HUMOUR, WIT, & SATIRE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY BY THE SAME AUTHOR. _Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d. each._ A HISTORY OF THE CHAP-BOOKS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. _With Nearly 400 Illustrations Engraved in Facsimile of the Originals._ "Next to a collection of the chap-books themselves, nothing could give a better idea of this branch of the popular literature of the eighteenth century than the volume before us. The author's hope that he has 'succeeded in producing a book at once both amusing and instructive' is fully justified; and his book is certain to remain the standard authority on the subject, and to be consulted by every one who wishes to know what was read in the cottage, and the roadside inn, and the village school in the eighteenth century."--_Academy._ "Mr. Ashton knows his subject well, and gives us not only the quaint prose or verse and the still quainter cuts, but also all sorts of collateral information.... The book is a delightful contribution to the history of literature."--_Graphic._ SOCIAL LIFE IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE. _With 84 Illustrations._ "Mr. Ashton has selected an interesting subject, and has done justice to his choice. There can be no doubt either of Mr. Ashton's diligence in collecting his materials or of his good sense in refraining from intruding himself unnecessarily upon the reader. We are grateful to him both for his industry and his reserve. Even a man who is well versed in the diaries and correspondence of Queen Anne's time will find something that is new to him in every chapter.... On these subjects, and on every curiosity of Queen Anne's reign, Mr. Ashton has much to say, and he tells his story with good taste and without unnecessary amplification. His volumes will serve a double purpose. They will amuse the ordinary reader of the day, and instruct the student of English manners in the habits of a time which has never failed to attract."--_Academy._ "Mr. Ashton has produced, beyond a doubt, the most accurate and readable picture of social life under Queen Anne that has yet been published.... The book can be opened anywhere and read with pleasure and profit."--_Morning Post._ "With commendable diligence Mr. Ashton has assembled a vast number of documents, advertisements, and what not, which he has skilfully grouped in chapters illustrating the education, food, dress, amusements, science, art, and manners of the time. His book is, in fact, a valuable and trustworthy collection of _mémoires pour servir_. In these pages the reader may wander at will in that lesser London of which Covent Garden and Leicester Square were the centres. With Mr. Ashton's book all things are feasible, provided the reader carry with him a decent amount of curiosity and a fairly good memory. And as Mr. Ashton, with commendable and indeed unusual honesty, gives chapter and verse for his statements, our pilgrim may be moderately sure that his imaginings will possess a certain verisimilitude."--_Athenæum._