The Rake

ENGLAND, OUR ENGLAND

The Derby, the St. Leger, The Oaks, and, of course, the Royal meeting at Ascot were peaks of national excitement.

The dandy, a silk scarf wound around his top hat and trailing like a pennant in the wind, lolling against a barouche, cigar dangling from his lips, a set of splendid seals hanging from the watch-chain on his snowy waistcoat front, casts a supercilious glance at the ragged, shoeless girl trying to interest him in her wares… while unseen, beneath the carriage wheels, another urchin is reaching out to steal a bottle of champagne.

An infant acrobat, lost in dreamy contemplation of the pie and lobster being set out for a picnic lunch, forgets that he is to perform some feat of agility. The thimble rigger is busy practising his art, inviting bystanders to try their luck and find the pea hidden beneath one of the small cups he moves around a small collapsible table, and it seems he has found a victim, as one of the onlookers has a crisp white banknote in his hand.

These are just a couple of the characters that people William Powell Frith’s masterpiece, Derby Day. A mid 19th-century scene preserved for ever, locked into the oil paint that covers the vast canvas: Frith achieved with a brush what Dickens managed with a pen. More than just a record of an event, he captures the very spirit of the sport of kings; the sense of occasion, the spectacle and sartorial opportunities offered to students of the turf.

Attendance at racecourses and proximity to horseflesh seems to loosen inhibitions and

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Rake

The Rake5 min read
In Search Of No Civilisation
Self-catering isn’t a sexy word. Perhaps it’s the ‘catering’ part that brings to mind school dinners and slops of mashed potato. But what self-catering means, if you read between the lines, is privacy. In this world of fast-paced consumerism, you can
The Rake8 min read
A Woman Scorned?
When the cultural fixation with Harry and Meghan reached its nadir — I think one can arguably assign this moment to either their untimely departure to the grand-old colony of Canada, or to that tiresome display of interviews, book releases and Netfli
The Rake5 min read
Under Our Own Steam
There were more than a few raised eyebrows and quizzical looks from naysaying friends and acquaintances at a dinner party when it was suggested to them that my wife and I would be embarking on a meticulously planned and plotted road trip through the

Related Books & Audiobooks