Mid-Georgian Britain was a period of both elegance and desperation. As the middle and upper classes enjoyed their wealth with an increasing range of consumer goods, the poor endured debtor's prison and an increasing number of crimes with the death penalty. This, the latest addition to the growing Living Histories series, charts the growth of the empire and looks at the growing importance of London as a capital city where the rich and poor rubbed shoulders. Jacqueline Riding creates a vivid portrait of the daily reality of life for a middle-class family in this age of growing affluence.
Mid-Georgian Britain was a period of both elegance and desperation. As the middle and upper classes enjoyed their wealth with an increasing range of c...
By 1750 Britain was - as Jacqueline Riding shows - at peace with her traditional enemy, France, and had finally extinguished the threat from the Catholic Jacobites. The art of William Hogarth - particularly his great canvas O The Roast Beef of Old England of 1749 - duly reflected this new sense of security and pride in being British. The economy was booming. Trade was expanding. And newly-confident Britons were no longer looking to Italy or France for their cultural exemplars, particularly in the field of architectural design. It was the ferment of activity, the eclectic building boom which...
By 1750 Britain was - as Jacqueline Riding shows - at peace with her traditional enemy, France, and had finally extinguished the threat from the Catho...
