HUMOUR, WIT, & SATIRE
OF THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d. each.
A HISTORY OF THE CHAP-BOOKS OF
THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
With Nearly 400 Illustrations Engraved in Facsimile of the Originals.
"Next to a collection of the chap-books themselves, nothing could give a better ideaof this branch of the popular literature of the eighteenth century than the volume beforeus. The author's hope that he has 'succeeded in producing a book at once both amusingand instructive' is fully justified; and his book is certain to remain the standard authorityon the subject, and to be consulted by every one who wishes to know what was read inthe cottage, and the roadside inn, and the village school in the eighteenthcentury."—Academy.
"Mr. Ashton knows his subject well, and gives us not only the quaint prose orverse and the still quainter cuts, but also all sorts of collateral information....The book is a delightful contribution to the history of literature."—Graphic.
SOCIAL LIFE
IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE.
With 84 Illustrations.
"Mr. Ashton has selected an interesting subject, and has done justice to his choice.There can be no doubt either of Mr. Ashton's diligence in collecting hismaterials or of his good sense in refraining from intruding himself unnecessarily upon thereader. We are grateful to him both for his industry and his reserve. Even a man who iswell versed in the diaries and correspondence of Queen Anne's time will find something thatis new to him in every chapter.... On these subjects, and on every curiosity of QueenAnne's reign, Mr. Ashton has much to say, and he tells his story with good taste andwithout unnecessary amplification. His volumes will serve a double purpose. They willamuse the ordinary reader of the day, and instruct the student of English manners inthe habits of a time which has never failed to attract."—Academy.
"Mr. Ashton has produced, beyond a doubt, the most accurate and readable pictureof social life under Queen Anne that has yet been published.... The book can beopened anywhere and read with pleasure and profit."—Morning Post.
"With commendable diligence Mr. Ashton has assembled a vast number of documents,advertisements, and what not, which he has skilfully grouped in chaptersillustrating the education, food, dress, amusements, science, art, and manners of the time.His book is, in fact, a valuable and trustworthy collection of mémoires pourservir. In these pages the reader may wander at will in that lesser London of which CoventGarden and Leicester Square were the centres. With Mr. Ashton's book all things arefeasible, provided the reader carry with him a decent amount of curiosity and a fairlygood memor