The Covent Garden Journal--Then and Now and In-Between

In 1752 Henry Fielding began to publish, twice weekly, a periodical entitled "The Covent-Garden Journal". Although Covent Garden was formally recognized as London's theatre district, and informally recognized as the place to pursue less respectable pursuits, The Covent-Garden Journal was no more than a typical journal of the period, containing essays, literary reviews, news and notices.

Currently there is a Covent Garden Journal which covers all aspects of life in this trendy and popular district of London.

But in April 1810 was published the most interesting (in my opininon) Covent Garden Journal of them all.

This journal was written by John Joseph Stockdale and it was, according to the dedication, a "history of the most extraordinary set of circumstances that ever took place in a British theatre".

On the 30th of September, 1808, the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden--often simply known as Covent Garden theatre--burned to the ground. Losses were estimated at 150,000 pounds. Despite that enormous loss, the foundation stone for a new theatre was laid on December 31 of the same year by the Prince of Wales and, amazingly, on the 18th September 1809 the new theatre opened.

There were immediate problems. An advertisement prior to the opening listed price increases:

And the price increases, necessary or not, led to two months of riots. The Covent Garden Journal covers it all, in meticulous detail. And it illustrates the beautiful new theatre with the four impressive engravings reproduced here.

The Grand Staircase

Saloon

Inside, facing the stage

In addition to riots, there were court cases, Bow Street was involved and the city was in an uproar.

The OP (Old Price) riots were drawing to a close in December when the 'OP Dinner' took place. Mr. Kemble, the actor-manager at the helm of the theatre, was growing weary, and appeared after the dinner, to discuss reconciliation and future terms.

Mr. Stockdale, the author of this Covent Garden Journal, makes it plain he was disgusted by the price increases following the opening of the new theatre. And in his Preface, he indicates that he was told to suppress publication of his Journal. But he says he wished to "present the public with a strict, impartial and minute, history of their triumph and campaign". I think he did that, and it makes excellent reading for anyone interested in London's theatre history. The Covent Garden Journal is available as a free download from Google Books.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

Theodore Hook and the Berners Street Hoax

Theodore Hook age about twenty-two

Theodore Edward Hook was a talented young man. He was a success in musical and drama circles by age sixteen. By about age eighteen he had been noticed by the Prince Regent for his skill in improvising songs. He attended intermitently at Oxford but it was in London society that he made his greatest mark. He was a bon vivant, a beau, and a rascal, was welcomed everywhere and was long remembered by London society.

He looks challengingly out of this portrait, a determined chin countered by a full pouting mouth, dark circles of dissipation already pouching the eyes which hold a disconcertingly direct gaze.

Hook's career was vast and varied. The Prince Regent made him accountant-general and treasurer of Mauritius for five years. At the end of his career there he was held responsible for a discrepancy in the treasury accounts of 12,000 pounds. The debt and the subsequent cloud of suspicion followed him for the rest of his life.

Nevertheless he lived life to the full. He turned to writing. In 1820 he launched the newspaper John Bull; he produced nine volumes of stories from 1824-1828, and thirty-eight more novels and other works up til his death in 1841.

Amongst the things for which Hook was most remembered however, was his love of pranks, practical jokes and hoaxes. Wherever he lived, at all ages of his life, he could be counted on for foolishness. The betting book at White's Club must bear his name (I have not discovered if he was a member); and wagers must have been laid upon his japes. Stories of his most famous foolishness are contained in the 1883 publication, The Choice Humorous Works: Ludicrous Adventures, Bon Mots, Puns and Hoaxes of Theodore Hook, available as a download from Google Books.
Among the most famous of his practical jokes was the Berners Street Hoax in 1810. Contemporary newspapers were full of accounts of the event. It was a triumph of a joke, a masterful piece of planning, and even two hundred years later causes one to laugh.

At the time the offender was unknown, but Hook was many years later revealed as the perpetrator of the events, illustrated below. The chaos was apparently indescribable.

Poor Mrs. Tottenham must have been at her wits' end. She was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. And all because of a whim of Theodore Hook's.

The whole event has become legend, but the Museum of Hoaxes has a most complete recounting of the day.

A similar hoax was perpetrated only a month and a half later. The Examiner of January 13, 1811 recounted that story:

I wonder if Hook was responsible, or if he had moved on to other lunancy...

