Ebook Wilkes and the City

I had heard of famous Lord Mayor of London of bygone times named John Wilkes; and when I became a member of the Corporation in 1881, representing the very ward he had presided over - that of Farringdon Without I endeavoured to learn more about him, and accordingly, since then, have read all I could of him and the times in which he lived.

I do not offer this as an excuse for rushing into print; but having during many years collected something about his City life which has not yet been published, I issue it now for the amusement and interest of other citizens. I make no claim to writing a life of Wilkes - others have already done that better than I could hope to do it: I have merely tried to collect "shreds and patches" from contemporary sources about this amazing man. To one person he has appeared a great blackguard and thorough humbug; to another a patriot, a reformer, a friend to Liberty. I have enjoyed reading Mr. Percy Fitzgerald's Life of Wilkes, Dr. Sharpe's London and the Kingdom, Gregory's little book telling of Wilkes's visits to Bath, Mr. Fraser Rae's book, Mr. Beaven's very painstaking work on the Aldermen of London, Almon's Life of Wilkes, and pamphlets and other volumes without end.