British Enchanters: John Vanbrugh’s theatre and the artists who staged English Baroque
In British Enchanters, Annette Rubery charts the struggles, triumphs and eventual downfall of the Baroque artform in 18th-century England. It begins with the opening of John Vanbrugh’s theatre in 1704 and his disastrous attempts to make a profit from Italian opera in London. It also explores the theatre’s later development under George Frideric Handel, and its wider artistic network, including Addison and Steele (of Spectator fame) and the painter James Thornhill.
Much has been written about English Baroque as an architectural movement but this is the first time it has been approached through the history of the stage. In the end, the style was deemed too flamboyant for British tastes, but the theatricality of Vanbrugh and his friends helped to shape the nation at a time of crisis – changing it forever.
The Female Rake: Peg Woffington’s Scandalous Life on the Georgian stage
The Female Rake tells of an actress’s progress from an ‘18th-century Nell Gwyn’ to a heroine of sentimental tragedy. The notorious Peg Woffington was a beauty, wit, courtesan, and one of the best-loved comic actresses of the eighteenth century. Acclaimed for playing high-born women, she also cornered the market in cross-dressed portrayals of soldiers, rakes and men of fashion. Off-stage her lovers were among the most influential figures of the age, including its most famous actor, David Garrick.
In the first biography of Peg for half a century, Annette Rubery mixes the sweat and greasepaint of Georgian Dublin theatreland with a wider perspective on the roles that bolder women in that era could choose to adopt, and charts Peg’s progress, fuelled by charisma, charm and fierce independence, out of the shame and penury of her origins into wealth, celebrity and, ultimately, myth.
Shortlisted for the 2022 Tony Lothian Prize >>
Lichfield Then & Now
Hardcover: 96 pages
Publisher: The History Press Ltd (Nov 2012)
ISBN-10: 0752461133
ISBN-13: 978-0752461137
Lichfield Then & Now pairs 45 carefully chosen photographs from archives, postcards and private collections with 45 contemporary colour versions of the same views, providing a fascinating visual chronicle of the city’s progress. Compare the old layout of Lichfield’s streets – its shop-fronts, parks and pools – with the Lichfield of today and see for yourself the subtle march of time, even in this most historic of places. Lichfield Then & Now will delight all local historians and will awaken nostalgic memories for those who used to live or work there.
Sometimes, these Then and Now books don’t work and for a variety of reasons. That is not the case with this. I’ve lived in Lichfield for over 30 years and thought that over that time had got to know this small Cathedral City very well. However, the combination of photographs and narrative has made me aware of many things that I’ve either missed or simply was unaware.