Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Letters to Sophia: The Afterlives of Hester Thrale

Letters to Sophia: The Afterlives of Hester Thrale

Chisholm, Kate
Rothschild, Loren

Hardcover

Literary FiguresLetters & EssaysFiction Anthologies

Publisher Price: $20.00

ISBN10: 1836360134
ISBN13: 9781836360131
Publisher: Kulturalis
Published: Jan 20 2026
Pages: 194
Weight: 1.15
Height: 0.56 Width: 5.76 Depth: 8.75
Language: English
The story of Hester Thrale's life after her second marriage to Gabriel Piozzi in 1784, told through the letters she wrote to her daughter Sophia.

The chance discovery of letters from Hester Thrale (1741-1821) to her daughter Sophia provides an opportunity to rethink our understanding of one of the key people in the life of the dictionary-maker and moralist Dr Samuel Johnson. Much-maligned after the death of her first husband for her decision to marry Gabriel Piozzi, an Italian musician and Catholic, Hester has often been portrayed as cold-hearted and lacking in the essentials of motherhood. These letters shed new light on her relations with her four surviving daughters (she gave birth to 12 children in 14 years). They also reveal her desire for recognition as a scholar and poet, and her keen awareness of her shortcomings. They provide a fascinating portrait of a complex woman, determining her independence and that of her daughters, in spite of family tragedy and vicious criticism in the press.

Also in

Literary Figures

View All