City of Laughter: Sex and Satire in Eighteenth-Century London

What a marvelous book! I couldn't put it down! Gatrell does a wonderful job describing each and every dot on the Cruickshank's and Rowlandson's caricatures. He goes deep into the relationship between the Regent, the aristocracy and the common folk. Very well researched study.

Benny Hill in 1800. We tend to think of the Brits as being rather prudish. There was even a play a few years ago -- 'No Sex Please, We're British.' We especially think of the days past when Jane Austen was writting her sexless romance stories that only a minimum amount of 'laying down and thinking of England' was done to perpetuate the race. Now comes Mr. Gattrell's book that blows that all apart. He managed to find some hundreds (at least) of graphic prints in the British museum that are more graphic than you would expect to see. Ribald is the word that comes to mind. Here are drawings of every aspect you can image. There's bathroom humor, sexual satire, everything you can imagine. Underneath the humor there is more serious research as Mr. Gatrell has used the prints to illustrate the climate of the times. It is a bit of scholarship not seen before and which may be used to increase our understanding of the times, much as the cartoons of Lincoln help to explain the background to our own Civil War.

CITY OF LAUGHTER: SEX AND SATIRE IN 18TH-CENTURY LONDON considers the presence and meaning of lewd graphic prints in early 18th century London society, and comes from a little-known treasure trove of such prints long held by the British Library. These prints held satire, observational pieces, and represented a changing sexual and social climate in the country: they are key to any in-depth, college-level understanding of 18th century London. Thousands of such prints of the era explore Georgian worldviews and habits in a book highly recommended for any in-depth college-level collection.

Gatrell seamlessly blends art history and appreciation with social history for an elaborate, panoramic treatment of the spirit of ribaldry and satire captured in numerous comic prints of the era. The author goes well beyond the best known satirical artists of Hogarth, Gillray, Rowlandson, and Cruickshank to include numerous others as well. (The treatment carries over into the early nineteenth century.) Nearly 300 of the prints are reproduced in color in varying sizes from full-page to one-third of the 5" x 10" page size. In this century of sweeping social change from the old order to a much more democratic society, the artists took full advantage of their new freedoms and the growing number of newspapers and other media including posters to portray the antics and vices of English men and women. No one, not royalty or high politicians, escaped the scathing portraits of Hogarth, Rowlandson, and the others; though many of the prints had generic characters such as lechers, lusty women, hypocrites, and drunkards. Pornographic and scatological material and illustration knew no bounds. Still, much of the art of caricature and satire had a moralistic or political intent. In the early 1800s, the "radical commentary turned solemn and earnest on the whole, as a new optimism about the prospects for social- and self-improvement developed." Democratic society had grown to understand itself, its potentials, and its desirable proprieties better. The Victorian era was dawning. Adulterers, drunkards, etc., were no longer to be simply ridiculed, but reformed. Besides, it was becoming increasingly risky to make merciless and often bitter fun of recognizable leaders of society--the legal and financial troubles of some of the satirists moderated others. But generally, as democratic, middle-class values and tastes spread throughout the society, the wicked satire which could send a heir to the throne into seclusion and evoke "wild, coarse, reckless, ribald laughter...was beginning to be taught good manners," as the novelist Thackeray saw. Gatrell is a professor of British history in England.

I cannot rate this book too highly. It is profusely illustrated with hundreds of caricatures from the period; it is well written, witty, and deeply informed; and it covers ground of great interest to anyone interested in the birth of our modern world, this history of manners, or the specific artists treated, e.g. James Gillray, Cruikshank, or Rowlandson. The book is a deep, social history of the satirical print in England from 1780 to 1830, following the winding routes by which laughter, public sexuality, ridicule, and free speech made their way into the 19th century. The scholarly documentation is formidable. Anyone with an interest in 18th or early 19th century culture will enjoy this book and find a wealth of fascinating observations. Of course, those who have a love for the artists themselves, will find this to be an inestimable resource! Particularly interesting is the treatment of 'Libertine Philosophy', and the fuzzy boundaries between the high and low-lifes of London of the 18th century when it came to amusement. Gatrell's discussions of the 'history of laughter', yes, it has a history, is brilliant. If you have ever thought about why some jokes are taboo, why laughing out loud can be wonderful or embarrassing, read on.