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HUMOUR, SATIRE, AND SEXUALITY IN THE CULTURE OF EARLY CHARTISM*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2014

TOM SCRIVEN
TOM SCRIVEN*
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
*
School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, Samuel Alexander Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9FL[email protected]
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Abstract

Histories of Chartism have tended to emphasize the hegemony of respectability within the movement, and with histories of the popular press have seen the 1830s as a decisive break with older radical traditions of sexual libertarianism, bawdy political culture, and a satirical, sometimes obscene print culture. However, the basis of this position is a partial reading of the evidence. Work on London Chartists has emphasized their moralistic politics and publications at the expense of their rich populist and satirical press and the clear survival of piracy and romantic literature well into the Chartist period. The neglect of an important early leader, Henry Vincent, has meant the bawdy, sensual, and sometimes scatological letters he sent to his cousin in London have been overlooked as a source on the moral life of the Chartist generation. This article will address this by studying Vincent's letters in the context of London's populist press, particularly the work of his friends John Cleave and Henry Hetherington. Vincent's humour and attitude towards sexuality clearly reflect a broader tendency in London radicalism, while his own efforts as a newspaper editor in Bath indicate that acerbic humour was an important aspect not just of Chartism's political critique, but of its appeal to the provincial working class.

Type
Articles
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 57 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 157 - 178
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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Footnotes

*

I am grateful to Julie-Marie Strange, Bertrand Taithe, Michael Sanders, attendees at Chartism Day 2012, the postgraduate community at Manchester, and anonymous referees for the Historical Journal for feedback on various forms of this work.

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