Episode 48: The Thing About the Meryton Assembly

It's dancing time! This week we are covering the origins of public assemblies before taking a look at the Meryton assembly scene in Pride and Prejudice. If you have ever wished your bestie would just let you sit one out, this episode is for you.

Select Sources

• Castelow, Ellen. “Assembly Rooms.” Historic UK. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Assembly-Rooms/.

• Chamber, Ephriam. Cyclopedia: Or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. London, 1728.

• Girouard, Mark. The English Town: A History of Urban Life. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_English_Town/ny2HA2-ZHpEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=assemblies.

• Kingsbury, Pamela D. “Assembly Rooms.” In Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T004633.

• Ray, Joan Klingel. “Do Elizabeth and Darcy Really Improve ‘on Acquaintance’?” Persuasions 35 (2013): 34–49.

• Richardson, Kristen. The Season: A Social History of the Debutante. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2020. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Season_A_Social_History_of_the_Debut/WPuKDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.