Regency Radical: Selected Writings of William Hone - Hardcover

Hone, William

9780814330609: Regency Radical: Selected Writings of William Hone

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0814330606 ISBN 13: 9780814330609

Publisher: Wayne State Univ Pr, 2002

The English satirist William Hone (1780-1842) became famous for his brilliant self-defense and acquittal when tried in 1817 for parodying parts of the Book of Common Prayer. His trial for "blasphemous libel" went on record as one of the most hilarious in English history, but Hone's reform-minded contemporaries, including Keats and Coleridge, viewed it as an important battle against a wave of government oppression. In this, the first comprehensive selection of Hone's writings, David A. Kent and D. R. Ewen seek to expand our understanding of this writer, political radical, publisher, and bookseller as a major figure in the reform movement of the Regency period. Illustrated with over sixty woodcuts by Hone's frequent collaborator, George Cruikshank, this book reveals the writer's commitment to such issues as parliamentary reform, religious liberty, reform of asylums, and freedom of the press, while conveying the many dimensions of his humane personality.

Regency Radical includes selections from Hone's early radical writings, miscellaneous prose volumes, and letters displaying his amiable wit and engaging intimacy. The trials of 1817 are reprinted for the first time in over a century, and the drama of Hone's legal battle with Lord Ellenborough, Chief Justice of England, remains gripping. Reprints of four of Hone's most successful satires, including The Political House that Jack Built, appear along with Cruikshank's woodcuts to re-create the look of the original publications. The volume features an introduction, a chronology of Hone's life, a total of over seventy illustrations, and a selected bibliography.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Book Description:

This diverse and lively selection of William Hone's writings not only demonstrates his passion for justice and reform but also illuminates the political figures and social culture of the Regency period in England.

About the Author:

David A. Kent is a professor of English at Centennial College in Toronto. His edited works include The Achievement of Christina Rossetti (1987), Heirs of Fame: Milton and Writers of the English Renaissance (1995), and Selected Prose of Christina Rossetti (1998).

D. R. Ewen is a professor emeritus in the English Department at York University. He and David Ken edited Romantic Parodies, 1797-1831 (1992).

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.