Richard Beau Nash was the original "It boy," the self-invented, style-over-substance ruling impresario of Bath who came from humble beginnings. He is a living illustration of what can be achieved with self-confidence and self-possession, as he became the ever-present match maker, gambler, and businessman at the whirl of balls and games at Bath in the 18th century. John Eglin's brilliant and rewarding book is concerned as much with Nash's invention of himself as it is with the invention of Bath. He looks in rich and fascinating detail at the amusement culture of the city, the rapid physical expansion of the spa in the first part of the century, at developers, architects, and landlords, at the role which religion and medicine played in that expansion, and at Bath's successful adaptation to rapid change. Wide-ranging, stylishly written, and peopled by remarkable characters, this book gives a wonderful insight into how people of the 18nth century lived and let their wigs down.