Donna T. Andrew

A very academic look at a very dicey subject. Vice in 18th-century England, examined in this book in the form of dueling, suicide, adultery, and gambling, was one of the defining features of the British upper classes. This book looks at each vice in detail and draws out the newspaper reporting and pamhlets which would have been widely available to show how the widespread reporting of the upper classes' behavior was connected to a perception of decline in national character and may have instigated a change in behavior and law. Because of the extensive use of newspapers and similar sources, one could also treat this book as a history of the 18th-century press and journalism.… (mais)