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Perilous Question

The Drama of the Great Reform Bill 1832

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Perilous Question

By: Antonia Fraser
Narrated by: Mike Grady
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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)©2013 Antonia Fraser (P)2013 W F Howes Ltd Political Science Politics & Government
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If you're interested in British political history I think you'll enjoy this book as it focuses in great detail on the turbulent first few years of William IVth short reign as reformers tried to get rid of the rotten Burghs and enable large cities, such as Manchester, to have representation in Parliament and also to extend the voting rights beyond a few property owners. Lord Grey had pressed for reform for about 40 years and finally succeeded with the Reform Bill of 1832. I had underestimated how this modest reform was so vehemently opposed by many in the Tory party and their aristocratic supporters. I was also surprised by how England teetered on the brink of insurrection as ordinary people denied the vote pressed violently for the right to vote. The narrative is very detailed with many names of politicians many of whom have faded from history which led to my mind wandering a bit a times nevertheless I was glad to learn more about this important turning point in the political climate of this country.

Of more specialized interest

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I really enjoyed this book. Well written, doesn't go into too much detail and is classic Antonia Frazer. Essential reading for anyone interested in 19th Century politics and has all of the drama and political arguments I was hoping for. Allows you to gain incite of the political figures of the time and the make up of the early 19th Century British political system. Great book!

Fantastic!

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This is the story of how the Great Reform Act of 1832 was finally passed through the UK parliament. I became interested after listening to two other terrific books: Bury the Chains by Adam Susskind and George Elliott's Middle march.

The first tells the story of the abolition of the slave trade in the UK in 1805, but why did slavery itself take another 30 or so years to come to an end? Because before the Great Reform Act the few who could vote wouldn't get tlrid of it, after 1832 the newly enlarged elotoarate could and did. Middlemarcj is one of the supreme novels of the English language and set during the ructions around the passing of the act.

Lady Fraser takes us through the tortuous struggle to pass the act with humour, learning and a sharp eye for character. And what characters populate this book. Almost all the main players are eccentric. The author's thorough research let's her drop great dollops of fabulous Regency English into the narrative. A thoroughly entertaining and informative book.

My one criticism is that she could have included something about the repercussions of the act. Other than that, excellent.

When everything changed

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The reader had a very pleasant voice and would probably to justice to a bit of Dickens, but without the strong narrative thread driving the reading, it’s easy for the book to become a background drone rather than a lively listen. I’m 8.5 hrs in but I feel as though the amount of detail I’ve taken in doesn’t reflect that.

Because it is difficult to become engrossed, petty quibbles, like the reader not knowing the correct pronunciation of, oft repeated, place names such as Hawick and Belvoir (Hoick and Beaver), and the continual misplaced stresses in sentences, pull one out of the subject matter. This is a failure of direction and editing as much as reading.

I’ll finish the book, but it could, and should, have been so much better.

Reader fails to bring to bring the scholarship to life

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