A lavishly illustrated manuscript from the eighteenth century now being published for the first time, Thomas Hammond’s memoirs are a major discovery. This abandoned waif embarks on a long journey through bewildering foreign lands—working by turns as a stableboy, jockey, servant to French nobles, itinerant circus rider, and entertainment entrepreneur—only to recover his home and father at the end of his travels.

Personal narratives by the eighteenth-century’s nonelites are exceedingly rare, and Hammond’s memoir provides a wonderfully vivid depiction of the texture of everyday life in this era. Possessed of a dry wit, Hammond can be hilarious, offering uproarious descriptions of stableboy pranks, but he can also be compellingly frank about his emotions, revealing how deprived of love he felt as a young boy, or earnestly recounting how he fell in love with his master’s wife.

This edition includes numerous illustrations from the original manuscript—Hammond’s own hand-drawn travel maps and depictions of bullfighting as well as various images of the equestrian life collected by Hammond, many in brilliant color.