The talk of the town: figurative publics in eighteenth-century Britain

One crucial element in developing a republican government is imagining a public engaged in rational political discussion, says Dean (English, U. of Southern Maine). She argues that in 18th-century Britain, the public sphere was a figure of speech created by juxtaposing images of gatherings at court, in coffeehouses, and in Parliament--all arenas not in fact accessible to the general public. Distributed in the US by Associated University Presses. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)