_Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d. each._
A HISTORY OF THE CHAP-BOOKS OF
THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
_With Nearly 400 Illustrations Engraved in Facsimile of the
Originals._
"Next to a collection of the chap-books themselves, nothing could
give a better idea of this branch of the popular literature of the
eighteenth century than the volume before us. The author's hope
that he has 'succeeded in producing a book at once both amusing and
instructive' is fully justified; and his book is certain to remain the
standard authority on the subject, and to be consulted by every one
who wishes to know what was read in the cottage, and the roadside inn,
and the village school in the eighteenth century."--_Academy._
"Mr. Ashton knows his subject well, and gives us not only the quaint
prose or verse and the still quainter cuts, but also all sorts of
collateral information.... The book is a delightful contribution to
the history of literature."--_Graphic._
SOCIAL LIFE
IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE.
_With 84 Illustrations._
"Mr. Ashton has selected an interesting subject, and has done justice
to his choice. There can be no doubt either of Mr. Ashton's diligence
in collecting his materials or of his good sense in refraining from
intruding himself unnecessarily upon the reader. We are grateful to
him both for his industry and his reserve. Even a man who is well
versed in the diaries and correspondence of Queen Anne's time will
find something that is new to him in every chapter.... On these
subjects, and on every curiosity of Queen Anne's reign, Mr. Ashton
has much to say, and he tells his story with good taste and without
unnecessary amplification. His volumes will serve a double purpose.
They will amuse the ordinary reader of the day, and instruct the
student of English manners in the habits of a time which has never
failed to attract."--_Academy._
"Mr. Ashton has produced, beyond a doubt, the most accurate and
readable picture of social life under Queen Anne that has yet been
published.... The book can be opened anywhere and read with pleasure
and profit."--_Morning Post._
"With commendable diligence Mr. Ashton has assembled a vast number
of documents, advertisements, and what not, which he has skilfully
grouped in chapters illustrating the education, food, dress,
amusements, science, art, and manners of the time. His book is, in
fact, a valuable and trustworthy collection of _mémoires pour servir_.
In these pages the reader may wander at will in that lesser London of
which Covent Garden and Leicester Square were the centres. With Mr.
Ashton's book all things are feasible, provided the reader carry with
him a decent amount of curiosity and a fairly good memory. And as Mr.
Ashton, with commendable and indeed unusual honesty, gives chapter and
verse for his statements, our pilgrim may be moderately sure that his
imaginings will possess a certain verisimilitude."--_Athenæum._