When Christopher Anstey published his New Bath Guide in 1776, his humorous and gently satirical portrait of fashionable Bath society became an instant success, transforming this shy Cambridgeshire squire into a national celebrity.
His name has been associated with the literature of Bath ever since.

Anstey moved to Bath in the early 1770s and this critical biography, inspired by his letters and writings from Bath, has been written to coincide with the bicentenary of his death in 1805.

Gavin Turner has published editions of Anstey’s two best-known works: The New Bath Guide and An Election Ball. He has recently edited for the Jane Austen Society as revised version of its best-selling publication of Jane Austen in Bath.