Editing Cheapside (section)

==Literary connections==

Cheapside was the birthplace of both [[John Milton]] and [[Robert Herrick (poet)|Robert Herrick]]. It was for a long time one of the most important streets in London. It is also the site of the 'Bow Bells', the [[St Mary-le-Bow|church of St Mary-le-Bow]], which has played a part in London's [[Cockney]] heritage and the tale of [[Dick Whittington]]. [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] grew up around Cheapside and there are a scattering of references to the thoroughfare and its environs throughout his work. The first chapter of [[Peter Ackroyd]]'s ''Brief Lives'' series on Chaucer also colourfully describes the street at that time.<ref>[http://www.randomhouse.com/nanatalese/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385507974&view=excerpt Ackroyd, Peter (2005). ''Chaucer'' (biography), chapter 1] at Random House.com</ref>

[[William Shakespeare]] used Cheapside as the setting for several bawdy scenes in ''[[Henry IV, Part I]]''. A reference to it is also made in ''[[Henry VI, Part II]]'', in a speech by the rebel [[Jack Cade]]: "all the realm shall be in common; and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass".

[[Thomas Middleton]]'s play ''[[A Chaste Maid in Cheapside]]'' (1613) both satirises and celebrates the citizens of the neighbourhood during the Renaissance, when the street hosted the city's goldsmiths.

[[William Wordsworth]], in his 1797 poem ''The Reverie of Poor Susan'', imagines a naturalistic Cheapside of past:

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And a river flows on through the vale of Cheapside.
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[[Jane Austen]], in her 1813 novel ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', characterises Cheapside as a London neighbourhood frowned upon by the landed elite:<ref>[http://www.pemberley.com/etext/PandP/chapter8.htm Austen, Jane (1813). ''Pride and Prejudice'', chapter 8] at Pemberley.com</ref>

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"I think I have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney in Meryton."

"Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside."

"That is capital," added her sister, and they both laughed heartily.

"If they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside," cried Bingley, "it would not make them one jot less agreeable."

"But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world," replied Darcy.
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[[Charles Dickens Jr.]] wrote in his 1879 book ''[[Charles Dickens Jr.#Dickens's Dictionary of London|Dickens's Dictionary of London]]'':

<blockquote>Cheapside remains now what it was five centuries ago, the greatest thoroughfare in the City of London. Other localities have had their day, have risen, become fashionable, and have sunk into obscurity and neglect, but Cheapside has maintained its place, and may boast of being the busiest thoroughfare in the world, with the sole exception perhaps of [[London Bridge|London-<!--SIC-->bridge]].<ref>
{{Cite web
 | author      = Dickens, Charles Jr.
 | year        = 1879
 | title       = Cheapside
 | work        = [[Dickens's Dictionary of London]]
 | url         = http://www.victorianlondon.org/dickens/dickens-chr.htm
 | access-date  = 2007-08-22
 | author-link        = Charles Dickens Jr.
}}
</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Cheapside and St. Mary-Le-Bow church, City of London - geograph.org.uk - 517805.jpg|thumb|Cheapside in 1979]]

[[Hugh Lofting]]'s book ''[[Doctor Dolittle]]'', published in 1951, names a quarrelsome London sparrow with a Cockney accent Cheapside. He lives most of the year in St Edmund's left ear in St Paul's Cathedral and is invited to the African country of Fantippo to deliver mail to cities because the other birds are not able to navigate city streets.

Cheapside is also depicted in [[Rosemary Sutcliff]]'s 1951 children's historical novel ''[[The Armourer's House]]'', along with other parts of [[Tudor London]].

In a more contemporary treatment, the Cheapside of the Middle Ages was referenced in a derogatory sense in the 2001 movie ''[[A Knight's Tale (film)|A Knight's Tale]]'' as being the poor, unhealthy and low-class birthplace and home of the unlikely hero.

Nineteenth century Cheapside is presented as the home of Mary "Jacky" Faber in ''[[Bloody Jack (novel)|Bloody Jack]]'' by [[L. A. Meyer]].

Additionally, Cheapside is depicted as a major setting in the bestselling novel by [[Maria McCann]], ''As Meat Loves Salt'', a historical feature set against the English Civil War.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCann|first=Maria|title=As Meat Loves Salt|year=2001|publisher=Flamingo/Harcourt|location=United Kingdom/Florida|isbn=978-0-15-601226-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/asmeatlovessalt00mcca_0/page/565 565]|url=https://archive.org/details/asmeatlovessalt00mcca_0/page/565|df=dmy-all|url-access=registration}}</ref>

[[William Gibson]]'s mystery novel ''[[The Peripheral]]'' depicts a 22nd-century Cheapside converted to a Victorian-era [[cosplay]] zone where only 19th century costume is allowed.