One of the many aspects of London that never failed to attract comment from foreign visitors in the late 18th and early nineteenth 19th was the Clubland that sprouted along Pall Mall and St James’s. Paris and Vienna had nothing like it. From its foundation in 1764, Brooks’s was accepted as one of the most important manifestations of this new form of London living. From its inception, its membership drew on some of England’s wealthiest and most influential families. From its inception, too, the Club had a distinct political flavour. Although Brooks’s was never exclusively Whig, or later Foxite, anyone with a predilection for those political brands would certainly have felt at home there.

To celebrate Brooks’s 250th anniversary, this beautiful commemorative volume looks afresh at some historical aspects and the architecture of the club, and presents much original research, including essays on the club’s archives – among the most complete in Clubland – and an illustrated catalogue of the important collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and prints, including the pictures on loan from the Society of Dilettanti.