Charleston County Public Library

City of laughter, sex and satire in eighteenth-century London, Vic Gatrell

eng

Includes bibliographical references (p. 605-669) and indexes

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

City of laughter

bibliography

76819022

Vic Gatrell

sex and satire in eighteenth-century London

"Draws on the many thousands of satirical prints of the era to reveal a startlingly unfamiliar London. Focusing not on the polished wit upon which polite society prided itself, but rather on malicious, lewd, and satirical humor, Vic Gatrell explores what this tradition says about Georgians' views of the world and about their own pretensions."--Front flap of jacket

Introduction: Lady Worsley's bottom -- pt. 1. The sense of place -- London and the pleasure principle -- 'The West or worst End' -- Covent Garden and the middling sorts -- Crossing the boundaries -- pt. 2. How they laughed -- Laughing politely -- Bums, farts and other transgressions -- Image magic -- Seeing the jokes -- Gillray's dreamscapes -- pt. 3. The sexes -- The tree of life -- Philosophy and raking -- What could women bear? -- The libertine's last fling -- pt. 4. The enemies of laughter -- Taming the muse: the long view -- The age of cant -- Radical satire and the censors -- The silencing -- Happiness, cant and the beggars -- Epilogue: Francis Place and 'improvement' -- Brief lives