Theodore Hook must have known Scrope Davies, of whom he puts me in mind, and all the other notables of the Regency. His name is largely forgotten now, but he is a model for all Regency rascals, fribbles, and Bond Street beaus. You can read more of his life in the 1872 volume by Timbs titled Anecdote Lives of Wits and Humourists available from Google Books.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne

A Conversation with Regency artist Shakoriel

I had the opportunity recently to sit down and have a good visit with my favourite artist Shakoriel AKA Kat Aubrey, who is a writer, cover designer and an experienced editor, as well as an artist. I thought you might be interested in our conversation.

 Q to Shakoriel: You've been making Regency drawings, including the Fashions of Regency England Colouring Book, for a while now. What appeals to you most about the Regency period?

A: I've always been interested in costume history, so it's definitely the style of the era that attracts me most. I actually love both 18th-century and 19th-century fashion and how the two contrast--the former so decoratively ornate and the latter so classically simple. I'm also interested in the history and literature of the period--my favourite poets are the Romantics. So envisioning that world and how its people looked is very appealing to me.

Q: I have always enjoyed the artwork you did for my book covers, particularly Carolina's Walking Tour and Lost in Almack's. Do you have a favourite?

A: I'm fond of them all, but the early ones drive me a bit crazy because I see so many things that could be improved! I was very pleased with Lost in Almack's cover as well as the Three Wise Monkeys cover. I also like the cameo portrait of Emilina for Emilina's Conquest.

Q: With my 2010 release, The Harmless Deception, my covers took a different turn. That cover was prepared by my publisher, Uncial Press, but for my recent release, The Earl's Peculiar Burden, you once again did the cover. How did you feel about this change in direction?

A: I actually prefer designing covers with stock photography (love it, actually) to illustrating them from scratch. It's very difficult to create artwork that matches the author's vision of her characters--not that you were difficult! ;) But in my illustration I prefer to have very free rein and this doesn't mesh so well with the demands of a book cover, where you must take into account the publisher's needs, the author's vision, and the practical things like typography. I also designed the cover for the anthology Love, Loss and Other Oddities (which of course features two of your stories and one of mine!) and I'd love to do more like this.

Q: Can you tell us a little about the process involved in making The Earl's Peculiar Burden cover?

A: First was talking with you to determine what kind of imagery and mood you wanted for the cover, and of course making sure that it will follow the publisher's guidelines. Next I mocked up several drafts using sample images from stock photo sites and other design resources. Once we'd decided, I purchased the necessary photo rights and then spent a lot of time in Photoshop! It's all about layers--and a little bit of magic, naturally. ;) And when designing a cover, it's not just about the image--the choice of font matters very much. I treat the title and author name as design elements in themselves and try to integrate them into the imagery. For TEPB, I wanted the intriguing title to be the focal point, with the mysterious tower looming up in the distance, so I probably spent more time on the fonts, placement, positioning, etc than I did on anything else.

Bat Goddess

Q: I know that your art site features a mix of fantasy art and costume illustration, and I understand that soon you'll be adding some fairytale illustrations. Do you have a favourite genre to work in?

A: Not really--they are all kind of the same genre in my mind… times and places that are other than where we are right now. There's always an element of imagination even when you're trying to be historically accurate, and there's always a lot of historical influences whenever you make something fantastical. My favourite genre would really just be "costume illustration", whether it takes the form of a 19th-century ballgown or a gothic fantasy ballgown.

Q: How did you develop your art skills?

A: I've taken art classes on and off since I was a kid, from ones held in the back of art supply stores to university-level courses. I don't have a degree in art, though (my BA is in History and I've also studied English at the master's level). My various art teachers over the years were wonderful and taught me lots of fundamentals, but in those classes I didn't really have the chance to do the kind of illustrative work I prefer. I've learned that through research and observation of my own. The late Victorian artists are really my best teachers--Arthur Rackham, Alphonse Mucha, John William Waterhouse. A long way to go to live up to their standard!

Thanks very much, Kat, it's been a pleasure talking with you. I'm looking forward to working with you on our new project. I'll just give my readers this hint: the title is "The Regency Storybook".

You can see Kat's art in her dA gallery, and purchase prints of her Regency fashion illustrations and more in her etsy shop. She's also on twitter (twitter.com/carnivalerian). She's available to commission for book cover design and for fiction/non-fiction editing.

'Til next time,

Lesley-Anne