Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Stability | 20140723 | Amanda Foreman examines the formative years of British politics when the most important structures of British life - still valued and recognised today - were established in the shadow of revolution. In the first of two programmes, Amanda invites us to enter the world of the political elite in London's luxurious St James' Square. Here, political heavyweights would gather for a season debating and defining British politics. Against a backdrop of decadence, they went about the serious business of crafting the structures of politics and society so familiar to us in the 21st Century. The Georgians continuously tested where true power lay - in the Monarchy, or in Parliament. At Buckingham Palace with the keeper of the Queen's pictures, Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Amanda discovers how the monarchy styled themselves. But this wasn't just a power play by ambitious politicians, it was part of a reforming attitude exemplified by calls to reform Parliament and make it more representative of the people. Amanda discusses the influence of Irish philosopher and politician Edmund Burke, with MP Jesse Norman. The struggle for power was a struggle for control of the people, made more pressing in a climate of fear as revolution took hold across the channel in France. But, as Amanda shows, local-level politics in Georgian Britain was a type of 'soft power' that eased tensions. Producer: Katherine Godfrey A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2014. Amanda Foreman examines how the elite transformed politics in the shadow of revolution. |
| 02 | Reform | 20140730 | Amanda Foreman concludes her examination of the political impact of the Georgian era - looking at politics on the ground. Considering the structures of British life that created both control and freedom, Amanda asks why Britain experienced political evolution, not revolution. In 1832 the British political elite voluntarily chose to weaken its own power for the first and only time in history. This was the result of the Reform Act, which added 130 new seats to Parliament. While riot and rebellion was rife and often met with violent backlash from those in power, Amanda argues that the Georgian elites placed emphasis on freedom. Meeting radicals in Newcastle and evangelical conservatives in the Mendip hills, Amanda examines how the ordinary disenfranchised man and woman increasingly invested in politics and civic life, transforming how the elected related to the people. Amanda examines the formative years of British politics when the most important structures of British life we value and recognise today were established - and all in the shadow of revolution. It paints a picture of the Georgian legacy, one where decadence and scandal takes a backseat to proto-democracy and social reform. Producer: Katherine Godfrey A Whistledown production for Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2014. Amanda Foreman considers reform on the ground as the disenfranchised rebel. Amanda Foreman examines how the elite transformed politics in the shadow of revolution. |