Chelmsford Public Library

A great and monstrous thing, London in the eighteenth century, Jerry White

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 607-647) and index

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index present

non fiction

A great and monstrous thing

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810773256

Jerry White

London in the eighteenth century

"London in the eighteenth century was a new city, risen from the ashes of the Great Fire of 1666 that had destroyed half its homes and great public buildings. The century that followed was an era of vigorous expansion and large-scale projects, of rapidly changing culture and commerce, as huge numbers of people arrived in the shining city, drawn by its immense wealth and power and its many diversions. Borrowing a phrase from Daniel Defoe, Jerry White calls London "this great and monstrous thing, " the grandeur of its new buildings and the glitter of its high life shadowed by poverty and squalor. A Great and Monstrous Thing offers a street-level view of the city: its public gardens and prisons, its banks and brothels, its workshops and warehouses--and its bustling, jostling crowds. White introduces us to shopkeepers and prostitutes, men and women of fashion and genius, street-robbers and thief-takers, as they play out the astonishing drama of life in eighteenth-century London. What emerges is a picture of a society fractured by geography, politics, religion, history--and especially by class, for the divide between rich and poor in London was never greater or more destructive in the modern era than in these years. Despite this gulf, Jerry White shows us Londoners going about their business as bankers or beggars, reveling in an enlarging world of public pleasures, indulging in crimes both great and small--amidst the tightening sinews of power and regulation, and the hesitant beginnings of London democracy."--Publisher's website

Preface -- Introduction: London 1700-1708 -- Part 1: City. I. James Gibbs's London, 1708-54. The architect most in vogue : James Gibbs, 'A kind of monster' : growing London, 1720-54, Obstructions and inconveniences : changing London, 1700-54, ; II. Robert Adam's London, 1754-99 49. 'A kind of revolution' : Robert Adam, 'We have done great things' : improving London, 1754-99, The mad spirit of building : London growing, 1754-99, 'An epitome of a great nation' : London, 1799 -- Part 2: People. III. Samuel Johnson's London : Britons. 'London is their north-star' : provincial Londoners, 'Men very fit for business' : north Britons, 'Within the sound of Bow Bell' : Cockneys and citizens, 'A very neat first floor' : living and dying, 'Take or give the wall' : getting on together ; IV. Ignatius Sancho's London : citizens of the world. 'Our unfortunate colour' : Black Londoners, 'Foreign varlets' : Europeans and some others, 'Offscourings of humanity' : Jewish Londoners, 'Get up, you Irish Papist bitch' : Irish Londoners -- Part 3: Work. V. William Beckford's London : commerce. 'That which makes London to be London' : trade, 'Most infamous sett of gamblers' : money matters, 'They swim into the shops by shoals' : retail, 'Clean your honour's shoes' : streets ; VI. Francis Place's London : industry and labour. 'Minute movement and miraculous weight' : made in London, Fellowship porters, lumpers and snuffle-hunters : moving things around, High life below stairs : domestic service, 'At the eve of a Civil War' : masters and men ; VII. Eliza Haywood's London : print, pictures and the professions. 'Purse-proud title page mongers' : the business of words, 'Overburdened with practitioners' : print and the professions, 'Painting from beggars' : the business of pictures -- Part 4: Culture. VIII. Teresa Cornelys's London : public pleasures. 'High lords, deep statesmen, dutchesses and whores' : Carlisle House, 'Down on your knees' : the stage, 'Sights and monsters' : the lions of London, No equal in Europe : pleasure gardens, 'Too busy with Madam Geneva' : drinking and socialising, 'This extravagant itch of gaming' ; IX Martha Stracey's London : prostitution. 'How do you do Brother Waterman?' : prostitutes, 'The whoring rage came upon me': men and prostitution, 'damn your twenty pound note': fashion and vice ; X. Mary Young's London : crime and violence. The republic of thieves: plebeian crime, Virtue overborn by temptation : genteel crime, 'Save me Woody' : violence -- Part 5: Power. XI. The Fieldings' London : police, prison and punishment. Mr Fielding's men : thief-takers, 'Pluck off your hat before the constable' : the parish police, 'Hell in epitome' : prison, 'Low lived, blackguard merry-making' : public punishments ; XII. Jonas Hanway's London : religion and charity. Fear of God and proper subjection : charity, Nurseries of religion, virtue and industry : governing the poor, 'To resest ye world ye flesh and ye devell' : religion, 'No Hanoverian, no Presbyterian' : religion and politics, 1700-59 ; XIII. John Wilkes's London : politics and government. 'Wilkes and liberty!' 1760-68, 'Life-blood of the state' : city versus court, 1768-79, Not a prison standing : the Gordon Riots, 1780, 'I would have no king' : revolution and democracy, 1780-99 -- Afterword