress’
By Ian McIntyre
Constable & Robinson 352pp £20 order from our bookshop
In 1776, the brewer Henry Thrale made a gift to his wife Hester of six quarto notebooks, labelled ‘Thraliana’, in which to record ‘ev’ry thing which struck me at the time’ about life in one of the most troubled but interesting households of the day. Whether it was anecdotes about their resident friend, Samuel Johnson, or others of their circle, Arthur Murphy, the Burneys, Boswell, Garrick, stories about her beloved, difficult daughter Queeney, verses, asides or acerbic commentary on her marriage, the six notebooks soon took on the role of a much-needed confidential friend.
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