The Rhetoric of ‘Virtuous’ Fashion

Beschreibung

This book offers an annotated critical edition of The Mirror of the Graces (1811), a Regency conduct manual on fashion, beauty and morality. It shows how the author uses language and rhetorical devices to persuade Regency readers to follow its rules on dress and behaviour. It sets the work in Regency England and explores how advice on dress, cosmetics and deportment builds ideals of respectable femininity. The introduction and first chapter discuss fashion, social order, conduct manuals and the moral meaning of dress. A further chapter explains the editorial principles and compares the 1811 text with the 1830 Edinburgh edition. The annotated text is followed by a chapter on rhetorical argumentation and figures. Extensive notes clarify literary, classical and historical references and explain fabrics, colours and cosmetic practices. The book is a valuable resource for readers in fashion history, women’s and gender studies, English literature, rhetoric and material culture.

Margarita-Esther Sánchez-Cuervo is a senior lecturer in English at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, where she teaches literature and cultural studies. Her research explores argumentation and women’s rhetoric in literary, instructive and media texts. She has published widely in journals including Neophilologus, Feminist Media Studies and Transactions of the Philological Society.

This book offers an annotated critical edition of The Mirror of the Graces (1811), a Regency conduct manual on fashion, beauty and morality. It shows how the author uses language and rhetorical devices to persuade Regency readers to follow its rules on dress and behaviour. It sets the work in Regency England and explores how advice on dress, cosmetics and deportment builds ideals of respectable femininity. The introduction and first chapter discuss fashion, social order, conduct manuals and the moral meaning of dress. A further chapter explains the editorial principles and compares the 1811 text with the 1830 Edinburgh edition. The annotated text is followed by a chapter on rhetorical argumentation and figures. Extensive notes clarify literary, classical and historical references and explain fabrics, colours and cosmetic practices. The book is a valuable resource for readers in fashion history, women’s and gender studies, English literature, rhetoric and material culture.

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Margarita Esther Sánchez Cuervo

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rhetorical arguments women's fashion Regency period rhetorical figures recipes the art of persuasion moral codes literary analysis

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