The Life and Times of James Catnach, (Late of Seven Dials), Ballad Monger

Abstract

James Catnach (1792–1841) became famous for publishing satirical ballads and sensational accounts of famous murders in his daily broadsheets, first printed in his own home in Seven Dials, London. Capitalising on the turbulent times, Catnach grew rich on producing lurid descriptions of crimes and the trials and executions that followed them. His imagination occasionally over-stepped the mark; he was once jailed for libel after claiming that a local butcher made his sausages from human flesh. This sympathetic and entertaining biography of Catnach, first published in 1878 by London raconteur Charles Hindley (d. 1893), describes Catnach's rise to prominence and features numerous reproductions of his ballads and stories. It is a fascinating tale encompassing the development of early forms of mass media and the wider political and social currents of the time, and provides invaluable insights into popular culture in nineteenth-century London.

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