Table Of Content“Loneliness is one of the most intriguing and relatively recent additions to the study of
the history of emotion, with ramifcations both past and present. This ambitious collec-
tion signifcantly advances the subject, by examining intellectual, social and geographical
contexts with a number of imaginative chapters, from the early modern period until
recent times. The result captures important current fndings while encouraging further
analysis, including comparative work—just what a compendium of this sort should do.”
Peter N. Stearns, George Mason University, USA
THE ROUTLEDGE
HISTORY OF LONELINESS
The Routledge History of Loneliness takes a multidisciplinary approach to the history of a modern
emotion, exploring its form and development across cultures from the seventeenth century to
the present.
Bringing together thirty scholars from various disciplines, including history, anthropology,
philosophy, literature and art history, the volume considers how loneliness was represented in
art and literature, conceptualised by philosophers and writers and described by people in their
personal narratives. It considers loneliness as a feeling so often defined in contrast to sociability
and affective connections, particularly attending to loneliness in relation to the family, household
and community. Acknowledging that loneliness is a relatively novel term in English, the book
explores its precedents in ideas about solitude, melancholy and nostalgia, as well as how it might
be considered in cross-cultural perspectives.
With wide appeal to students and researchers in a variety of subjects, including the history of
emotions, social sciences and literature, this volume brings a critical historical perspective to an
emotion with contemporary significance.
Katie Barclay is Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions
and Head of Historical and Classical Studies, University of Adelaide. She writes widely on the
history of emotions, gender and family life.
Elaine Chalus is Professor of British History at the University of Liverpool. She writes widely
on 18th-century women, gender and social and political culture.
Deborah Simonton is Associate Professor Emerita at the University of Southern Denmark,
Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, author of A History of European Women’s Work, Women in
European Culture and Society A Sourcebook, and general editor of Routledge History Handbook on
Gender and the Urban Experience and Gender in the European Town.
THE ROUTLEDGE HISTORIES
The Routledge Histories is a series of landmark books surveying some of the most important topics
and themes in history today. Edited and written by an international team of world-renowned
experts, they are the works against which all future books on their subjects will be judged.
The Routledge History of American Sexuality
Edited by Kevin P. Murphy, Jason Ruiz and David Serlin
The Routledge History of Death since 1800
Edited by Peter N. Stearns
The Routledge History of the Domestic Sphere in Europe
Edited by Joachim Eibach and Margareth Lanzinger
The Routledge History of Poverty, c.1450–1800
Edited by David Hitchcock and Julia McClure
The Routledge History of the Second World War
Edited by Paul R. Bartrop
The Routledge History of U.S. Foreign Relations
Edited by Tyson Reeder
The Routledge Global History of Feminism
Edited by Bonnie G. Smith and Nova Robinson
The Routledge History of Emotions in the Modern World
Edited by Katie Barclay and Peter N. Stearns
The Routledge History of Modern Latin American Migration
Edited by Andreas E. Feldmann, Xóchitl Bada, Jorge Durand and Stephanie Schütze
The Routledge History of Loneliness
Edited by Katie Barclay, Elaine Chalus and Deborah Simonton
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Routledge-Histories/
book-series/RHISTS
THE ROUTLEDGE
HISTORY OF LONELINESS
Edited by Katie Barclay, Elaine Chalus and
Deborah Simonton
Designed cover image: John Atkinson Grimshaw artwork entitled Refections on
the Thames, Westminster. Iconic painting of the River Thames with the Houses of
Parliament © steeve-x-art/ Alamy Stock Photo
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Katie Barclay, Elaine Chalus and Deborah
Simonton; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Katie Barclay, Elaine Chalus and Deborah Simonton to be
identifed as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their
individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation without intent
to infringe.
ISBN: 978-0-367-35508-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-43757-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-33184-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9780429331848
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To all those who suffered loneliness and loss as a result of the pandemic
CONTENTS
List of Figures xiii
Acknowledgements xv
Notes on Contributors xvi
A History of Loneliness: An Introduction 1
Katie Barclay, Elaine Chalus and Deborah Simonton
PART 1
Representing Loneliness 15
1 The Origins of ‘Loneliness’, the Oxford English Dictionary and
Sir Philip Sidney’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia (1590) 17
Amelia Worsley
2 Polite Loneliness: The Problem Sociability of Spinsters in
the Long Eighteenth Century 35
Alison Duncan
3 Gender and Loneliness in Business: A Milliner and Her Agent in
Eighteenth-Century Southern Europe 48
Anne Montenach
4 ‘My Solitary and Retired Life’: Queen Charlotte’s Solitude(s) 61
Mascha Hansen
5 ‘I Feel as if Part of [My] Self Was Torn From Me’: Entrepreneurship,
Absence and Loneliness in Nineteenth-Century England 75
Andrew Popp
ix
