The Victorian Clown, first published in 2006, is a micro-history of
mid-Victorian comedy, spun out of the life and work of two
professional clowns. Their previously unpublished manuscripts -
James Frowde's account of his young life with the famous Henglers'
circus in the 1850s and Thomas Lawrence's 1871 gag book - offer
unique, unmediated access to the grass roots of popular
entertainment. Through them this book explores the role of the
circus clown at the height of equestrian entertainment in Britain,
when the comic managed audience attention for the riders and
acrobats, parodying their skills in his own tumbling and
contortionism, and also offered a running commentary on the times
through his own 'wheezes' - stand-up comedy sets. Plays in the ring
connect the circus to the stage, and both these men were also comic
singers, giving a sharp insight into popular music just as it was
being transformed by the new institution of music hall.
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