Product Details
The Imaginary Autocrat: Beau Nash and the Invention of Bath

The Imaginary Autocrat: Beau Nash and the Invention of Bath
By John Eglin

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Product Description

Richard Beau Nash was the original "It boy," the self-invented, style-over-substance ruling impresario of Bath who came from humble beginnings. He is a living illustration of what can be achieved with self-confidence and self-possession, as he became the ever-present match maker, gambler, and businessman at the whirl of balls and games at Bath in the 18th century. John Eglin’s brilliant and rewarding book is concerned as much with Nash’s invention of himself as it is with the invention of Bath. He looks in rich and fascinating detail at the amusement culture of the city, the rapid physical expansion of the spa in the first part of the century, at developers, architects, and landlords, at the role which religion and medicine played in that expansion, and at Bath’s successful adaptation to rapid change. Wide-ranging, stylishly written, and peopled by remarkable characters, this book gives a wonderful insight into how people of the 18nth century lived and let their wigs down.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1771638 in Books
  • Published on: 2005-05-30
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 292 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
John Eglin teaches history at the University of Montana.

Customer Reviews

excellent work of scholarship5
Eglin's book is an excellent addition to eighteenth-century scholarship, especially on the ever fascinating topic of Bath. He sets the record straight on a number of issues regarding Nash, whose self-manufactured celebrity has helped to obscure the historical record. Previous biographers have relied on dubious sources--namely, earlier biographers--who have frequently simply rehashed old anecdotes and stories without proper scholarly attention. Eglin corrects this trend by delving deep into archival material such as collections of letters and period newspapers. Although written with rigorous scholarship, Eglin's style is not studded with difficult jargon or stuffed with ten-cent words. A fun read for the armchair historian as well as a valuable addition to period scholarship, Eglin's work presents true value for money--if a university press had published this work it would be twice the cost. This book is well worth the purchase.

Brilliant5
An authentic and well written experience of eighteenth century Bath. An absolute treasure to own. A triumph.