The Rake's Progress The Rake's Progress The Rake's Progress is an English-language opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings "A Rake's Progress" (1733–1735) of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on 2 May 1947, in a Chicago exhibition. The story concerns the decline and fall of one Tom Rakewell, who deserts Anne Trulove for the delights of London in the company of Nick Shadow, who turns out to be the Devil. After several misadventures, all initiated by the devious Shadow, Tom
Thomas William Hogarth Thomas William Hogarth Thomas William Hogarth (Kelso, 6 April 1901 – 26 January 1999) was a Scottish, later Australian, veterinarian, writer on dogs, dog judge, dog breeder, genetics enthusiast and veterinary surgeon. He was an author of several books published in the 1930s about the Bull Terrier and breeding of Bull Terriers. Hogarth was born in Kelso on the borders of Scotland, on 6 April 1901. He attended Kelso High School and Giggleswick School. After the First World War he traveled to and worked in Canada. He bred Bull Terriers in the early 1920s in Scotland using the kennel name