There is a notion that the history of Britain has been written by the Whigs, and that they have put their moderate progressive slant on events.  Lady Antonia Fraser would certainly fall into that mould.  She is famous enough as a historian for her family and marriages to not be the things that define her.  But on this particular subject it is impossible not to remember that she is from a very political background.  Her father was Lord Longford who served in a Labour government.  She has a distinctly establishment background, and this is an account from the point of view of the establishment at the time.  We don’t hear much from the point of view of the common man, or at least not directly.  Their main role in the story is breaking the windows of the elites.

Continue reading Perilous Question – The Drama of the Great Reform Bill 1832 – Antonia Fraser