Dissenting Sociability and the Anglo-American Context: The Correspondence of William Ellery Channing and Lucy Aikin

£6.99

Symbiosis 9.2 117-34
Author: Kathryn Ready
Pages: 20

'Dissenting Sociability and the Anglo-American Context: The Correspondence of William Ellery Channing and Lucy Aikin' by Kathryn Ready, explores the rich correspondence between two prominent intellectuals of the early 19th century. Originally published in Symbiosis: a Journal of Anglo-American Literary Relations, this essay delves into the social, cultural, and intellectual exchanges between Channing, a leading American Unitarian minister, and Aikin, an esteemed English historian and writer. Ready highlights the significance of their dialogue in promoting Rational Dissenting sociability and examines how their transatlantic relationship contributed to broader discussions on liberty, religion, and reform. This scholarly work is essential for readers interested in historical correspondence, Anglo-American relations, and the history of religious and intellectual thought.

Essay Execerpt

"The correspondence of William Ellery Channing (1780–1842) and Lucy Aikin (1781–1864) offers an excellent opportunity for redressing this particular neglect. Channing was a famous American writer and minister credited with founding American Unitarianism and inspiring the Transcendentalist movement. Aikin was a respected Whig historian and English Dissenter who belonged to one of the most famous late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century literary families. In their correspondence, the two sought to recreate a version of the sociability that once flourished at the eighteenth-century English Dissenting academies. What might be called Rational Dissenting sociability was built on the principle of ‘free inquiry,’ which involved, first, the systematic and logical investigation of belief in the search for truth and, second, the tolerance of all reasonable views aimed at truth."