So, with that Jolly Clown who holds his own mini-clown (who is apparently dead), and the little pony behind them both, who is smiling vigorously, provoking the hurdy-gurdy sound in your head, there was a book that I also bought at That Other Shop (which also stands for the counterpart to Bookworms) with its version of Doc Brown’s character, the owner of the shop, Anthony.
The book is by Thomas Burke, a (mostly) Edwardian and quite well known at the time author of both fiction and non-fiction: the first edition of “English Night Life” was released in the middle of WWI, in 1916 (not the most joyous time in the literary history, but still). My edition is the second or third, was published in 1941 (not the best time for a bit of a skittish subject either).
Once Burke’s books were described as “wonderfully good things to read” despite all their discrepancies and inaccuracies: and so is this one, which is as eccentric as it is full of quite obscure yet vivid details of the night life of one of the biggest metropolises in Europe.
There are plenty of certain tongue-in-cheek elements in there such as, for example, inserting the old advertisements with unambiguous descriptions of what was going on behind the scenes:
“[...] at the Hummums in Covent Garden are the best accommodation for persons of quality to sweat or bath every day in the week, the conveniences of all kinds far exceeding all other bagnios or sweating houses both for rich and poor. Persons of good reputation [sic!-E.T.] may be accommodated with handsome lodgings to lie all night”,
which makes this book something of a Hogarth-like observation of modern (or not-so-modern) nocturnal British life. And the illustrations, of course! They are priceless as well.
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