This two-volume collection of British primary sources examines institutions such as hotels, inns, arcades, bazaars, co-operatives, shops and department stores in the long nineteenth century, which were often coded as ‘luxurious’. This period was marked not only by an increase of individual consumerism but also by the institutionalisation of opulent, often purpose-built spaces such as the much-admired new grand hotels, supposedly an American invention, and department stores, modelled on the French grands magasins. These environments were tied to leisure (no longer a prerogative of the upper classes) and thus to modernity. In addition to addressing the luxurious side of these institutions, including architectural innovation and interior decoration, we also consider the other side of luxury, examining the experience of staff and period debates over the morality of consumption.
This edition seeks to explore a fascinating but hitherto often neglected side of the British nineteenth century by bringing together a collection of annotated primary texts and visual material documenting these ‘temples of luxury’ as they were seen by their contemporaries.
VOLUME I HOTELS
List of Figures xi
Acknowledgments xii
Introduction 1
1 Nerot’s Hotel 9
1.1 [Advertisement] (1775) 11
1.2 ‘Lord Nelson’ (1800) 12
1.3 ‘Nerot’s Hotel and Bath’ (1805) 13
1.4 ‘Burnand vs. Nerot’ (1830) 14
RICHARD BLIGH
2 Grillion’s Hotel 21
2.1 ‘Grillon’s’ (1815) 23
2.2 A Visit to Grillion’s in 1814 (1905) 24
FRANCES BURNEY
2.3 Grillion’s Club From Its Origin in 1812 to
Its Fiftieth Anniversary (1880) 28
P. G. E.
3 ‘Riot at Birmingham’ (1791) 31
4 Walks Through Bath (1819) 35
PIERCE EGAN
5 Reminiscences of Captain Gronow (1862) 39
REES HOWELL GRONOW
6 Arrivals 43
6.1 ‘Arrivals in London’ (1825) 45
6.2 ‘Fashionable Arrivals’ (1833) 48
7 Licensing Hotels 51
7.1 ‘Hotel Licenses’ (1828) 53
7.2 ‘Licensing Hotels’ (1828) 56
8 Celebrating the Opening of a New Hotel 59
8.1 ‘Birkenhead New Hotel’ (1820) 61
8.2 ‘St. Leonard’s’ (1829) 62
8.3 ‘Hastings, Oct. 30’ (1829) 63
9 New Guide to the Royal Leamington Spa, the Neighbouring
Towns, and Surrounding Country (1839) 65
10 The Spas of England, and Principal Sea-Bathing Places:
Northern Spas (1841) 71
A . B . G R A N V I L L E
11 Brighton 79
11.1 The Spas of England, and Principal Sea-Bathing Places:
Southern Spas (1841) 81
A . B . G R A N V I L L E
11.2 ‘The Grand Hotel at Brighton’ (1864) 85
12 ‘Temperance Coffee-Houses’ (1842) 89
13 Sketches from the Diary of a Commercial Traveller (1847) 93
THRONE CRICK
14 ‘English and Foreign Hotels’ (1847) 101
15 ‘Mivart’s Hotel: House of Call for Ex-Emperors, Ex-Kings,
and Ex-Royalty in General’ (1848) 109
16 ‘Chester and Holyhead Line’ (1848) 113
17 The 1853 Hotel Charges Debate in The Times 117
17.1 ‘English Hotels. To the Editor of The Times’ (1853) 119
A YOUNG MAN
17.2 ‘Hotel Charges. To the Editor of The Times’ (1853) 121
A V I C T I M
17.3 ‘Hotel Charges. To the Editor of The Times’ (1853) 123
A N A M E R I C A N T R AV E L L E R
17.4 ‘To the Editor of The Times’ (1853) 125
A C O M M E R C I A L T R AV E L L E R
17.5 ‘To the Editor of The Times’ (1853) 126
AN HOTELKEEPER
17.6 ‘The Hotel-Keepers and the “Times”. To the Editor of the
Daily News’ (1853) 128
JUSTUS
18 ‘Out of Town’ (1855) 131
CHARLES DICKENS
19 The English Hotel Nuisance (1855) 137
ALBERT SMITH
20 George Augustus Sala and the Great Hotel Question 149
20.1 ‘The Great Hotel Question’ (1856) 151
[GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA]
20.2 ‘English Hotels’ (1856) 155
[GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA]
