Political gerrymandering as historical thriller: Who would have guessed? In Perilous Question, Antonia Fraser makes precisely that leap--presenting the history behind Britain's Great Reform Act of 1832 in terms that are both historically thorough and deeply fascinating.
At the start of the 1830s, Britain's parliamentary system was deeply flawed. Entire cities, burgeoning with people drawn to manufacturing jobs created by the Industrial Revolution, had no representation in the House of Commons at all, while locales like the notorious Old Sarum--a 14th-century village that had dwindled to a rock in a field--still sent two members to Parliament. Yet opposition to reform was fierce: many, including the Duke of Wellington, feared it would lead to revolution and the demise of Britain's monarchy.
Perilous Question traces the political machinations that lead to the Reform Bill's eventual passage, including not only keen insight into the relationships and arguments at play, but vivid details about the conditions under which Parliament and its members labored to produce the bill--including an overcrowded House of Commons where hearing speakers was difficult for the members and nearly impossible for visitors and the press. With her usual perception and clarity, Fraser (author of the the nonfiction Marie Antoinette and Cromwell and the Jemima Shore novels) draws life from a seemingly dry topic, turning political history into real story. --Dani Alexis Ryskamp, blogger at The Book Cricket