"This book takes a fresh look at the 'age of reform' from 1780, when reform became a common object of aspiration, to the 1830s - the era of the 'Reform Ministry' and of the Great Reform Act of 1832 - and beyond, when such aspirations were realized more frequently. It pays close attention to what contemporaries termed 'reform', identifying two strands, institutional and moral, which interacted in complex ways." "Particular reforming initiatives singled out for attention include those forgetting parliament, government, the law, the church, medicine, slavery, regimens of self care, opera, theatre and art institutions, while later chapters situate British reform in its imperial and European contexts. An extended introduction provides a point of entry to the history and historiography of the period. The book therefore makes available to both students and established scholars the fruits of research in various sub-disciplines and, by the manner in which it brings them together, aims to stimulate fresh thinking about this formative period of British history."--Jacket.