The English Pleasure Garden 16601860

(Paperback)

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Description

During their heyday in the mid-eighteenth century the pleasure gardens were one of the hubs of polite society. Laid out with formal gardens and buildings for dining and amusement, the pleasure gardens were the scene of upper class exercise and entertainment. Most famous were Vauxhall Gardens, Cremorne Gardens and Ranelagh Gardens. In Bath, Sydney Gardens is the only English pleasure garden that has not since been closed and built over. This book tells the story of the pleasure gardens, explaining their beginnings in the seventeenth century, their rising social importance, the variety of entertainment contained within, and their eventual decline into seedy hangouts for gamblers, thieves and prostitutes.

Reviews

"Sarah Jane Downing... has assembled a large variety of pleasure garden images that I have not seen before, and written about the topic in a clear and readable style that was loaded with information. This book is a must for history buffs and historical romance authors..." --Vic Sanborn, Jane Austen's World (October 2009)

"Being a huge fan of the Jane Austen-esque time period and all that it entails, I found this to be a fascinating book, full of lovely artwork and tidbits of interesting details." --For Immediate Release Reviews

Author Bio

Sarah Jane Downing is a freelance writer with a special interest in the eighteenth century.