The Victorian Clown [Hardcover]

This book, first published in 2006, is a micro-history of Victorian comedy, discussing the life and work of two professional clowns.The Victorian Clown unlocks the secrets of Victorian comedy, letting us into the gaudy world of the circus through the life and works of two professional clowns. James Henry Frowde ran away at 16 to join the famous Henglers' circus, and this volume contains his previously unpublished account of life on the road. Also included is the gag book of another professional clown, Thomas Lawrence, dating from 1871, providing a unique insight into his nightly performances in gas-lit tents all over Victorian England.The Victorian Clown unlocks the secrets of Victorian comedy, letting us into the gaudy world of the circus through the life and works of two professional clowns. James Henry Frowde ran away at 16 to join the famous Henglers' circus, and this volume contains his previously unpublished account of life on the road. Also included is the gag book of another professional clown, Thomas Lawrence, dating from 1871, providing a unique insight into his nightly performances in gas-lit tents all over Victorian England.Previously unpublished manuscripts--James Frowde's account of his young life with the famous Henglers' circus in the 1850s and Thomas Lawrence's 1871 gag book--offer unique, unmediated access to the grass roots of popular entertainment. Through them this book explores the role of the circus clown at the height of equestrian entertainment in Britain, when the comic generated audience attention for the riders and acrobats, by parodying their skills in his own tumbling and contortionism, and also offered a running commentary on the times through his own 'wheezes' or stand-up comedy sets.The Victorian Clown: 1. The Victorian travelling shows; 2. Circus buildings; 3. A micro-history from two manuscripts; The Autobiography of James Frowde, a Victorian Clown: 1. Childhood and youth, 183149; 2. Running away to join the circus, 18479; 3. OutlÓ$