The Immortal Dinner: A Famous Evening of Genius and Laughter in Literary London, 1817

The Immortal Dinner was an entertaining and yet informative read. A broad reaching expose of the personalities who attended "The Immortal Dinner", we get to meet them before and after the event, as well as various asides with other important people of the day. I had no idea that Charles Lamb was so interesting- I feel compelled to find other material on him alone. It is obvious that the author felt a strong connection to these men, and attempted to undo some perceptions that posterity has left us. Keats described as "athletic...extraordinarily broad shouldered...Delphian priestess.." Huh. Haydon's self absorbed certainty of immortality due to his painting of Christ's entry into Jerusalem was sadly unrealized, made more profound by having the enormous work loom over the guests during the famed dinner. A thoroughly researched and enjoyable account. I highly recommend it.

Congratulations to Penelope Hughes-Hallett for coming up with a novel way to put together a book of historical subjects and reference--by narrowing her focus to one particular dinner, and the people who came to it, she can actually find more insight and give us a broader picture of her multiple subjects than if her canvas, like one of Haydon's, was big across as the River Thames. Haydon emerges as a provocative, vain, loveable and talented man with an incorrigbly high opinion of himself, a sort of rogue, but a heroic Englishman in the best sense. As other reviewers have noted, William Wordsworth--not usually a sparkplug of fun or dynamism--comes off terrifically well, perhaps he was a man at his best with a tableful of male peers and far away from the women who perplexed him so. I hope other cultural historians pick up on Hughes-Hallett's "meal" method and soon, perhaps, we will have an "Immortal Lunch" or "Breakfast" too.

On 28 December 1817, London painter Benjamin Robert Haydon gave a dinner party that he meticulously recounted in his journal. He called it "The Immortal Dinner" because the guest list, tone of conversation, wit and good time had by all fulfilled his vision of a good life lived at the forefront of high culture. The title could have lived on as a conceit in a footnote, except for Penelope Hughes-Hallet's resurrection of it and the event as a lens through which to view close-up the lifestyle, major players, watershed historical events and zeigeist of the era. This is an original approach to this kind of history, and while it does not necessarily reveal any startlingly new information, it refreshes it, making it vivid and accessible. Hughes-Hallet has a way with ordering her information, as well as a fluent writing style, and the result is a very enjoyable read. Haydon is a memorable character, a person of some talent and vision, whose ego, bad timing and money management woes blunted so many would-be successes. While he made enemies, he also made good friends, and his dinner companions included John Keats, Charles Lamb and William Wordsworth. Though all the characters are well developed, it is Wordsworth who quietly forms a keystone, much as he did in the quintet of major Romantic poets, throughout the book, the elder statesman who long outlives them all. I wish this had been around when I was taking British Romantic Lit in college; it would have made excellent sidebar reading.

The Immortal Dinner: A Famous Evening Of Genius And Laughter In Literary London, 1817 by British author Penelope Hughes-Hallett is a superbly crafted rendition of a legendary dinner party hosted in 1817 by painter B. R. Haydon, and numbering among his guests some of the greatest literary talents of the era: John Keats, William Wordsworth, and Charles Lamb. The Immortal Dinner successfully captures the spirit of that memorable evening, as well as the witty conversation, sober insights, and jocular banter that was exchanged about the topics of the day, in a party to remember. The Immortal Dinner is a vividly presented, unique and highly recommended read which is accented and enhanced with black-and-white illustrations.