{"product_id":"broadside-the-unhappy-lady-of-hackney-1800215","title":"[BROADSIDE] The Unhappy Lady of Hackney","description":"\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFolded bifolium (36 x 23.5cm); printed in black to recto only on rag paper; with large woodcut image showing a couple in a countryside scene with trees, birds, and houses in the distance; text in four columns with decorative borders; creased in accordance with age, a couple of brown spots; else a wonderful survival, the print remaining particularly clear. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA contemporary or near-contemporary publication, with the ballad telling the tragic story of a young woman who falls victim to a deceitful suitor. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHistorical records suggest that this ballad was based on the real life story of Susannah Holworthy of Clapton, a young woman of a wealthy family who was 'tempted' by her sister's husband: “he overcame me once with wine \/ And us'd me at his pleasure \/ then took me from my parents dear \/ in sorrow out of measure”, the ballad proclaims. Abducted and hidden, she falls pregnant, but shortly before her death in childbirth, she dispatches a letter to her parents naming their son-in-law as the cause of her disappearance and death. Her eldest brother, 'a hopeful youth', dies of grief; her parents exhume her body on suspicion of murder, and her sister ‘rav’d like thunder \/ To think her husband was so base \/ To prove her sister's ruin.’\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLikely an embellished version of what would now be considered a tabloid scandal, this remains a rare example of this piece of street literature. The imprint, with the single woodcut, is not traced. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSKU: \u003c\/strong\u003e1800215\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fold the Corner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57198209237316,"sku":"1800215","price":495.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/8711\/0212\/files\/1800215.jpg?v=1788626417","url":"https:\/\/foldthecornerbooks.co.uk\/products\/broadside-the-unhappy-lady-of-hackney-1800215","provider":"Fold the Corner Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}