Berners Street Hoax

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The Berners Street Hoax . Lithograph by Alfred Concanen, 1883

The Berners Street Hoax was a criminal prank by the British writer and satirist Theodore Hook , which he committed on November 27, 1810 in Berners Street in the City of Westminster , London . The victim was a Mrs. Tottenham, who was visited that day by hundreds of traders, vendors, city officials and notables . The house on 54 Berners Street became one of the most famous addresses in London within a few hours, just as Hook predicted. The Berners Street Hoax received wide coverage in the British press and is one of the most famous hoaxes of the 19th century. Hook found numerous copycats , but after his death the hoax was glorified as a successful joke .

The hoax

Theodore Hook, around 1810

The starting point of the Berners Street Hoax was a bet between the writer Theodore Hook and the architect and writer Samuel Beazley in November 1810. While walking, they both passed house number 54 on Berners Street. According to the anecdote passed down by John Gibson Lockhart , Hook claimed he could make the house the most iconic address in London. Hook offered Beazley a guinea as a stake, and Beazley accepted the bet.

In the weeks that followed, Hook wrote thousands of letters impersonating Mrs. Tottenham, resident of 54 Berners Street. Hook wrote to artisans, vendors and authorities on her behalf, ordering them all for the same day.

In the early morning of November 27, 1810, Hook and friends moved into an apartment across from Mrs. Tottenham's house and watched the action. A chimney sweep was the first to knock on the back door of 54 Berners Street. The house staff sent him home, however, because no chimney sweep had been ordered. Soon eleven other chimney sweeps appeared, claiming they had also been hired by Mrs. Tottenham to clean the chimneys. Even while the servants were trying to resolve the misunderstanding, dozens of truckloads of coal were hit. This was followed by several confectioners who delivered wedding cakes that had been ordered , undertakers who brought custom-made coffins, pastors from all the neighboring parishes and around 40 fishmongers. Six stout men transported an organ , plus several dozen pianos, which were also delivered. Dozens of doctors and dentists, shoemakers , jewelers, opticians, painters, wig makers , candle pullers , piano tuners , bakers and butchers were also called in. Berners Street quickly filled with hundreds of merchants and suppliers eager to deliver their goods as ordered. There were also numerous onlookers who marveled at the chaotic conditions with great laughter.

When the summoned Lord Mayor of London finally arrived in Berners Street that afternoon , he recognized the seriousness of the situation and drove straight to the police station on Great Marlborough Street. Every available policeman was called to Berners Street to seal off access to the street. The police were overrun by hundreds of job seekers who, as requested, showed up at 5 p.m. for an interview with Mrs. Tottenham. Only in the evening did the crowd slowly dissolve.

In addition to the Lord Mayor of London, other dignitaries were invited by Hook to Berners Street. The Governor of the Bank of England , the Chairman of the British East India Company and the Duke of Gloucester reportedly met with Mrs. Tottenham.

The London police started an investigation into the unknown perpetrator of the crowd in Berners Street. Many letters were seized and published in the British newspapers. A reward was offered to catch the perpetrator. But initially it was not possible to identify Hook as the culprit. He had withdrawn to the country for a few days to quietly enjoy his triumph there.

It wasn't until 1812 that Theodore Hook was named in an article in The Satirist or Monthly Meteor magazine as the alleged author of the Berners Street Hoax . In 1835, Hook finally publicly confessed to the hoax in his autobiographical novel Gilbert Gurney .

Reception history

Contemporary caricature on the Berners Street Hoax by William Heath

The Berners Street Hoax caused a sensation in London in 1810 and was described in detail in the British daily newspapers. The event was also described in the 1810 yearbooks such as The Annual Register . Allusions can be found in numerous publications from 1810 and 1811, and the Hoax was also remembered on the London theater stages.

After Hook's death in 1841, several biographical notes on the famous satirist were published in the years that followed. The Berners Street Hoax was mentioned in most biographies, although Hook had revealed himself as the originator of the prank very late. In these biographies, the circumstances of the bet that led to the prank, its preparation, and its execution were increasingly embellished. Richard Harris Dalton Barham indicated that Hook deliberately included dignitaries like the Duke of Gloucester in his prank and forced her to appear at Mrs. Tottenham's by threatening to pass on piquant details from her private life. These men of honor were the actual victims of Hook, so the whole hoax should be understood as a kind of political satire.

The Berners Street Hoax was not forgotten decades after Hook's death. Many imitators also contributed to this. Just a few weeks after the events on Berners Street, a Mr. Samuels was the victim of a similar prank. In many English cities and even in Paris, the Berners Street Hoax was " imitated ad nauseam ".

Even 200 years later, the Berners Street Hoax is still considered one of the most iconic examples of British eccentricity . In 2009, British historian Justin Pollard called Hook's prank the most famous hoax of its time.

The renowned Sanderson Hotel is located at 54 Berners Street.

literature

  • Judith Flanders: The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London . Atlantic Books, London 2012, ISBN 978-1-84887-795-5 .
  • Justin Pollard: Secret Britain: The Hidden Bits of Our History . John Murray, London 2009, ISBN 978-1-84854-198-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Some sources mention the year 1809, but contemporary newspaper articles indicate the year 1810; see. The Annual register, or, A view of the history, politics, and literature For the year 1810 . VHF Otridge and Son, London 1812, pp. 291-292.
  2. ↑ John Gibson Lockhart: Theodore Hook: A Sketch . John Murray, London 1852, pp. 16-17.
  3. ^ Justin Pollard: Secret Britain: The Hidden Bits of Our History , p. 3.
  4. ↑ The Annual Register, or, A view of the history, politics, and literature For the year 1810 . VHF Otridge and Son, London 1812, p. 291.
  5. ↑ The Baltimore Reportory, of Papers on Literary and Other Topics . Joseph Robinson, Baltimore 1811, p. 269.
  6. ^ Grace and Philip Wharton: The Wits and Beaux of Society . Harper & Brothers, New York 1861, pp. 411-412.
  7. ↑ The Baltimore Reportory, of Papers on Literary and Other Topics . Joseph Robinson, Baltimore 1811, pp. 269-270.
  8. ^ RH Dalton Barham: The life and remains of Theodore Edward Hook . Richard Bentley, London 1849, p. 76.
  9. ^ The Satirist or Monthly Meteor, Vol. XI . J. Bailey, London 1812, p. 382.
  10. ^ The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal. 1835: Part the Second . Henry Colburn, London 1835, p. 22.
  11. ↑ see The Museum of Hoaxes (accessed on March 26, 2013).
  12. ^ RH Dalton Barham: The life and remains of Theodore Edward Hook . Richard Bentley, London 1849, p. 75.
  13. ↑ JP Malcolm: An historical sketch of the art of caricaturing . Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London 1813, p. 148.
  14. ↑ City Hoax . In: The Examiner , January 13, 1811.
  15. ↑ John Gibson Lockhart: Theodore Hook: A Sketch . John Murray, London 1852, p. 19.
  16. ↑ Nicholas Lezard: A chocolate box of delights . In: The Guardian , December 11, 2010.
  17. ↑ Eugene Byrne: How to ... carry off a great hoax . In: BBC History Magazine, April 2008.
  18. ^ Justin Pollard: Secret Britain: The Hidden Bits of Our History , p. 5.