21 ‘The Grosvenor Hotel’ (1860) 161
22 ‘Expenses in Scotland’ (1861) 167
THOMAS COOK
23 Handbook for Travellers in North Wales (1861) 173
24 ‘The Modern Gigantic Hotel System. (Written Expressly
for “The Era”)’ (1863) 179
25 ‘Mammoth Hotels’ (1863) 185
26 The Langham Hotel 197
26.1 ‘The Langham Hotel’ (1865) 199
26.2 ‘The Kitchen of the Langham Hotel’ (1865) 202
26.3 ‘Ouida’ (1870) 204
CELIA LOGAN KELLOGG
26.4 ‘Our Monthly Gossip’ (1870) 205
27 ‘Opening Dinner of the Salisbury Hotel’ (1865) 207
28 ‘Some Big Hotels’ (1865) 215
29 ‘Hotel Management’ (1866) 223
30 ‘Letters to Joseph, No. II – On the Wing. Part I’ (1866) 229
EDMUND YATES
31 Clunyhill Hydropathic Establishment 233
31.1 Morayshire Described (1868) 235
J. & W. WATSON
31.2 ‘Cluny Hill Hydropathic Establishment, Forres’ (1870) 237
32 The Taxing of Hotel Waiters 243
32.1 ‘The Taxing of Hotel Waiters’ (1871) 245
32.2 ‘Taxation of Hotel Waiters’ (1871) 247
33 ‘English Hotel Life’ (1872) 249
F. A.
34 ‘The Midland Railway and Its Hotels’ (1875) 259
HENRY LAKE
35 Hotel Keepers and Their Guests 269
35.1 ‘Important Action Against a Brighton Hotel Keeper’
(1877) 271
35.2 ‘The Liabilities of Innkeepers. – “Spice v. Bacon”’
(1877) 275
35.3 ‘Hotel Keepers and Their Guests’ (1897) 277
36 Handbook to London as It Is: New Edition Revised (1879) 279
37 The Comprehensive History of the Rise and Progress of the
Temperance Reformation (1881) 285
PETER TURNER WINSKILL
38 Swimming at Ilfracombe 289
38.1 ‘Swimming Entertainment at the Ilfracombe Hotel Baths’
(1882) 291
38.2 ‘Ilfracombe Baths Aquatic Fete. Professor Parker’s Benefit’
(1887) 293
38.3 ‘Ilfracombe Hotel Baths’ (1891) 294
39 ‘Catering Experience of an English Manager’ (1889) 295
40 American Hotels for Women 303
40.1 ‘“Hotel Me, Gentle Stranger!”’ (1891) 305
40.2 ‘Wanted – a Woman’s Hotel. An American Suggestion
for Londoners’ (1898) 307
41 ‘The New Station Hotel, Newcastle-on-Tyne’ (1893) 311
WILLIAM BELL
42 Working Conditions 319
42.1 ‘Work and Wages in Hotels and Restaurants’ (1892) 321
C. H. D’E. LEPPINGTON
42.2 Report on the Conditions of Work of Barmaids, Waitresses,
and Book-Keepers Employed in Hotels, Restaurants,
Public-Houses and Other Places of Refreshment (1893) 328
MISS [ELIZA] ORME
43 ‘Nine p.m.: After Dinner at the Hotel Brobdingnag’ (1894) 331
GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA
44 ‘Hotel Designing’ (1895) 339
W[ILLIAM] HAMILTON BEATTIE
45 The Arrest of Oscar Wilde 345
45.1 ‘Arrest of Oscar Wilde’ (1895) 347
45.2 The Shame of Oscar Wilde: From the Shorthand Reports (1906) 352
CHARLES GROLLEAU
46 Dining Out in London 357
46.1 Dinners and Diners: Where and How to Dine in London
(1899) 359
[ N AT H A N I E L ] L I E U T.- C O L . N E W N H A M - D AV I S
46.2 A Guide to Modern Cookery (1907) 366
AUGUSTE ESCOFFIER
47 The Poor Man’s Hotel 371
47.1 ‘In the Poor Man’s Hotel, London’ (1899) 373
47.2 ‘A “Poor Man’s Hotel” for Liverpool’ (1900) 381
48 Behind the Scenes of a Large Hotel 383
48.1 The Grand Babylon Hotel: A Fantasia on Modern
Themes (1902) 385
ARNOLD BENNETT
48.2 ‘The Day’s Work III. –A Great London Hotel’ (1903) 392
49 ‘Hotels and Hotel Life in New York’ (1903) 401
WALTER T. STEPHENSON
50 Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul (1905) 413
H. G. WELLS
51 ‘How Hotel Swindlers Work’ (1910) 423
Index 427
Biography
Dr Susanne Schmid has taught at the universities FU Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Princeton, Paderborn, Salford and Regensburg
