Description
Book SynopsisWritten in a lively style rich with anecdotes, Harlequin Britain establishes the emergence of eighteenth-century English pantomime, with its promiscuous blending of genres and subjects, as a key moment in the development of modern entertainment culture.
Trade ReviewA good read for even the most casual theater historian. Choice A complex, rich work... an original, important contribution to the history of the body and to political culture. American Historical Review This well argued text on pantomime offers a fascinating investigation of a subgenre of British theater. Scriblerian He develops his micro-history of the growth and changes in British life with finesse and precision and a rich grasp of detail. -- David Mayer Theatre Notebook A good example of how to write cultural history today. -- Jacky Bratton Journal of British Studies For readers who share O'Brien's intellectual priorities, this book may well come to be regarded as an important contribution. -- David A. Brewer Modern Philology
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Perseus and Andromeda and the Meaning of Eighteenth-Century Pantomime
2. Pantomime, Popular Culture, and the Invention of the English Stage
3. Wit Corporeal
4. Magic and Mimesis
Entr'acte
5. "Infamous Harlequin Mimicry"
6. Harlequin Walpole
7. David Garrick and the Institutionalizationof English Pantomime
Notes
Index
