London History

Possibly the first serial to be printed in English. ‘The London Spy’ caught the attention of London’s masses through a witty and unvarnished view of life in the city. The London Spy ran for 18 months during a time when most periodical features were quickly snubbed and replaced. Its endurance helped to popularize the “spy narrative” for the rest of the 18th century. it’s author was Ned Ward (also known as Edward Ward) (1660 or 1667 - June 20, 1731), a satirical writer and publican in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century based in London. The Spy was published in 18 monthly instalments starting in November 1698 and was described (by the author) as a “complete survey” of the London scene. It was first published in book form in 1703. Ward himself was born in Oxfordshire and ran the King’s Head Tavern, next door to Gray’s Inn, London from 1699. His first publication was The Poets Ramble After Riches (1691), and he published at least 70 more books including The Wooden World Dissected - an unreliable account of the Royal Navy; Vulgus Britannicus; A Trip to Jamaica (169 - based on personal experience; Hudibras Redivivus (twelve monthly parts 1705-06) - a bitter attack on the Whig government of the day that resulted in the author being put in the pillory twice, at the Royal Exchange and Charing Cross; and the Satyrical Reflections on Clubs - which contains one of the first descriptions of gay clubs in London.