Mr. Punch
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Condition remarks: Mylar sleeve on jacket
Few characters in the history of popular entertainment are as enduring — or as anarchic — as Mr. Punch, the hook-nosed, wife-beating, baby-tossing anti-hero who has haunted Britain's seaside promenades and fairgrounds for over three centuries. Philip John Stead's authoritative study chronicles the full, riotous biography of this iconic puppet, tracing his origins from the Italian commedia dell'arte figure of Pulcinella through his transformation into the distinctly English Mr. Punch, a figure who has gleefully defied authority, morality, and the hangman himself at every turn. Stead brings a scholar's rigour and a storyteller's passion to this rich cultural history, situating Punch within the broader context of British theatrical tradition, street performance, and national identity. The work argues that Punch is far more than a children's entertainment — he is a mirror held up to society's darkest impulses, a carnival spirit that refuses to be tamed. Written with precision and wit, this is a definitive account that will leave any reader wondering just what it is about this disreputable little figure that has kept audiences laughing — and wincing — for so very long.
Author: Philip John Stead
Format: Hardback
Published: 1950, Evans Brothers Limited
Genre: History of arts
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Condition remarks: Mylar sleeve on jacket
Few characters in the history of popular entertainment are as enduring — or as anarchic — as Mr. Punch, the hook-nosed, wife-beating, baby-tossing anti-hero who has haunted Britain's seaside promenades and fairgrounds for over three centuries. Philip John Stead's authoritative study chronicles the full, riotous biography of this iconic puppet, tracing his origins from the Italian commedia dell'arte figure of Pulcinella through his transformation into the distinctly English Mr. Punch, a figure who has gleefully defied authority, morality, and the hangman himself at every turn. Stead brings a scholar's rigour and a storyteller's passion to this rich cultural history, situating Punch within the broader context of British theatrical tradition, street performance, and national identity. The work argues that Punch is far more than a children's entertainment — he is a mirror held up to society's darkest impulses, a carnival spirit that refuses to be tamed. Written with precision and wit, this is a definitive account that will leave any reader wondering just what it is about this disreputable little figure that has kept audiences laughing — and wincing — for so very long.