# Little Britain explained — The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. > Chapter companion for The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by Washington Irving. ## What happens The narrator describes the antiquated London neighborhood of Little Britain, its preservation of old customs, superstitious beliefs, and the social dynamics among its inhabitants, including the rise and fall of the Lamb family's attempts at gentility. ## Themes in this chapter ### Nostalgia and the Past Little Britain is portrayed as a fragment of London's better days, preserving antiquated folks, fashions, and holiday customs of yore. ### Domesticity and Family The chapter details the social life and family dynamics of the Lamb family, including their attempts to rise in social status and the resulting neighborhood tensions. ### National Identity and Cultural Exchange Little Britain is described as the heart's core of true John Bullism, with residents resisting foreign influences like French dancing masters and fashionable continental ways. ## Character check-ins ### Geoffrey Crayon The narrator who has lived in Little Britain for several quiet years and observes the neighborhood's customs and inhabitants. ### Mr. Skyrme A tall, dry old apothecary who is a great believer in omens and prophecies, and spreads alarming tales among the locals. ### Mrs. Lamb The wife of the retired butcher, who aspires to gentility and hosts gatherings with quality acquaintances. ### The Lambs The daughters of the Lamb family, who adopt fashionable ways, play the piano, and cause social upheaval in Little Britain. ### John Bull Referenced as the embodiment of true English character, with Little Britain described as the stronghold of 'true John Bullism'. ## Key lines > Little Britain may truly be called the heart's core of the city, the stronghold of true John Bullism. Little Britain is the very center of traditional English character and values. _The narrator emphasizes the neighborhood's role as a bastion of old English customs and identity._ > Since these portentous weathercocks have thus laid their heads together, wonderful events had already occurred. The good old king, notwithstanding that he had lived eighty-two years, had all at once given up the ghost; another king had mounted the throne; a royal duke had died suddenly; another, in France, had been murdered; there had been radical meetings in all parts of the kingdom; the bloody scenes at Manchester; the great plot in Cato Street; and, above all, the queen had returned to England! Mr. Skyrme interprets the conjunction of the grasshopper and dragon weathercocks as an omen for recent calamities: the death of King George III, the accession of a new king, a royal duke's sudden death, the murder of a French duke, radical meetings, the Peterloo Massacre, the Cato Street conspiracy, and Queen Caroline's return. _This passage illustrates the superstitious mindset of the apothecary and the neighborhood's tendency to link local signs with national events._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters/little-britain - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_sketchbook_of_geoffrey_crayon_gent_se/chapters