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This small collection of letters was written by two very young women in Trent, near Sherborne in Dorset, in the mid-1720s. The letters shed vivid and unexpected light on personalities in and around Yeovil and particularly Sherborne, but also on local politics, the marriage market and, through the reports of her friends, on her contemporaries' seemingly much more attractive life in London, its music in the age of Handel, and experience on the very outskirts of Court. They were well informed about local society, but occasionally stifled by their provincial circumstances. Their ready wit, particularly in describing the men in their circle, makes their letters both informative and readable. Tim Connor is a local historian who usually writes about buildings, recently Mapperton (2021) and Wolfeton (2024). Published for Dorset Record Society (volume 24). October 2026, 186 pages, illustrated hardback, £19.95, ISBN 978-0-900339-27-1.
This small collection of letters was written by two very young women in Trent, near Sherborne in Dorset, in the mid-1720s. The letters shed vivid and unexpected light on personalities in and around Yeovil and particularly Sherborne, but also on local politics, the marriage market and, through the reports of her friends, on her contemporaries' seemingly much more attractive life in London, its music in the age of Handel, and experience on the very outskirts of Court. They were well informed about local society, but occasionally stifled by their provincial circumstances. Their ready wit, particularly in describing the men in their circle, makes their letters both informative and readable. Tim Connor is a local historian who usually writes about buildings, recently Mapperton (2021) and Wolfeton (2024). Published for Dorset Record Society (volume 24). October 2026, 186 pages, illustrated hardback, £19.95, ISBN 978-0-900339-27-1.