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Article: Viscountess Eccles: an Anglo-American patroness of literature.
- Article from:
- Contemporary Review
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Contemporary Review Company Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MARY, Viscountess Eccles shared Dr Johnson's opinion that to be tired of London was to be tired of life. Each summer she would leave her home in New Jersey, and decamp to London. She would travel around the city, and elsewhere in the UK, maintaining her engagement with the community of Johnson and Boswell scholars. An energetic round of theatre visits kept her in touch with the latest in dramatic writing and performance. Visits took in her favorite galleries, museums, and, inevitably for a bibliophile of international repute, the British Library. Every year old friendships were renewed and new ones made.
In 2003 Mary's annual London visit was prevented by ...