Horace Walpole and Philanthropy in Eighteenth-Century England

In this talk, Dr Andrew Rudd (University of Exeter, UK) will explore the rich and exciting world of philanthropy in eighteenth-century England. The talk will focus on the collector and man of letters Horace Walpole (1717-1797), who was a generous, if sometimes eccentric, supporter of the era’s good causes. Walpole’s giving habits illuminate a thriving culture of charitable relief which still finds echoes in philanthropy today.

Andrew Rudd researches and teaches British literature of the eighteenth century and Romantic period. His monograph, Sympathy and India in British Literature 1770-1830 (Palgrave Macmillan), was published in 2011, and he is currently writing a cultural history of charity in the eighteenth century. This builds on experience he acquired as Parliamentary Manager at the Charity Commission for England and Wales before joining Exeter in 2013. Dr. Rudd holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, and he has studied at the University of Durham, Trinity College, Cambridge, and Yale University. He has held numerous fellowships (most recently at Yale’s Lewis Walpole Library and the School of Advanced Studies in English, University of Jadavpur) and speaks regularly at conferences, seminars and public events. Since 2015, he has been a member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Peer Review College.

Please note that Yale University’s COVID-19 visitor policy applies: https://covid19.yale.edu/visitors-policy.