'The reader of this stimulating and original book finds herself nodding in recognition as various pieces of eighteenth-century society fall into place: it is hard to imagine why no one had written such a work before … Naomi Tadmor makes the first significant advance in the history of the English family in more than twenty years … this is a breathtaking performance, both methodologically and interpretatively… Tadmor's scope and interpretative rigor will provide an important framework for all future explorations …' The American Historical Review

• Acknowledgements; A note on the text; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The concept of the household-family; 2. The concept of the household-family in novels and conduct treatises; 3. The concept of the lineage-family; 4. The language of kinship; 5. Friends; 6. Political friends; 7. Ideas about friendship and the constructions of friendship in literary texts; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

'The reader of this stimulating and original book finds herself nodding in recognition as various pieces of eighteenth-century society fall into place: it is hard to imagine why no one had written such a work before … Naomi Tadmor makes the first significant advance in the history of the English family in more than twenty years … this is a breathtaking performance, both methodologically and interpretatively… Tadmor's scope and interpretative rigor will provide an important framework for all future explorations …' The American Historical Review

• Acknowledgements; A note on the text; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The concept of the household-family; 2. The concept of the household-family in novels and conduct treatises; 3. The concept of the lineage-family; 4. The language of kinship; 5. Friends; 6. Political friends; 7. Ideas about friendship and the constructions of friendship in literary texts; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

'The reader of this stimulating and original book finds herself nodding in recognition as various pieces of eighteenth-century society fall into place: it is hard to imagine why no one had written such a work before … Naomi Tadmor makes the first significant advance in the history of the English family in more than twenty years … this is a breathtaking performance, both methodologically and interpretatively… Tadmor's scope and interpretative rigor will provide an important framework for all future explorations …' The American Historical Review

• Acknowledgements; A note on the text; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The concept of the household-family; 2. The concept of the household-family in novels and conduct treatises; 3. The concept of the lineage-family; 4. The language of kinship; 5. Friends; 6. Political friends; 7. Ideas about friendship and the constructions of friendship in literary texts; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.