London Dispossessed: Literature and Social Space in the Early Modern City

269 Pages·1998·1.116 MB·Language, Discourse, Society

by  John Twyning (auth.)

LONDON DISPOSSESSED

London Dispossessed
Literature and Social Space in the Early
Modern City
John Twyning
First published in Great Britain 1998 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
This book is published in Macmillan’s Language, Discourse,
Societyseries
Editors: Stephen Heath, Colin MacCabe and Denise Riley
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-39315-2 ISBN 978-0-333-99475-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780333994757
First published in the United States of America 1998 by
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-17652-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Twyning, John, 1952–
London dispossessed : literature and social space in the early
modern city / John Twyning.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-17652-5
1. English literature—Early modern, 1500–1700—History and
criticism. 2. Literature and society—England—London–
–History—17th century. 3. English literature—England—London–
–History and criticism. 4. Dekker, Thomas, ca. 1572–1632–
–Knowledge—England—London. 5. City and town life in literature.
6. Cities and towns in literature. 7. London (England)—In
literature. I.Title.
PR8476.T95 1997
820.9'32421—dc21 97–18288
CIP
©John Twyning 1998
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1998 978-0-333-62270-4
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with
written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98
For my mother and the memory of my father

Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Abbreviations ix
Map of the City of London x
Introduction: ‘Our Scene is London’ 1
1 Bedlam and Bridewell in the Honest Whore Plays 20
2 Prostitution and Dekker 54
3 London’s Languages of Fashion 92
4 Breaking Loose from Hell: Devils, Despair, and Dystopia 129
Notes 202
Bibliography 239
Index 254
vii
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to Peter Womack, for his wonderful sense of play,
Sarah Beckwith, for her intelligence and inspiration, Joad Raymond,
for his friendship and acumen, and to Colin MacCabe, who is a
gentleman. My gratitude goes to Curt Breight, who generously
offered his insights into Elizabethan military matters which have en-
riched this project. Thanks, too, to Lynn Harper, who read the entire
manuscript and provided many comments and suggestions; and to
Charmian Hearne and Keith Povey, both working for Macmillan.
My thanks also go to Roger Sales and Kate McLuskie, who gave me
invaluable help both within and without their institutional roles.
Special thanks are due to Eric Clarke and Jim Seitz. Looking back,
there seems to have been many chilly hours and minutes of un-
certainty in the writing of this book so I would like to thank and
acknowledge those with whom I have conversed and communed:
Trevor Wadlow, Andrew West, Laura Scott, Tony Gash, Tim
Marshall, Norma Campbell, Janet Harnden, lan Archer, Annabel
Patterson, John Waters, Maura Nolan, Ethan Knapp, Patricia
Naylor, Thomas Ferraro, Carolyn Steedman, Annette Seitz, Valerie
Krips, Nancy Atkinson, Nick Coles, Genelle Gertz-Robinson,
Andrew Wood, Elayne Tobin, Mark Douglas, and Peggy Knapp. For
giving me succour and encouragement, I thank my siblings Frank,
Mark, Jane, Tom, and Laura. Finally, ‘according to my bond’, I owe
a special debt to Nikki Twyning.
JOHNTWYNING
viii
Abbreviations
Bowers The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker, ed. Fredson Bowers,
4 vols (Cambridge, 1953–61).
Bullen The Works of Thomas Middleton, ed. A. H. Bullen, 8 vols
(London, 1885–6).
Grosart The Non-Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker, ed. A. B.
Grosart, 5 vols (London, 1885, reissued New York, 1963).
Hall Thomas Hall, The Loathsomnesse of Long Haire: or A Treatise
Wherein you have the Question stated, many Arguments
against it produc’d, and most materiall Arguments for it re-
pelled and answer’d, with the concurrent judgement of Divines
both old and new against it (London, 1653).
Pendry Thomas Dekker, Selected Writings, ed. E. D. Pendry, The
Stratford-Upon-Avon Library no. 4 (London, 1967).
Robbins Thomas Dekker, A Knight’s Conjuring 1607; A Critical
Edition, ed. Larry M. Robbins (The Hague, 1974).
Wilson The Plague Pamphlets of Thomas Dekker, ed. F. P. Wilson
(Oxford, 1925).
ix