UPROAR!: Satire, Scandal and Printmakers in Georgian London | Alice Loxton
UPROAR!: Satire, Scandal and Printmakers in Georgian London | Alice Loxton
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Before Memes, There Was Gillray: Georgian Britain’s Original Age of Political Satire
**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!
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Alice Loxton is a British historian, bestselling author and presenter known for bringing history to new audiences through engaging storytelling and social media. She has more than three million followers across her platforms under @history_alice and has presented history programmes and documentaries for outlets including the BBC, Channel 4 and History Hit.
Her first book, UPROAR!: Satire, Scandal and Printmakers in Georgian London (2023), explores the vibrant world of Georgian political satire and printmakers including James Gillray, Thomas Rowlandson and Isaac Cruikshank. Her second book, Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives (2024), became an instant Sunday Times bestseller, won Blackwell's Book of the Year 2024, and was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year.
Her third book, Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England's Lost Queen, was published in 2025 and follows Loxton's journey exploring the life and legacy of medieval queen Eleanor of Castile. In 2026, Eleanor won a Society of Authors Somerset Maugham Award.
Loxton has worked with cultural and heritage organisations including the National Trust, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and Royal Academy, and has participated in projects with institutions and broadcasters ranging from the BBC to 10 Downing Street. She is also an ambassador for the National Trust, a patron of the British Pilgrimage Trust and a mentor for the King's Foundation's 35 Under 35 Network.
Her fourth book, A History of Britain in 21 Paintings, is scheduled for publication by Penguin in November 2026.
Sources: Alice Loxton — Official Website · Pan Macmillan — Alice Loxton · Penguin — Alice Loxton
One correction worth making on your current Eighteen listing: it says she has “over two million followers.” Her current official bio says over three million, so I would update that figure.
Product details
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Publication
Icon Books
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Author
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Language
English
Lexile:
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Pages
432
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ISBN-13
9781785789557