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. As part of the campaign, I recreated a Georgian print shop window in London - perhaps for the first time since the Georgian Age! 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. 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. 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.

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. 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

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 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!

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 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 ARTAlice 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 Lively and engaging... This is a story that always bears retelling, and Loxton does so entertainingly -- Kathryn Hughes ― Mail on Sunday Historical nonfiction purists out there probably won’t enjoy this as much as I did from a writing style perspective: Loxton uses modern references to make points in a very casual, comical, delivery style. She uses hypothetical dialogue, journal entries, and “picture this” narrative devices to bring the reader into the past-she doesn’t simply regurgitate factual information. This, for me, was an interesting choice, but one that worked, especially given the light, jokey content & tone of the book. Her delivery style on TikTok and her delivery in this book is very similar-I could hear her voice in my head as I read this! As vivid and vibrant as any Rowlandson print - bawdy, beautiful, and brilliant -- Kate Lister, author of A CURIOUS HISTORY OF SEX

Friday 31st March - In conversation with Dan Snow at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford Literary Festival 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 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'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 MussonAlice 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 Vivid, pacey and endlessly engaging, this brilliant debut brings the late Georgian period dazzlingly to life. Irresistible stuff' - TRACY BORMAN