The Guitar in Georgian England

A fascinating social history of the guitar, reasserting its long-forgotten importance in Romantic England.

This book is the first to explore the popularity and novelty of the guitar in Georgian England, noting its impact on the social, cultural, and musical history of the period. The instrument possessed an imagery as rich as its uses were varied; it emerged as a potent symbol of Romanticism and was incorporated into poetry, portraiture, and drama.

In addition, British and Irish soldiers returning from war in Spain and Portugal brought with them knowledge of the Spanish guitar and its connotations of stylish masculinity. Christopher Page presents entirely new scholarship in order to place the guitar within a multifaceted context, drawing from recently digitised original source material.

The Guitar in Georgian England champions an instrument whose importance in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is often overlooked.