Alice Loxton - UPROAR!: Satire, Scandal and Printmakers in Georgian London

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 eighteenth century Britain in all its effervescent rudeness and hilarity. Hugely entertaining

Dr Linda Porter, author of Mistresses

Alice Loxtons 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

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

As wittily subversive and deeply entertaining as the material it details, Alice Loxtons 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!

Dr Joanne Paul, author of The House of Dudley

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 Loxtons 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, author of The Country House: Past, Present, Future

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 Londons 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 The Perdiccas Years, 323320 BC

Published in the UK and USA in 2023 by

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ISBN: 978-178578-954-0

eBOOK ISBN: 978-178578-956-4

Text copyright 2023 Alice Loxton

The author has asserted her moral rights.

Map rights details: Rocque, J., Pine, J. & Tinney, J. (1746) A plan of the cities of London and Westminster, and borough of Southwark, with the contiguous buildings. London, John Pine & John Tinney. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/76696823/.

Portrait of James Gillray on p. v, Charles Turner, 1819, mezzotint after Gillrays self-portrait, National Portrait Gallery, London.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Typeset in LTC Caslon Pro by Marie Doherty

Printed in the UK by TJ Books

For James Gillray

Laughter is a bodily exercise, precious to health. ARISTOTLE (SO THEY SAY)

Contents

Authors Note

London at the close of the eighteenth century was a circus: port-pickled politicians wept over the brilliance of classical oratory; duchesses pranced through butchers shops in a flutter of lace and ribbons; and every vagabond and countess, scoundrel and bishop gossiped with glee over the Royal Academys placement of a fig leaf.

But right in the heart of this pantomime was a force, a magnetism, so strong it kept the entire city in check. This force was not imposed by king or law, but the electric creativity emanating from a set of visionary artists. Their satirical prints were so acerbic, so insightful, that every Londoners folly and foible was fair game. Earls and rakes, fishwives and barbers were kept awake at night. Life-long reputations were destroyed in an instant. No one was safe.

Yet, this story is unknown by all but a few enthusiasts and academics. UPROAR! seeks to change that.

A word of guidance, though. The following pages are not for the faint-hearted. We are about to journey through some of the most dramatic and thrilling moments in British history. We will encounter madness and cruelty, revolution and war.

But it is also a story to inspire and delight. Prepare to come face-to-face with some of the greatest visionaries this country has ever seen. As we follow their journey and peer over their shoulders, we will glimpse dazzling sparks of genius. Sunglasses are advised.

Well pry into the most intimate moments of our ancestors lives see them sneeze and yawn, hear them giggle and snort. In turn, you might find were probing deep into the secrets of your own character, too. Be prepared to be shocked. Be prepared to weep. And definitely be prepared to laugh.

So, hold on to your hats. Its going to be a rollicking ride. Welcome to the world of UPROAR!

Alice Loxton

Covent Garden

September 2022

Map and Timeline

Key to map

103 Wardour Street, where Rowlandson stayed with Aunt Jane until 1786

50 Poland Street, the home of Rowlandsons Aunt Jane from 1786

2 Robert Street, Rowlandsons dismal basement lodgings, where he lived 1792 c . 1795

1 James Street, Rowlandsons final lodgings

St Pauls Church, Covent Garden, where Rowlandson is buried

66 Drury Lane, William Hollands early print shop

50 Oxford Street, William Hollands Laughing Lounge print shop

18 Old Bond Street, Hannah Humphreys print shop (177983 and 179094)

51 Old Bond Street, Hannah Humphreys print shop (17839)

37 New Bond Street, Hannah Humphreys print shop (17947)

27 St Jamess Street, Hannah Humphreys print shop (17971817)

St Jamess Church, Piccadilly, where Gillray is buried

3 Piccadilly, Samuel Fores print shop until 1796

50 Piccadilly, Samuel Fores print shop from 1796

St Martins Court, the Cruikshanks early lodgings

117 Dorset Street, where the Cruikshanks lived later on

St Brides Church, where Isaac Cruikshank is buried

Somerset House, home to the Royal Academy from 1771

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