Description:Rake (n) "was a
dissolute man, esp. one in fashionable society; roue." The English rake
strides through the pages of romantic fiction, impossibly handsome,
cynical and dangerous, a gambler, a deadly swordsman leaving a trail of
broken hearts and slain rivals in his wake. The reality was if anything
more intriguing. Some were poets and playwrights of genius - including
the Earl of Rochester, author of some of the most tender and most
obscene lyrics in the language. Others, such as Colonel Charteris
'Rape-master General', personified depravity. This unique and
fascinating book charts the exploits the English rake, beginning in the
Restoration Era with the hedonistic Charles II and his licentious
courtiers, and following the flowering and then final decline of the
rake during the Victorian era. Along the way you learn about England's
most reckless libertines and discover how the Hellfire Club lived up to
its reputation for debauchery and satanic blasphemy. You'll become
intimately acquainted with those who have the dubious accolade of being
the biggest rogues, lechers and profligates in history.