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FOULKES, NICHOLAS: : GENTLEMEN BLACKGUARDS: or Gambling Mania and the Plot to Steal the Derby of 1844.

LONDON.WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON,2010.

ISBN 9780297844594.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn,and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright, clean,colour pictorial illustrated dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present.Head+ foot of spine/backstrip minimally bumped with reciprocal creasing and a tiny,tiny closed nick/tear to head of same.Top edges bright and clean,fore-edge similar but with a small smudge centrally towards rear pages edges; contents bright,tight and pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - possibly an unread copy? Publisher's sharp-cornered,bright and clean,original burgundy cloth boards with colour,pictorial illustrated endpapers,bright, crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and slight cocking to book.UK,8vo HB+d/dj,1st edn,viii-xviiipp+2-298pp [paginated] includes contents+illus lists/tables,acknowledgements, notes on Money,an introduction,a prologue,20 chapters+epilogue,16pp contemporary colour illustrated portraits in 2 blocks of 8pp apiece between pp78/9 and pp106/7 respectively,notes,a bibliography and an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication and 4pp blanks to rear. At the beginning of the 1840's,Britain was the gambling capital of Europe and racing was a national obsession: attracting the rich,the aristocratic,and the spendthrift - those for whom money was not so much a necessity as a way of keeping score.Yet what had once been a diversion for noblemen had now become a nationwide phenomenon,with the Epsom Derby assuming the status of an unofficial national holiday; attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators and many millions of pounds in wagers.It was a time of frenzied speculation, high stakes and low morals,when every ruse, subterfuge and fraud was practised - and the biggest sin was getting caught. But a the cheerfully unprincipled Regency era began to give way to the earnest and conspicuous high-mindedness of the Victorian period, reformers decided it was a good time to root out the canker gnawing at Britain.In the summer of 1844,the murky world of illegal gambling hells, crooked hazard tables and the dubious practices of the Turf were made the subject of a far- reaching Parliamentary Inquiry.When the Derby of the same year ended in chaos,with the two favourite horses doped and the result challenged by the Prime Minister's brother,the Turf's most dedicated follower and greatest tyrant,Lord George Bentinck,took it upon himself to uncover the truth of what happened that day: following a trail of a evidence that led to one of the most sensational court cases of the nineteenth century. This is a story of men,money,gambling and sporting obsession; of rogues and rascals, subterfuge and chicanery,with duelling, suicide and murder thrown in.It is a tale of outrageous criminality,aristocratic complacency,and a gripping investigation to expose the most audacious sporting plot of the age. A compelling detective story peopled with low-life aristocrats and high-minded reformers, 'Gentlemen Blackguards' paints a vivid panorama of the full spectrum of early Victorian society, bringing to life an overlooked turning point in British history. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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