THE SUNDAY TIMES ART BOOK OF THE YEAR A Sunday Times Best Paperback of 2022 Christie's Best Art Books of the Year 'Deft and richly detailed ... rescues the artist from John Bull caricature' - Michael Prodger, Sunday Times 'Marvellous ... a vivid and compelling reconstruction of the settings of Hogarth's life and artistic achievements, and of the nature of the man' - Professor Linda Colley, author of The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen 'Full of richness, originality and considered humour, unafraid to shock with thrilling new insight ... terrific' - Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, Director of V&A Stratford & Sky Arts 'The full technicolour panorama of Georgian life laid out in a huge and passionate book' - Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and author of Courtiers: The Secret History of the Georgian Court On a late spring night in 1732, a boisterous group of friends set out from their local pub. They are beginning a journey, a 'peregrination' that will take them through the gritty streets of Georgian London and along the River Thames as far as the Isle of Sheppey. And among them is an up-and-coming engraver and painter, just beginning to make a name for himself: William Hogarth. Hogarth's vision, to a vast degree, still defines the eighteenth century. In this, the first biography for over twenty years, Jacqueline Riding brings him to vivid life, immersing us in the world he inhabited and from which he drew inspiration. At the same time, she introduces us to an artist who was far bolder and more various than we give him credit for: an ambitious self-made man, a devoted husband, a sensitive portraitist, an unmatched storyteller, philanthropist, technical innovator and author of a seminal work of art theory. Following in his own footsteps from humble beginnings to professional triumph (and occasional disaster), Hogarth illuminates the work and life of a great artist who embraced the highest principles even while charting humanity's lowest vices.

Canaletto's time in Mid-Georgian Britain has received much scholarly attention in the past. But this book places his work in a broader political and social context, linking his paintings and drawings with a growing sense of assurance and mission which the British nation was beginning to display - perhaps best represented by the works of William Hogarth.

The story of the Peterloo massacre, a defining moment in the history of British democracy, told with passion and authority.

'A superb account of one of the defining moments in modern British history' Tristram Hunt.

'Peterloo is one of the greatest scandals of British political history ... Jacqueline Riding tells this tragic story with mesmerising skill' John Bew.

'Fast-paced and full of fascinating detail' Tim Clayton.

On a hot late summer's day, a crowd of 60,000 gathered in St Peter's Field. They came from all over Lancashire – ordinary working-class men, women and children – walking to the sound of hymns and folk songs, wearing their best clothes and holding silk banners aloft. Their mood was happy, their purpose wholly serious: to demand fundamental reform of a corrupt electoral system.

By the end of the day fifteen people, including two women and a child, were dead or dying and 650 injured, hacked down by drunken yeomanry after local magistrates panicked at the size of the crowd. Four years after defeating the 'tyrant' Bonaparte at Waterloo, the British state had turned its forces against its own people as they peaceably exercised their time-honoured liberties. As well as describing the events of 16 August in shattering detail, Jacqueline Riding evokes the febrile state of England in the late 1810s, paints a memorable portrait of the reform movement and its charismatic leaders, and assesses the political legacy of the massacre to the present day.

As fast-paced and powerful as it is rigorously researched, Peterloo: The Story of the Manchester Massacre adds significantly to our understanding of a tragic staging-post on Britain's journey to full democracy.

This richly illustrated publication explores the lasting influence of Gainsborough's Blue Boy on British art and culture Marking the return of Gainsborough's Blue Boy to the UK exactly 100 years since it left for the United States, this richly illustrated publication will explore the lasting influence of this iconic painting on British art and culture. During the nineteenth century, the painting's fame grew and full-length portraits by Gainsborough and his contemporaries became much sought after by wealthy American collectors. The sale of The Blue Boy to the American railroad magnate and collector Henry E. Huntington in 1921 was unsurprisingly viewed as a national tragedy-emblematic of a shift in economic and cultural power. However, its afterlife, as a permanent ambassador for British art, has undoubtedly fed into ideas of Britain and Britishness-its history, society, culture and character-that still resonate today. Including a select group of paintings that demonstrate the profound influence of Sir Anthony van Dyck and the old master tradition on Gainsborough's practice and identity, Gainsborough's Blue Boy will examine this masterpiece within the context of the National Gallery's collection. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The National Gallery, London January 25-May 15, 2022

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.