Broadside entitled 'Duel Extraordinary!'

Commentary

This entertaining story begins: 'Account of another DUEL, that took place on Wednesday last, 18th April, in the neighbourhood of Pennycuick, county of Edinburgh ; when one of the Parties was mortally wounded.'

This story is centred on the love triangle between John Clod, Peggy and Peter Simple - meaningful fictitious names! John and Peter's fight for Peggy's attention brings them both to a duel - where their friends play a joke on them and no-one gets hurt - and Peggy is so offended and shocked that she doesn?t get out of bed afterwards. The whole story is really quite funny. Information on the everyday life of servants in their society is also revealed in this text.

Broadsides, cheap and accessible, were often used as moral forums with 'lessons of life' included in the narrative. Broadside authors tended to see themselves as moral guardians and teachers in society. As such, publishers often disseminated 'educational' texts outlining the social and personal consequences of undisciplined or immoral behaviour.

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