The Queen Caroline Affair

Historical Context Essay

John Gardner (Anglia Ruskin University)
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Following the Peterloo massacre and the Cato Street conspiracy, the Queen Caroline Affair was the final great political and cultural event of the trilogy that spans the years 1819-1821. It was also the final banner under which both radicals and reformers could unite – until the Reform riots ten years later. The Queen Caroline Affair, as William Hazlitt would later note, became the concern of all sections of society:

It was the only question I ever knew that excited a thorough popular feeling. It struck its roots into the heart of the nation; it took possession of every house or cottage in the kingdom; man, woman, and child took part in it, as if it had been their own concern [...] it spread like wildfire over the kingdom; the public mind was electrical. So it should be on other

2118 words

Citation: Gardner, John. "The Queen Caroline Affair". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 December 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1517, accessed 29 March 2024.]

1517 The Queen Caroline Affair 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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