Meg Kobza for The Masquerade

"An excellent, highly original book using a fascinating range of sources. Kobza brings the masquerade vividly to life, in all its style and splendour."- Hilary Davidson, author of A Guide to Regency Dress

"Genuine Georgian glitz, plus genuine controversies, and genuine hard work behind the scenes-all here explored with admirable empathy and authority. Read on to learn and to enjoy."- Penelope J. Corfield, author of The Georgians

Glittering masquerades, held at the most fashionable London venues, dominated the calendars of the Georgian elite. A thrilling opportunity to gather, flirt, and consume, hosts such as "Empress of Pleasure" Teresa Cornelys welcomed the great and the good in elaborate costumes-including bear suits, harlequin outfits, or, in the case of Elizabeth Chudleigh, very little at all. The masquerade was a place of make-believe and revelry, and a party like no other.

Meghan Kobza invites us into these dazzling gatherings, and shows how they became a wider cultural obsession. Organised by wealthy impresarios, the masquerade allowed the aristocracy to flaunt their status and enjoy themselves behind the closed doors of opulent ballrooms, theatres, and gardens, dressed by an industry of ever more inventive habit makers. For the rest of society, the masquerade was notorious for mischief and misbehaviour, and a focus for voracious gossip.

Lavishly illustrated, full of life and originality, The Masquerade is a revelatory account of an event which captivates us to this day.

Meghan Kobza is a historian of leisure in the 18th and 19th centuries, and particularly Georgian costume, fancy dress, and material culture. She is the author of The Domino and the Eighteenth-Century London Masquerade.

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