A major new history of the Royal Navy during the tumultuous age of revolution The French Revolutionary Wars catapulted Britain into a conflict against a new enemy: Republican France. Britain relied on the Royal Navy to protect its shores and empire, but as radical ideas about rights and liberty spread across the globe, it could not prevent the spirit of revolution from reaching its ships. In this insightful history, James Davey tells the story of Britain's Royal Navy across the turbulent 1790s. As resistance and rebellion swept through the fleets, the navy itself became a political battleground. This was a conflict fought for principles as well as power. Sailors organized riots, strikes, petitions, and mutinies to achieve their goals. These shocking events dominated public discussion, prompting cynical--and sometimes brutal--responses from the government. Tempest uncovers the voices of ordinary sailors to shed new light on Britain's war with France, as the age of revolution played out at every level of society.

A guide to historical literature on England between 1760 and 1837, emphasising more recent work.

“One of the most satisfying biographies of an English king: it is ample, convincing and well written”—from the acclaimed author of The House of Medici (The Times Literary Supplement). Christopher Hibbert delivers a superbly detailed picture of the life and times of George IV including his exorbitant spending on his homes, his clothes, and his women; his patronage of the arts; his “illegal” marriage to Catholic Mrs. Fitzherbert, and lesser known facts such as his generous charity donations and his witty one-liners, including one he uttered when he met his bride-to-be (Caroline of Brunswick) for the first time: “Harris, I am not well, fetch me a brandy.” George IV was the son of George III (who went insane and inspired The Madness of King George) and was the founder of the prestigious King’s College in London. “A delight to read . . . an enormously enjoyable and skillful portrait.” —Philip Ziegler, The Spectator “Christopher Hibbert’s George IV is at once soundly based on research in the Royal Archives at Windsor and a rollicking good read. I found it invaluable when I was researching The Unruly Queen, my life of George IV’s wife, Queen Caroline, and I recommend it to anyone interested by George IV’s flamboyant and outrageous personality.” —Flora Fraser, author of Flora Macdonald: “Pretty Young Rebel”

August 1781 saw the publication of a manual on fox hunting that would become a classic of its genre. Hugely popular in its own day, Peter Beckford's Thoughts on Hunting is often cited as marking the birth of modern hunting and continues to be quoted from affectionately today by the hunting fraternity. Less stressed is the fact that its subject was immediately controversial, and that a hostile review which appeared on the heels of the manual's publication raised two criticisms of fox hunting that would be repeated over the next two centuries: fox hunting was a cruel sport and a feudal, anachronistic one at that. This study explores the attacks made on fox hunting from 1781 to the legal ban achieved in 2004, as well as assessing the reasons for its continued appeal and post-ban survival. Chapters cover debates in the areas of: class and hunting; concerns over cruelty and animal welfare; party politics; the hunt in literature; and nostalgia. By adopting a thematic approach, the author is able to draw out the wider social and cultural implications of the debates, and to explore what they tell us about national identity, social mores and social relations in modern Britain.