'A most sociable & cheerful eveng': considering sociability across a female life — Elizabeth (née Wynne), Lady Fremantle (1778–1857)

This paper uses the life of Elizabeth Wynne Fremantle to consider the inculcation, meaning and uses of sociability across the life of a late-Georgian elite woman. It is a commonplace among 18C historians that men were civilized through socializing with women; however, little attention has been paid to how women became sociable and what part sociability played in their lives. This paper argues that sociability was the ultimate female accomplishment and that it was taught by immersion in mixed-sex polite society from a very early age. It was practiced and honed in adolescence and then used in adulthood for a variety of purposes: to create friendship and support networks; to forward family interests; and to pursue socio-political ends, including patronage. In old age, it was a source of happiness and support, warding off loneliness