The Devil's Own Handiwork

"I have experienced much hardship and been forced to view death on many occasions. I was therefore, not bothered by the corpse flies. Thankfully, the all-pervasive aroma of spice somewhat mitigated that of decay and corruption. All the same, I entered the room with my handkerchief at the ready. The man was frozen at the point of death upon the bed. There was much blood, all congealed and writhing with maggots. I could make out little else with the curtains shut and so I drew them open. When I turned I could hardly bear to view the putrefaction. He had died in an attitude of abject terror. His eyes were almost entirely eaten away and his mouth showed a grimace so horrific and his posture that of a supplicant forced to bend to another’s evil will, that I thought I looked upon the Devil’s own handiwork." Extract from The Surety, the second book in the Kitty Ives series. Kitty, an 18th century Covent Garden prostitute is forced to solve the murder or swing from the gallows.

At her toilette

"La Jupe relevée" by François Boucher, 1760 - and the dog is doing what dogs do. 18th century women did not wear knickers. In fact there was no underwear as we know it until around the 1920s, when skirts started getting shorter. Even in the prim and proper Victorian days, women had bloomers that were open at the crotch.

Elegant lady

"Elegant Lady at her Toilette" by Michel Garnier

63,000 prostitutes

The number of prostitutes in London during the 18th century could have been as high as 63,000 at any given time. In this picture we can see the link boy, who was a street urchin with a burning torch who would light the way - but who would also aid a harlot in her business by robbing the gentleman or enticing him into a dangerous location

Peristaltic Persuaders

Um... constipation anyone? An 18th century remedy:
To Make Forty Peristaltic Persuaders
Take:
Turkey rhubarb, finely pulverized, two drachms
Syrup, by weight, one drachm
Oil of caraway, ten drops (minims.)
Make into pills, each of which will contain three grains of rhubarb.
Two or three to be taken according to the constitution.

Kitty's brothel now

I took this just before Christmas. It's of the exact building where Kitty Ives lived and worked as a prostitute in Covent Garden. Well, not the exact building because that burned down but this is a replacement in the style of the old building. Research has shown that this building was occupied in 1769 by, on the ground floor, John Bradley - gin distiller and shop, and a brothel upstairs. Next door on the Little Piazza was Lovejoy's bagnio, a portrait painter, and the Hummums Turkish Bath. In the corner was the Bedford Arms pub. After that came the privy passage which was gated through to Charles Street beyond. The London Transport Museum occupies the site now.

Hogarth's Covent Garden

Here our old Friend Hogarth has given us a view of Covent Garden and the Church, St Paul's. See the big building in the background to the right as you look at the pic? That's still there.