Almack’s and Society
Turner describes how, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, this exclusive London club was presided over by a feminine oligarchy, equal in power to the Venetian Council of Ten.
‘Society... fifty years ago ago was exclusive,’ wrote Sir Walter Besant in 1887. ‘You be-longed to society, or you did not; there was no overlapping, there were no circles which intersected. And if you were in society you went to Almack’s. If you did not go to Almack’s you might be a very interesting, praiseworthy, well-bred creature; but you could not claim to be in society. Nothing could be more simple.’
William Almack, the founder of the institution that carried his name, was born William Macall. He had come to London during the reign of George I in the service of James, seventh Duke of Hamilton, to whom he was a valet. The story goes that on their journey south, from the Duke’s Scottish home, the party was attacked by highwaymen, and the faithful Macall risked life and limb in the service of his master.
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