The Merry-Thought: or the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany by Hurlo Thrumbo

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Jameson Kısmet Bell (Bogaziçi University)

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The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

Date of occurrence c.1700- c.1750

Places

England (Location)

Genres and Modes

Multigenre/Miscellaneous

Resources

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The Merry-Thought

is a collection of inscriptions from public houses, taverns, and boghouses (toilettes) throughout England in the early eighteenth century.

The name of its psedonymous author, “Hurlo Thrumbo”, derives from the dramatic work Hurlothrumbo; or, The super-natural (1729), a popular compilation of singing, dancing and nonsense written by Samuel Johnson, a “dancing-master of Cheshire” (1691-1773). The collection is dedicated to the printer, “J. Roberts of Warwick Lane”, which gives modern scholars reason to inquire whether the editor was in fact the famous writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson, or the printer John Roberts, or an unknown person.

The name of its psedonymous author, “Hurlo Thrumbo”, derives from the dramatic work

Hurlothrumbo; or, The super-natural

…

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1548 words

Citation: Kısmet Bell, Jameson. "The Merry-Thought: or the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany by Hurlo Thrumbo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 September 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19740, accessed 08 April 2025.]