William Hogarth: The Cockney's Mirror 1697-1764

by Marjorie Bowen

This volume is the result of years of study and of the author's admiration for the genius of William Hogarth; it is offered as a tribute to one of the greatest of English painters, in the hope that it may prove of some interest both to those who are well acquainted with this artist and his period and to those to whom nothing but his name and a few of his more famous works are familiar; if much attention is given to the background of the subject, it is because it is felt that a full understanding and appreciation of this artist's work cannot be arrived at without a fair knowledge of eighteenth-century London.

This study, for the sake of clarity and a continuous narrative, is divided into four parts; the first gives the background of William Hogarth's life and pictures, the second recounts his career and character and his attitude to his own genius, the third gives the stories, actors (real or imagined) of the principal pictures and prints, and the fourth describes and analyses the work from the point of view of aesthetics.

No attempt at a complete bibliography of the subject, nor a complete catalogue of William Hogarth's works, can be made in a work of this pretension; a short list of the principal authorities for the life is given and a short list of the more important paintings and engravings.

340 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1936

About the author

Marjorie Bowen (pseudonym of Mrs Gabrielle Margaret V[ere] Long née Campbell), was a British author who wrote historical romances, supernatural horror stories, popular history and biography. Her total output numbers over 150 volumes with the bulk of her work under the 'Bowen' pseudonym. She also wrote under the names Joseph Shearing, George R. Preedy, John Winch, Robert Paye, and Margaret Campbell. As Joseph Shearing, she wrote several sinister gothic romances full of terror and mystery. Many of these stories were published as Berkley Medallion Books. Several of her books were adapted as films. Her books are much sought after by aficionados of gothic horror and received praise from critics.

Bowen's alcoholic father left the family at an early age and was eventually found dead on a London street. After this, Bowen's prolific writings were the chief financial support for her family. She was married twice: first, from 1912-16, to a Sicilian named Zefferino Emilio Constanza, who died of tuberculosis, and then to one Arthur L. Long. Her first novel was The Viper of Milan (1906), after which she produced a steady stream of writings until the day of her death on 23rd December 1952. Her last, posthumous, novel was The Man with the Scales (1954).