UPROAR!: Satire, Scandal and Printmakers in Georgian London

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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

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 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 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. As part of the campaign, I recreated a Georgian print shop window in London - perhaps for the first time since the Georgian Age!As a fan of Alice Loxton’s history content on TikTok (and someone interested in the late 1700s & British history), I was really excited when she published this book and knew I had to read it. I would have liked the prints selected for this book to have been a bit larger (and, ideally, in colour, though I do understand this would likely have made an already-pricey book even more expensive to print), so I could read the speech bubbles and properly take in the details. I also personally wasn’t a fan of the fabricated dialogue and the numerous heavy-handed comparative references to modern pop culture for humorous effect didn’t really work for me either, but that’s just a matter of personal taste rather than quality. Peter Steinke is a clear-eyed, skilled consultant whose insights have stood the test of time. Other massive disturbance. Leaders must learn the critical skills to navigate their roles within communities Loxton does an excellent job of showing us the rivalry between the artists and the printmakers to depict the truly exciting political and court world of the late 1700s and early 1800s. CJ Fox, William Pitt and the Prince Regent were just a few of the much larger than life characters that the artists gleefully lampooned. Like today’s brilliant Matt of the Daily Telegraph, they responded overnight to news stories. Although I knew a bit about the political history of the time and about the artists, Loxton’s narrative really does put the two together in a highly readable way. Understanding the commercial aspects of the print world, with rival printmakers racing to be the first to issue prints commenting on current news stories; the scandals (and why they were scandals); and the political leanings of the various players, makes this book the best commentary upon those times that I’ve read.

This book has been an absolute delight to read and review. Alice Loxton has given us an insightful, witty and marvelous history of Georgian Britain never seen before. This is an incredible debut and it's so exciting to see a new female historian of such calibre. I’ve interviewed many historians and individuals about their work including Dan Jones, Sir Don McCullin, Saul David, Philippa Langley and Peter Frankopan. 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 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

Games

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 I’m on a personal mission to improve heritage and history for young people. I have worked with the National Trust, as well as being asked to speak at 10 Downing Street, the Hay Festival, Oxford Literary Festival and many other places. Uproar! Play Barn is located at The Yorkshire Hive, which is a free-to-enter destination adjacent to Yorkshire Wildlife Park. This book totally turns around the stereotype of dry history books loaded with dates and events. It’s a fun read, laced with Loxton’s wit and enthusiasm for the subject, often seeming like a novel in her vivid descriptions. She deftly describes events and compares them to modern equivalents in a totally entertaining way. If “these are the times that test men’s souls,” never more than for the leader’s ability to think clearly, to be present calmly, and to challenge effectively. It’s a time when leaders cannot be as anxious as those they serve; otherwise, the system is leaderless. Anxiety flows down like water from a leaky pipe. To lead effectively we must understand the impact of powerful emotional forces on people’s behavior, especially in anxious times.

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 In March 2023, I published my debut non-fiction history book, UPROAR!, which tells the thrilling story of London’s satirists from the late Georgian period.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 I really do recommend this book. If, like me, you have initial reservations about the very modern prose style that mentions Rowlandson’s aunt giving him “dollops of TLC”, don’t worry. It actually works very well and does carry the narrative forward at pace. I began to enjoy the style and I emphatically enjoyed the book. There are enough footnotes to satisfy the most fastidious historian, drawing upon primary and secondary sources; a comprehensive bibliography; and lots of illustrations. The quality of the reproductions weren’t terribly good in the proof e-book I was sent, but that might be down to them being prints that are, after all, over 200 years old!