Download or read book Cruelty and Laughter written by Simon Dickie and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2014-04-14 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rollicking review of popular culture in 18th century Britain, this text turns away from sentimental and polite literature to focus instead on the jestbooks, farces, comic periodicals, variety shows and minor comic novels that portray a society in which no subject was taboo and political correctness unimagined.