Love, Intrigue and Chicanery

Book excerpt: James Gillray was a British caricaturist and printmaker active from 1779 to 1811. He became famous in his own lifetime for his unmerciful satires on politicians, high society and the Royal family during the scandal-rich Regency period, earning him the contemporary description of 'a caterpillar on the green leaf of reputation'. Today, he is arguably the most influential caricaturist the world has known. But while he is credited with being the father of the political cartoon, he also dabbled in the world outside the high and mighty, satirizing everyday social situations from ideas often provided by friends. As I delved into his work, I became familiar with those prints also, some of which had no known background descriptions in either contemporary books or the British Museum's archives. I thought it would be fun to remedy that situation which was the inspiration for the stories in this book.