This series of original case studies, focusing on the proceedings and wider diplomatic significance of lavish banquets held across the period at iconic New York and London hotels like the Waldorf-Astoria and the Savoy, provides unique insights into the Pilgrims Society’s activities. Stephan Bowman challenges existing orthodoxies about the origins of public diplomacy and shows that it was only through the earlier work of semi-official organisations like the Pilgrims Society operating within a state-private nexus that greater governmental involvement in public diplomacy was legitimised.