This is a copy of the paper I gave at the British Association for Romantic Studies International Conference, 19 – 19 July 2015.
Robin Hood: Illustrating an Outlaw
Greatness vs. Goodness in Henry Fielding’s “Jonathan Wild” (1743)
In Henry Fielding’s novel, there was no difference between the great men in high life and those in low life.
The Worst Novel I’ve Ever Read: Samuel Richardson’s “Pamela” (1740)
I feel bad writing about something like this, like I’m betraying my eighteenth-century roots.
A Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode (c.1450)
“A Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode” (c.1450) is one of the earliest Robin Hood texts, and one of the most interesting.
Ben Jonson’s “The Sad Shepherd; or, a Tale of Robin Hood” (1641)
In 1637 Ben Jonson began work on a Robin Hood play, “The Sad Shepherd; or, a Tale of Robin Hood,” and presented an idealised, pastoral outlaw world.
The Downfall of Robert, Earle of Huntington (1598) & The Death of Robert, Earle of Huntingdon (1601) by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle.
Robin Hood first became an Earl in the 16th century; two relatively unknown plays had a dramatic effect upon later interpretations of the legend.
The Novel and 18th-Century Criminal Biography
The novel emerged as the dominant literary form in the 1700s, but one of its influences was the contemporary genre of criminal biography.
The “True” Story Behind “The Hills Have Eyes” (1977) | Stephen Basdeo
By Stephen Basdeo. In 1977, the horror movie The Hills Have Eyes was released, but it was based upon a 17th-century Scottish folk tale and was then immortalised in 18th-century criminal biography
Don’t Mess with an 18th-Century Poet…
Twitter spats between celebrities might be a common occurrence these days (ahem, Katie Hopkins), but public disputes between celebrities is nothing new.
Waverley Novel Illustrations: The Antiquary (1816)
The Waverley Novels were a series of novels written by the great Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). Amongst this series of novels were many which people today might recognise: Waverley (1814), The Antiquary (1816), Rob Roy (1817), Ivanhoe (1819), and Woodstock (1826) to name but a few.
Highwaymen as Heroes and Social Critics: “Paul Clifford” (1830) by Edward Bulwer Lytton
By the 1830s, the figure of the highwayman had almost vanished from Britain’s roads, but in a series of novels during the 1830s they were romanticised, and some authors adapted their stories to critique early Victorian society.
King Arthur; or, The British Worthy (1691) by John Dryden, with Musick by Henry Purcell
The ‘long eighteenth century’ (c.1688-c.1837) is not a period that people usually associate with medievalism…but the subject of this post is the play “King Arthur, or the British Worthy” (1691) by John Dryden and Henry Purcell.
“Bad” Prince John? Representations of the Prince in the Robin Hood Legend, c.1600-c.1800
Prince John is now one of the stock villains of movie and television adaptations of the Robin Hood legend, but this wasn’t always the case…
Eighteenth-Century Books
Every book which survives from the eighteenth century is a unique object, and likely there is not another one like it in the whole world.
Waverley Novel Illustrations: “Ivanhoe” (1819)
The Waverley Novels were a series of novels written by the great Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). Amongst this series of novels were many which people today might recognise: Waverley (1814), The Antiquary (1816), Rob Roy (1817), Ivanhoe (1819), and Woodstock (1826) to name but a few.
Waverley Novel Illustrations: Woodstock (1826)
The Waverley Novels were a series of novels written by the great Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). Amongst this series of novels were many which people today might recognise: Waverley (1814), The Antiquary (1816), Rob Roy (1817), Ivanhoe (1819), to name but a few.
Kew Gardens’ Imperial Connections
The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew were founded by Princess Augusta (1713-1772) in the 1760s. In 1838 a Royal Commission was set up to inquire into the future of the gardens. The Commission concluded that, after years of official neglect, ‘the gardens should either be put on a professional footing or be closed’.
Jargon of Men and Things
‘…every wise man would wish to absent from, rather than pay for a feat to behold, a mixture of noise, nonsense, and confusion. Amidst this jargon of men and things, thus promiscuously […]
The New Newgate Calendar
In the penny dreadful version of The New Newgate Calendar, scenes of the most sensational and sexual type were included for publication – torture scenes, nudity, and flagellation – and sparked a moral panic amongst middle-class press commentators.
“Robin Hood and the Duke of Lancaster”
The early eighteenth century was one of the best ages for satire. Writers such as Joseph Addison (1672-1719) and Richard Steele (1672-1729) wrote their Spectator and Tatler magazines to expose the follies […]
The Rise and Fall of Highwaymen in Print
In 1751 the novelist and Magistrate of Westminster, Henry Fielding (1707-1754) published An Enquiry into the Causes of the Late Increase of Robbers. ‘The great Increase of Robberies within these few years,’ […]
Jonathan Wild – London’s First Mob Boss
Whilst most people generally conceive of organised crime as being a distinctly modern, 20th-century, phenomenon, it has a longer history than first assumed. This post uses the theoretical framework of modern-day criminology to analyse the organised crime network established by Jonathan Wild in London in the early 18th century.
Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood
The folktale of “The Two Children in the Wood” has always been popular with audiences, in spite of its grim content, depicting as it does the death of two children. However, the legend became incorporated into the Robin Hood tradition in the nineteenth century, This post discusses why two very different legends came to be associated.
Robin Hood in Romantic Period Poetry
Romanticism was a cultural and intellectual movement spearheaded by poets, artists, writers, sculptors and musicians. Whereas in the eighteenth century men such as Joseph Addison (1672-1719) complained that rural people and provincial […]