Gin And Hell-fire

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Gin and Hell-Fire, Henry Batchelor's memoirs of a working class childhood in Crouch End 1823-1837. Compiled and edited by Peter Barber. Henry Batchelor's newly-discovered memoirs preset a vivid picture of Hornsey and Crouch End when they were still villages. As son of the head coachman on the largest estate in Crouch End, owned by the Booth gin dynasty, Henry was well placed to record their luxurious life-style and the grimmer lives and deaths of the village poor. These provide the backdrop to the account of his ultimately successful struggle to educate and better himself despite the opposition of his pious, strong-willed father. The text is accompanied by the earliest surviving images of the neighbourhood, several reproduced for the first time. This paperback is in good condition with only some minor stains on the cover.

25 GBP