Dan Cruickshank @ EIBF

Dan Cruickshank requires no lessons in architectural history. But he could do with some guidance on public speaking. Cruickshank’s new book is called The Secret History of Georgian London, and we expected some disclosures on how prostitution funded the construction of the city. However, frequent digressions and an elastic concept of time mean Cruickshank leaves his audience half baked. In his more focused moments, he is excellent. The scale of female prostitution in 18th century London – 1 in 5 of the population – seems incomprehensible. It becomes easier to understand once reminded of your appalling prospects if you had the misfortune to be born female. With the professions closed to women in the upper classes and wages of £5 a year for the lower, the only ways for women to make good were to marry money or screw their way to respectability. Cruickshank is about to make the connection between the sex trade and the splendours of Georgian architecture when Sheena McDonald in the chair has to call time. Judging by the long queue at the book-signing tent, plenty still hold Cruickshank in high regard. But a few grumbles overheard after the event suggest not everyone left as a Dan fan. [James Carson]