Bettymania and the Birth of Celebrity Culture

by Jeffrey Kahan

In 1804, a kind of madness descended upon Britain. A thirteen-year-old boy, William-Henry West Betty, arrived and, in a seeming instant, took Ireland, Scotland, and England by storm. Crowds were so intent upon securing tickets for Betty's performances that officers were called out to stop rioters in the streets. Like the groupies who would a century and a half later mob Elvis or The Beatles, fans raved and regularly fainted when near "the divine Master...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1611460697
• ISBN13: 9781611460698
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: Lehigh University Press
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.5"