England in the Age of Hogarth

By Derek Jarrett

Book Overview

Widely acclaimed when first published, this lively social history of Hogarth's England went into a second edition with a new preface and updated notes and guide to further reading. 'This panorama of eighteenth-century English life ... Methodists and melancholia, village cricketers versified to glory and homosexuals pilloried to death, he has an eye and a word for everything in the pullulating scene.' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Social history is ever flourishing, but the number of really original contributions is relatively small. Mr. Jarrett's book is one of this number; he is an historian of established reputation in general history who sets out to describe the eighteenth-century scene from his own examination of original sources.' ECONOMIST 'Jarrett's comprehensive learning, his graceful style, and his instinct for the telling detail make this an excellent book to dip into, to read in installments and to keep for reference.' NEW YORKER 'Jarrett digs deep into the diaries, letters, memoirs of the period, gives anecdote and incident as a counterpoint to the illustrations, examines the age's attitude toward children and education, the role of women, marriage, pleasures, politics, life and death ... A brilliant study.' LOS ANGELES TIMES

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300036094
• ISBN13: 9780300036091
• Release Date: September 1986
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 213 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating Social histroy of England

Most of us are familiar with the Political History of the 18th Century, which seems to be over-Romanticized. In this excellent book Derek Jarrett describes what it was like to be a Squire, a woman or a Child in this very rough age, by todays' standards. It wasn't like the Williamsburg Themepark at all. Described are how people from different walks earned a living, what they did for pleasure when they had time, and the Violence which seemed to permeate all Classes. Life was tough in the Georgian Age. The illustrations are almost all by William Hogarth who often showed the dark side of English Society of the mid-18th Century. Prints like "Gin Lane", "Rake's Progress" or the "Cockpit", show how rough life was, and go very well with the concise well-written text. The sources are all excellent. No doubt, the reader will come away with a new view toward the 18th Century. This book is accessible from everyone from the High School Student to the Scholar, and Jarrett writes in a way that keeps the reader interested. More Historians should write like him.