The Nightwalker and the Nocturnal Picaresque

June 17, 2015 10:41 PM

The introduction of street lighting to 17th-century London saw an explosion of nocturnal activity in the capital, most of it centring around the selling of sex.
posted by the man of twists and turns (13 comments total)

'Noctuary' is a great word and an interesting literary concept. Suprised it hasn't been used recently.
posted by Segundus at 12:22 AM on June 18, 2015 [3 favorites]

Gee.
posted by MartinWisse at 12:22 AM on June 18, 2015

Enjoyed this a lot, thanks.
posted by billiebee at 1:07 AM on June 18, 2015

'Noctuary' is a great word and an interesting literary concept. Suprised it hasn't been used recently.

Of course the top Google result for it is Tom Ligotti.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:04 AM on June 18, 2015 [2 favorites]

I think Rule 34 needs to be expanded. The list of technologies that have not been somehow used to facilitate sexual activity is probably very short.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:35 AM on June 18, 2015

I never thought of Fiat Lux as a spoonerism before.
posted by Devonian at 5:19 AM on June 18, 2015 [3 favorites]

I highly recommend his 2015 book Nightwalking: A Nocturnal History of London.
posted by mfoight at 5:49 AM on June 18, 2015 [2 favorites]

Always been a big fan of grub noir. Some classics:

• Die Kniphausen Hawk ("The stuff that dreams are made of.")
• The Postillion Always Rings Twice
• The Lady from Chelmsford
• County Largo
• The Cobblestone Jungle
• Doublet Indemnity
• The Strand ("I'm still big. It's the broadsheets that got small.")

. . . and of course:

• They Walk By Night

posted by Herodios at 7:26 AM on June 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

I never thought of Fiat Lux as a spoonerism before.

Heh, my college newspaper (Alfred U.) was called Fiat Lux. Every year we put out a spoof issue called "The Liat," because we presumably weren't allowed to use the full name.

Great post, thanks.
posted by Melismata at 8:59 AM on June 18, 2015

Great post, thanks.

> 'Noctuary' is a great word and an interesting literary concept. Suprised it hasn't been used recently.

Here are the OED citations (entry updated December 2003):

1714 Spectator No. 586. ⁋10, I have got a Parcel of Visions and other Miscellanies in my Noctuary.
1812 R. Southey Omniana II. 61 It stands thus in a diary or rather noctuary of dreams.
1910 Chambers's Jrnl. Sept. 594/2 My sceptical friends..say I kept myself awake on purpose to write this noctuary.
1993 Independent (Nexis) 30 Jan. (Weekend section) 29 If Gerald Kersh is remembered at all, it is for Night and the City, published in 1938; a noctuary of events in a mythic Soho underworld.
posted by languagehat at 9:14 AM on June 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

Why is it so difficult to find a scan of Dunton's Night-Walker? Google Books has "snippet view" only, implying it's in copyright, which is obviously untrue. Archive.org doesn't have it, but does have The London-Bawd, which is some kind of proto-Gamergate manifesto. OpenLibrary has a different Night-VValker.
posted by meehawl at 4:41 PM on June 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

Fascinating post and absolutely lined up my current interests-- many thanks.
posted by jokeefe at 7:46 PM on June 18, 2015

Vagabonds, Crafty Bauds, and the Loyal Huzza: A History of London at Night - a chapter from Matthew Beaumont's Nightwalking: A Nocturnal History of London
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:28 PM on June 29, 2015