The Secret History of Georgian London

Belle de Jour for the 18th century. Funny, fantastical, full of impossible facts and scandalous stories. Scholarly, but also the ideal stocking (and suspender) filler – Jeanette Winterson * Guardian *I heartily recommend this scholarly romp through the bordellos, inns and prisons of Henry Fielding’s and John Wilkes’s London – A.N. Wilson * Reader’s Digest *Fascinating … Cruickshank removes the bland façade to expose one of London’s biggest and most lively industries - its trade in sex … a lively and scholarly panorama of Georgian London before the sex trade was chased underground by the Victorians and we all became prudish instead * Daily Mail *This is a colossal melting pot of a book: ambitious, rigorously researched, vigorously narrated and marvellously illustrated. All of life is here, but not as we know it * Sunday Times *The author paints an illuminating, eye-opening and generous account of the capital’s courtesans, harlots, bath-houses and brothels. A book to read by the light of a flickering candle – Nigel Slater * Telegraph *Dan Cruickshank enters this world with relish … the book’s capaciousness and breadth is tremendous, providing much to fascinate, provoke and inform * Country Life *An original and engaging history of the capital … Cruickshank pieces together [the] evidence with meticulous care to create a compelling portrait * Sunday Telegraph *Richly informative …This is a monumental work which leaves no stone unturned in its quest to create a full and brutally honest picture of the lives of Georgian London’s dispossessed … The result is a broad panorama and a compelling thesis which can be considered a commendable contribution to scholarship, as well as a gripping read * BBC History Magazine *Engagingly and comprehensively assembled. Dan Cruickshank is a humane guide … His relish for the subject is clear but so too is his understanding of the harsh price often exacted * Literary Review *Cruickshank brilliantly sketches the wild whirligig of drunkenness, debauchery, theft, exploitation, merriness, subversion, corruption, lust, fantasy, violence, disease, starvation and early death * Telegraph *

Dan Cruickshank is an architectural historian and television presenter. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a member of the Executive Committee of the Georgian Group, and on the Architectural Panel of the National Trust. His recent work includes the television programmes and accompanying books Around the World in 80 Treasures (2005) and Dan Cruickshank’s Adventures in Architecture (2008). He lives in Spitalfields, London.