In this episode, we look at Covent Garden's vice industry in the eighteenth century.
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Piazza
,
Covent Garden
,
London
Haddock, Hogarth and Harlots
Written by
Jasmine
Silk
Performed by
Lulu
Freeman
Delve Deeper
The British Library has a set of Hogarth’s Harlot’s Progress prints.
About this story
Writer Jasmine Silk imagines a young girl forced into prostitution at the real Haddock’s brothel in Covent Garden in 1745. Her downfall mirrors that of engraver William Hogarth’s fictional country girl in his 6-part ‘Harlot’s Progress. This story has adult themes.
27 Catherine Street
,
London
Mrs Jenkins' Flogging House
Written by
Joanna
Clarke
Performed by
Stephen
Fry
Delve Deeper
Rictor Norton has an article about ‘The English Vice’. Exclassics.com has a copy of the poem used in this story, which came from Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies.
About this story
In the 18th-century the ‘English Vice’ of flogging was considered good for the health, and establishments catered for many tastes. This story contains adult themes.
Carnal Pleasures
Written by
Robbie
Stamp
Performed by
Kate
Reid
Delve Deeper
Exclassics has examples of pages from Harris’s List. Wikipedia has a couple of frontispiecesfrom Harris’s Lists, and a portrait of writer/compiler Samuel Derrick. The Wellcome Collection has Harris’s 1787 edition available online. Project Gutenberg has Harris’s 1788 edition available.
About this story
Jack Harris published yearly round-ups of Covent Garden prostitutes, their specialities and prices, for most of the second half of the 18th-Century. Sam Derrick wrote much of the prose and the place to get a copy was the Shakespeare Tavern on Covent Garden Piazza, where John Harrison, aka Jack Harris, was head waiter. Contains adult themes.
