The Use of Ships' Protests for Reconstruction of Synoptic-Scale Weather and Tropical Storm Identification in the Late Eighteenth Century

Ships’ protests have been used for centuries as legal documents to record and detail damages and indemnify Captains from fault. We use them in this article, along with data extracted through forensic synoptic analysis (McNally, 1994, 2004) to identify a tropical or subtropical system in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1785. They are shown to be viable sources of meteorological information. By comparing a damaging storm in New England in 1996, which included an offshore tropical system, with one reconstructed in 1785, we demonstrate that the tropical system identified in a ship’s protest played a significant role in the 1785 storm. With both forensic reconstruction and anecdotal evidence, we are able to assess that these storms are remarkably identical. The recurrence rate calculated in previous studies of the 1996 storm is 400–500 years. We suggest that reconstruction of additional years in the 1700s would provide the basis for a reanalysis of recurrence rates, with implications for future insurance and reinsurance rates. The application of the methodology to this new data source can also be used for extension of the hurricane database in the North Atlantic basin, and elsewhere, much further back into history than is currently available.

From the eighth to the eighteenth century : with an introduction on Talmud and Midrasch ; a historical essay

from the German of M. Steinschneider

Women in Eighteenth Century London: Female Coming of Age in Frances Burney’s Evelina, Cecilia, and The Witlings

The late eighteenth-century author Frances Burney is best known for popularizing the “comedy of manners,” a literary style later adopted by Jane Austen. Burney’s novels, journals, and plays offer an intriguing commentary on contemporary social customs and etiquette. In particular, she voices the concerns and desires of women, leading scholars to focus on the feminist overtones of her writing. Although she carefully examined female roles in the household and family structure, Burney also provided an insider’s perspective into London high life. As an acclaimed author and member of the royal court, Burney offers a rare insight into the lives of the urban elite. For these reasons, I have chosen to examine three of her works within the context of their London setting. In Evelina, Cecilia, and The Witlings, Burney examines women’s struggle for independence against the backdrop of the city. These works offer a new interpretation of the female Bildungsroman, or coming of age story. Burney shows how London life influences her heroines’ expectations, ambitions and desires. Evelina’s coming of age centers around the quest for family and social acceptance, while the two Cecilias of Cecilia and The Witlings confront the financial pressures that accompany their inheritance. Ultimately, the three protagonists learn important lessons that are specific to city life. Although Burney concludes each story with the heroine’s marriage, her focus is not on romance, as has been suggested, but on the cultural landscape of the city. Coming of age in her stories is inextricably connected to the diverse challenges and opportunities presented to urban women.

An eighteenth century miscellany; the classics of the eighteenth century which typify and reveal an era: Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, John Gay...[and others]

Swift, Jonathan. The Drapier's letters.--Pope, Alexander. The Dunciad.--Gay, John. The beggar's opera.--Chesterfield, Earl of. Selected letters to his son.-- Sterne, Laurence. A sentimental journey through France and Italy.--Walpole, Horace. The castle of Otranto.--Sheridan, R. B. The school for scandal.--Gibbon, Edward. Memoirs of my life and writings.--Blake, William. Songs of innocence and songs of experience.

The care of books : an essay on the development of libraries and their fittings, from the earliest times to the end of the eighteenth century /

Includes bibliographical references.

Interpleader in the High court of justice, and in the County courts : together with forms of the summonses, orders, affidavits, &c., used therein /

Mode of access: Internet.

Catalogue of a loan exhibition of Gothic, renaissance, baroque, eighteenth century and modern American tapestries,

Plan on verso of front cover.