fashionable society

No doubt readers readily understood it to mean young women entering fashionable society.

It was impossible to help laughing at the funny conflict between Laurie’s chivalrous reluctance to speak ill of womankind, and his very natural dislike of the unfeminine folly of which fashionable society showed him many samples.

“Socialite” is defined as a “person well known in fashionable society who is fond of social activities and entertainment.”

Regency London was very gossipy, says Greig, whose book, “The Beau Monde: Fashionable Society in Georgian London,” explores the celebrity culture of the era.

On June 2, 1790, the prince sponsored a benefit concert for Bridgetower and another young artist at the Hanover Square Rooms, the premier concert venue for fashionable society.