We all know about the eighteenth century gin craze: how men and women of ‘the lower orders’ got completely rat-arsed. As Hogarth put in his… Read More »Gin – definitely ‘mother’s ruin’ as far as Judith Defour was concerned.
Today I am delighted to offer Naomi Clifford, one of my favourite authors who writes about life (and particularly crime) in Georgian Britain, a guest… Read More »Murdering your husband – but not getting away with it!
Spare a thought for the Old Bailey court officials in the Eighteenth Century, for theirs was not always an easy or pleasant task. Look no… Read More »Question: Was Sir Samuel Pennant a lousy Lord Mayor? No, but a louse may well have bitten him …
Spare a thought today for a young woman called Elizabeth Butchill who, on 6th January 1780, gave birth to an illegitimate child. Elizabeth Butchill had… Read More »18th Century infanticide: the sad and salutary tale of Elizabeth Butchill.
I am not quite clear why some villains manage to capture the public’s imagination as heroes, while others are treated as a thieving menace. Take highway… Read More »Sixteen String Jack – the making of a hero (John Rann).
“Rose, dressed and took breakfast and then ordered the carriage to take one to Drury Lane Theatre Royal. Arrived at three o’clock for the Royal Command… Read More »The Royal Diary, 15th May 1800
18th August 1720 marked the arrival in this world of someone born with not just the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth but with an entire canteen of hall-marked cutlery. His… Read More »Happy Birthday to the unlovely Laurence Shirley, Earl Ferrers, born 18th August 1720.