The Victorian Clown
Ann Featherstone author Jacky Bratton author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:27th Jul '06
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£38.99(9781107666672)
This book, first published in 2006, is a micro-history of Victorian comedy, discussing the life and work of two professional clowns.
The Victorian Clown, first published in 2006, is a study of the life and work of two professional Victorian clowns. Their previously unpublished manuscripts - James Frowde's account of his young life with the famous Henglers' circus in the 1850s and Thomas Lawrence's 1871 gag book - offer unique access to the roots of popular entertainment.The Victorian Clown, first published in 2006, is a micro-history of mid-Victorian comedy, spun out of the life and work of two professional clowns. Their previously unpublished manuscripts - James Frowde's account of his young life with the famous Henglers' circus in the 1850s and Thomas Lawrence's 1871 gag book - offer unique, unmediated access to the grass roots of popular entertainment. Through them this book explores the role of the circus clown at the height of equestrian entertainment in Britain, when the comic managed audience attention for the riders and acrobats, parodying their skills in his own tumbling and contortionism, and also offered a running commentary on the times through his own 'wheezes' - stand-up comedy sets. Plays in the ring connect the circus to the stage, and both these men were also comic singers, giving a sharp insight into popular music just as it was being transformed by the new institution of music hall.
ISBN: 9780521816663
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 17mm
Weight: 560g
288 pages