Description

**A brilliant new history of Georgian Britain through the eyes of the artists who immortalised it, by one of the UK’s most exciting young historians**

‘Alice Loxton is the star of her generation … the next big thing in history’ DAN SNOW

‘Vivid, pacey and endlessly engaging, this brilliant debut brings the late Georgian period dazzlingly to life. Irresistible stuff’ TRACY BORMAN

London, 1772: a young artist called Thomas Rowlandson is making his way through the grimy backstreets of the capital, on his way to begin his studies at the Royal Academy Schools. Within a few years, James Gillray and Isaac Cruikshank would join him in Piccadilly, turning satire into an artform, taking on the British establishment, and forever changing the way we view power.

Set against a backdrop of royal madness, political intrigue, the birth of modern celebrity, French revolution, American independence and the Napoleonic Wars, UPROAR! follows the satirists as they lampoon those in power, from the Prince Regent to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Their prints and illustrations deconstruct the political and social landscape with surreal and razor-sharp wit, as the three men vie with each other to create the most iconic images of the day.

Alice Loxton’s writing fizzes with energy on every page, and never fails to convince us that Gillray and his gang profoundly altered British humour, setting the stage for everything from Gilbert and Sullivan to Private Eye and Spitting Image today. This is a book that will cause readers to reappraise everything they think they know about genteel Georgian London, and see it for what it was – a time of UPROAR!

Publisher Review

Alice Loxton is the star of her generation … the next big thing in history * Dan Snow * Zippy… Loxton revels in the tumult and deformity once found so unpalatable… a generous tribute. Loxton sees Gillray as the eternal enemy of priggishness and rates his artistic vision as the equal of William Blake’s — Henry Hitchings * The Times * Lively and engaging… This is a story that always bears retelling, and Loxton does so entertainingly — Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday * [A] vivid history of Georgian satire — Michael Prodger * New Statesman * Loxton’s bringing together of Thomas Rowlandson, Isaac Cruikshank and James Gillray to tell the “tumultuous” history of late-eighteenth-century caricature is informed and intelligent. — Norma Clarke * Times Literary Supplement * An irreverent gallop through the scandalous streets of Georgian London… Alice Loxton’s vivacious prose brings to life the competitive, combative climate… the historian and are swept along by the breaking stories of the day — Charlotte Mullins * Country Life * Witty, well-written and full of wonderful detail, UPROAR! is a glorious read. A whistle-stop tour through the tumultuous eighteenth century, Loxton made me howl with laughter along the way. Her insights into the art, culture and downright gossip of the time makes this a unique book — Dr Janina Ramirez, author of FEMINA Alice Loxton heads the charge of an exciting new generation of historians – this is an exuberant, iconoclastic and, yes, uproarious debut — Jessie Childs, author of THE SIEGE OF LOYALTY HOUSE Vivid, pacey and endlessly engaging, this brilliant debut brings the late Georgian period dazzlingly to life. Irresistible stuff — Tracy Borman, author of CROWN AND SCEPTRE Alice lives and breathes history – it’s almost uncanny. I think she may have come from the past — Dr Sam Willis, author of THE STRUGGLE FOR SEA POWER Loxton writes with a terrific sense of time and place. She delivers Georgian Britain in a bold modern manner, with plenty of bounce — Franny Moyle, author of DESPERATE ROMANTICS Alice Loxton is a whirlwind of historical energy and UPROAR! is a sensational debut, which marks her out as one of the brightest new stars of popular history — Dan Jones, author of POWERS AND THRONES A rollicking ride through late 18th century Britain in all its effervescent rudeness and hilarity. Hugely entertaining — Dr Linda Porter, author of MISTRESSES Alice Loxton’s analysis of Georgian England is razor sharp, witty and engaging. An appropriately “laugh out loud” history of the age of satire — Helen Carr, author of THE RED PRINCE As wittily subversive and deeply entertaining as the material it details, Alice Loxton’s Uproar is a delightful romp through the colourful and controversial eighteenth century. Loxton has built a time-machine in a book, and invited us all along for a ride. I would suggest you hop in! — Joanne Paul, author of THE HOUSE OF DUDLEY Alice Loxton’s UPROAR! is a delight: an energetic and highly enjoyable exploration of the careers and the turmoil of the social and political world of the leading caricaturists of the great age of satire, Thomas Rowlandson, James Gillray, and Isaac Cruikshank. So rich is her research and so vivid is her prose that we emerge from reading this book feeling that we have argued, laughed and drunk punch with these men and felt the fierce brilliance of their minds and their art – which shines bright still today — Jeremy Musson As vivid and vibrant as any Rowlandson print – bawdy, beautiful, and brilliant — Kate Lister, author of A CURIOUS HISTORY OF SEX Loxton plunges us headfirst into the tumultuous world of London’s eighteenth-century printmakers in this lively, riveting and pacy account — Charlotte Mullins, author of A LITTLE HISTORY OF ART A gripping, energetic and easy to follow deep dive into the raucous satire revolution of late Georgian Britain. Alice has created a diamond of a debut book — Tristan Hughes, author of ALEXANDER’S SUCCESSORS AT WAR Bursting with energy and written with style and sophistication, Alice Loxton provides her readers with a dazzling and tantalising glimpse into the complex and colourful world of eighteenth-century Britain. Alice is a tour de force, and her magnificent debut showcases her star quality and her talent for storytelling. — Nicola Tallis, author of ALL THE QUEEN’S JEWELS