Perilous Question: The Drama of the Great Reform Bill 1832
Antonia Fraser
May 2013 · W F Howes · Narrated by Mike Grady
5.0star
1 reviewreport
headphones
Audiobook
11 hr 42 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
Want a 1 hr 10 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline.
Add
About this audiobook
Internationally bestselling historian Antonia Fraser's book brilliantly evokes one year of pre-Victorian political and social history - the passing of the Great Reform Bill of 1832, an eventful and violent year that featured riots in Bristol, Manchester and Nottingham.
The time-span of the book is from Wellington's intractable declaration in November 1830 that 'The beginning of reform is beginning of revolution' to 7 June 1832, when William IV reluctantly assented to the Great Reform Bill, under the double threat of the creation of 60 new peers in the House of Lords and the threat of revolution throughout the country. Wider themes of Irish and 'negro emancipation' underscore the narrative.
The book is character driven; we learn of the Whig aristocrats prepared to whittle away their own power to bring liberty to the country, the all-too-conservative opposition who included the intransigent Duchess of Kent and Queen Adelaide and finally the 'revolutionaries' like William Cobbett, author of Rural Rides. These events led to a total change in the way Britain was governed, a two-year revolution that Antonia Fraser brings to vivid dramatic life.
"A writer whose command of sources, eye for detail, perception of character and shrewd judgment enable her to bring the past truthfully to life" ( Sunday Telegraph)
"Drama, betrayal, religion and sex, it's all here, adorned by often fascinating, at times esoteric detail" ( Guardian)
"Fraser brings to life the female stars circling the Sun King in an account that successfully combines erudition with gossipy stories of the kind the Versailles courtiers loved so much." ( Sunday Times)
The time-span of the book is from Wellington's intractable declaration in November 1830 that 'The beginning of reform is beginning of revolution' to 7 June 1832, when William IV reluctantly assented to the Great Reform Bill, under the double threat of the creation of 60 new peers in the House of Lords and the threat of revolution throughout the country. Wider themes of Irish and 'negro emancipation' underscore the narrative.
The book is character driven; we learn of the Whig aristocrats prepared to whittle away their own power to bring liberty to the country, the all-too-conservative opposition who included the intransigent Duchess of Kent and Queen Adelaide and finally the 'revolutionaries' like William Cobbett, author of Rural Rides. These events led to a total change in the way Britain was governed, a two-year revolution that Antonia Fraser brings to vivid dramatic life.
"A writer whose command of sources, eye for detail, perception of character and shrewd judgment enable her to bring the past truthfully to life" ( Sunday Telegraph)
"Drama, betrayal, religion and sex, it's all here, adorned by often fascinating, at times esoteric detail" ( Guardian)
"Fraser brings to life the female stars circling the Sun King in an account that successfully combines erudition with gossipy stories of the kind the Versailles courtiers loved so much." ( Sunday Times)
Ratings and reviews
5.0
1 review
About the author
Antonia Fraser is the author of numerous internationally bestselling biographies, including "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" and "Cromwell: Our Chief of Men".
Rate this audiobook
Tell us what you think.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
