Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the publication of my book The Devil and the Bag of Nails which was published on Kindle on 5th January last year as part of my first great experiment with ebook publishing. Lots of people have asked about the title which comes from a London pub in Victoria now known only as the Bag O'Nails but it changed its name from The Devil and the Bag of Nails only as late as 1905. Historical records trace the pub back to 1775 when it was known as 'The Bacchanals'. It stood at the corner of Kings Row and Lower Grosvenor Place. My story is set a little further back in 1732 on the eve of the passing of the Gin Act and is based on events at the time. The original sign showed a satyr of the woods and a group of jolly dogs known as bacchanals, but as the satyr was painted black and had cloven feet it was called the Devil by common people not well-versed in classical mythology. The pub is still there and is owned rather appropriately by Punch Taverns, Mr Punch being a late victorian version of the Satyr/Devil of the title.
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