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Billy Waters is Dancing
Or, How a Black Sailor Found Fame in Regency Britain
By: Mary L. Shannon
Hardcover | 2 September 2024 | Edition Number 1
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Every child in Regency London knew Billy Waters, the celebrated "King of the Beggars." Likely born into enslavement in 1770s New York, he became a Royal Navy sailor. After losing his leg in a fall from the rigging, the talented and irrepressible Waters became London's most famous street performer. His extravagantly costumed image blazed across the stage and in print to an unprecedented degree.
For all his contemporary renown, Waters died destitute in 1823-but his legend would live on for decades.
Mary L. Shannon's biography draws together surviving traces of Waters' life to bring us closer to the historical figure underlying them. Considering Waters' influence on the London stage and his echoing resonances in visual art, and writing by Douglass, Dickens, and Thackeray, Shannon asks us to reconsider Black presences in nineteenth-century popular culture. This is a vital attempt to recover a life from historical obscurity-and a fascinating account of what it meant to find fame in the Regency metropolis.
Industry Reviews
"Dazzling! Read this book to discover the dramatic life and legacy of one indomitable man, among the delights and diversity of Regency London."-Penelope J. Corfield, author of The Georgians
"This book is a powerful illumination of the life of one of the most influential Black people in nineteenth-century popular culture, a vital story that fell through the cracks in the rejuvenation era of individualised Black British history."-Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Member of Parliament for Streatham
"Compassionately researched, Billy Waters is Dancing provides a thrilling example of how much we still must learn about our pasts. Shannon creates a brilliant roadmap for the future of history writing."-Ayanna Thompson, author of Blackface
"How to atone for the great imbalances of history writing and representation, asks Shannon? Her answer is simple: produce the most sumptuous, intelligent, enjoyable excavation possible, and render the marginal magnificent!"-Oskar Jensen, author of Vagabonds
"Deeply researched and generously illustrated, Billy Waters is Dancing recovers a forgotten figure and opens a window onto London street-life and popular culture in the early nineteenth century."-Michael Bundock, author of The Fortunes of Francis Barber
ISBN: 9780300267686
ISBN-10: 0300267681
Published: 2nd September 2024
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number of Pages: 384
Audience: General Adult
Publisher: Yale University Press
Country of Publication: GB
Edition Number: 1
Dimensions (cm): 24.1 x 16.5 x 3.4
Weight (kg): 0.67
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This product is categorised by
- Non-FictionHistoryRegional & National HistoryEuropean HistoryBritish & Irish History
- Non-FictionHistorySpecific Events & Topics in HistorySocial & Cultural History
- Non-FictionSociety & CultureSocial GroupsEthnic StudiesEthnic Minorities & Multicultural Studies
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