Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-350) and index.
Contents:
8. The Marshalsea Muse and Other Survivals. 2. `The Worst Prison in the Nation' -- 3. `Hardly Any One But Vilains': Grano's Marshalsea, 1728-9 -- 4. Skinning the Flint: Acton's Marshalsea, 1728-30 -- 5. `Mansions of Misery': The Old Marshalsea, 1730-1811 -- 6. The New Gaol: John Dickens's Marshalsea, 1812-24 -- 7. Brief Lives: Marshalsea Debtors, 1820-42 -- 8. The Marshalsea Muse and Other Survivals.
Summary:
The Marshalsea became a byword for misery; in the words of one of its inmates, it was hell in epitome. But the prison was also a microcosm of London life and it housed a colourful range of characters, including Charles Dickens's father. This book introduces us to the Marshalsea's unfortunate prisoners, rich and poor; men and women; spongers, fraudsters and innocents. We get to know the trumpeter John Grano who wined and dined with the prison governor and continued to compose music whilst other prisoners were tortured and starved to death. We meet the bare-knuckle fighter known as the Bold Smuggler, who fell on hard times after being beaten by the Chelsea Snob. And then there's Joshua Reeve Lowe, who saved Queen Victoria from assassination in Hyde Park in 1820, but whose heroism couldn't save him from the Marshalsea. Told through these extraordinary lives, this book gives us a fascinating and unforgettable cross-section of London life from the early 1700s to the 1840s.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.