An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List
211. London: People (Part 3)
July 20, 2022
Description
Books Referenced
Author: Samuel Richardson
Context:
Mentioned as 'the big book of the day' and described as 'a sort of epistolary novel' and 'one of the first, if not the first, novels in English' - discussed as the book that Henry Fielding later parodied
Author: Henry Fielding
Context:
Described as a 'spoof' and 'parody' of Pamela that Henry Fielding wrote, noted as being 'very successful'
Author: Henry Fielding
Context:
Mentioned as another book by Fielding, described as being about 'supposedly her cousin' (referring to Pamela's cousin)
Author: Henry Fielding
Context:
Described as Fielding's 'masterpiece' written at the end of the 1740s, called 'a book that everybody should read' - an 'absolutely uproarious, rumbustious, really fun book, brilliantly written, sort of picaresque'
Author: Henry Fielding
Context:
Mentioned as one of Fielding's works that satirizes Walpole, described as being 'about a thief taker' where 'Jonathan Wilde is a kind of metaphor for Walpole'
Author: Henry Fielding
Context:
Described as 'a sort of blueprint' Fielding wrote at the beginning of the 1750s proposing a workhouse system to rehabilitate poor Londoners
Author: Kingsley Amis
Context:
Referenced as 'a Kingsley Amis novel' where 'the plot slightly revolves around' a character being invited to Lisbon to deliver a Henry Fielding lecture - specific title not mentioned
Author: Peter Ackroyd
Context:
Mentioned as a novel written by Peter Ackroyd connected to Dan Leno (likely referring to 'Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem')
Author: C.L.R. James
Context:
Described as 'a book that's still very, very famous, incredibly readable' about Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian revolution, called 'the definitive account of the Haitian revolution' for decades
Author: C.L.R. James
Context:
Described as James's 'great masterpiece' and 'widely held to be not just the best book on cricket, but one of the best books on sport ever written' - discussed extensively as a work of post-colonial literature
Author: John Major
Context:
Referenced as 'a history of cricket' written by John Major, described as 'very good'
Author: John Major
Context:
Referenced as 'a history of the musical' written by John Major, with an anecdote about his father mentioned from the book's beginning