The new revised and expanded edition of Decadent London has arrived from the printers and it looks and feels great. It is now over 400 pages in extent and includes a walk around 1890s London at the back.
Available for purchase now from The Big Cartel here
Treadwells bookshop, Bloomsbury, London here
Watkins in Cecil Court, London here
Gay's The Word, London here
More outlets to follow.
Review of the first edition from The Independent on Sunday here
Review of the first edition from The Open University here
Thursday 12 December 'Oscar and Friends' A free talk at Kensington Central Library with Nina Antonia and Darcy Sullivan here Copies of Decadent London will be on sale at this talk for a substantial discount.
Very limited numbers of Secret Tunnels of England: Folklore & Fact available from Big Cartel here
DECADENT LONDON BY ANTONY CLAYTON, FOREWORD BY MAX DECHARNE
As the dawn of the twentieth century loomed, London was undergoing tremendous changes, establishing itself as the heart of one of the most powerful empires the world has ever seen. However, in the same decade that witnessed the celebrations of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee a diverse group of writers, artists and poets sought to subvert the oppressive cultural and moral atmosphere of the period. This was the city explored by Oscar Wilde, Arthur Symons, Aubrey Beardsley, Frank Harris and Ernest Dowson, together with their less well-known compatriots Lionel Johnson, John Gray, John Davidson and the mysterious Count Stenbock.
Using a thematic approach, Decadent London recreates the artistic milieu of this turbulent time, described the most popular decadent destinations and provides concise biographical material on the central characters, many of whom became victims of their excessively louche lifestyles. Visit the raucous decadent pubs such as The Crown and The Cock, listen in at the Cheshire Cheese, where W B Yeats read his poems to the Rhymers' Club, enjoy the wit of Wilde and Whistler at the Cafe Royal and explore the idyllic artistic retreat of Bedford Parkin the suburbs. The book also describes the work produced by London's decadent writers and artists, particularly their contribution to the decade's most innovative periodicals The Yellow Book and The Savoy. It outlines the development of the burgeoning music hall scene beloved of many decadents, probes into the underworld of drug taking, pornography and prostitution and uncovers the occult pursuits of the Golden Dawn and the Great Beast Aleister Crowley.
THIS INFORMATIVE GLIMPSE INTO ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING PERIODS IN THE CAPITAL'S CULTURAL HISTORY HAS BEEN FULLY REVISED AND SUPPLEMENTED BY NEW MATERIAL.
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