Alice Loxton

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Alice Loxton
Alice Loxton at the book launch for Eleanor.jpg
Born
Alice Loxton

Education University of Edinburgh
Occupation(s) Historian, author
Website https://aliceloxton.com/

Alice Loxton is a British historian, bestselling author, and broadcaster. She has over three million followers across social media where she shares educational videos about history, heritage and art. [1]

Contents

Career

During 2019-2023, Loxton was a presenter, producer and scriptwriter at the History Hit television channel, creating documentaries about historic British locations such as the Roman Baths, Salisbury Cathedral, Sissinghurst, Wells Cathedral, and many others.

Her first book, UPROAR! Satire, Scandal and Printmakers in Georgian London, which came out in March 2023, [2] explored the lives of notable Georgian satirists, James Gillray, Thomas Rowlandson and Isaac Cruikshank. It was described as "splendid and wonderfully readable" by The Guardian, [3] and praised in The Times. [4]

Her second book, the "unconventional and witty" [5] Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives, came out in September 2024, [2] and was an instant Sunday Times bestseller and winner of Blackwell's Book of the Year 2024. It explored the lives of notable 18-year-olds in history, including studies of the teenage years of Bede, Geoffrey Chaucer, Queen Elizabeth I, Jacques Francis, Jeffrey Hudson, Horatio Nelson, Sarah Biffin, Mary Anning, Richard Burton and Vivienne Westwood. [6]

Loxton's third book, Eleanor: A 200 Mile Walk in Search of England's Lost Queen, explores the legacy of Eleanor of Castile and the Eleanor Crosses. It was launched at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey [7] .

Loxton at Hatchard's Piccadilly with her first book, UPROAR! Loxton at Hatchard's Piccadilly.jpg
Loxton at Hatchard's Piccadilly with her first book, UPROAR!

Loxton has appeared as a presenter on BBC, History Hit, Sky, Channel 5, [8] and writes book reviews and comment for newspapers, including The Times and The Daily Telegraph, and has been a part of various festivals. [9] [10] [11] She has worked with many different organisations to bring history to new audiences, including 10 Downing Street, The National Gallery, The Royal Academy, The King's Foundation, Tate, The National Portrait Gallery, The National Trust, English Heritage, Microsoft, and Meta.

In 2024, Loxton helped set up the History Extra 30 Under 30 Competition. [12]

In 2023 Loxton hosted 'Lessons at 10' at 10 Downing Street. Akshata Murty hosts a Lessons at 10 in Downing Street (53045293719).jpg
In 2023 Loxton hosted 'Lessons at 10' at 10 Downing Street.

In January 2025, she had over three million followers across social media, with the handle @history_alice.

Loxton is an ambassador for the National Trust [13] , a patron of the British Pilgrimage Trust [13] , and a mentor for The King's Foundation.

Publications

Honours

In November 2024, Loxton's Eighteen, a study of eighteen historical figures at the age of eighteen, gained the Blackwell's Book of the Year Award for 2024. A Blackwell's representative commented: "Playful but authoritative history is a genre which Alice Loxton is speedily making her own." [14]

Personal Life

Loxton was born in Ipswich and now lives in London [15] . She enjoys Marmite on toast for breakfast [15] .

References

  1. Humphries, Stephen (27 November 2024). "How 'History Alice' is getting Gen Z to learn about the past". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 Kilroy, Debbie (1 January 2023). "Alice Loxton: In Conversation". Get History. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  3. "This month's best paperbacks". The Guardian. 6 March 2024. ISSN   1756-3224 . Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  4. "Uproar! by Alice Loxton review — the raucous heyday of political cartoons". The Times. 21 February 2023. ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  5. Wood, Heloise (13 December 2023). "Pan Mac pre-empts Loxton's 'unconventional and witty' book about historical icons aged 18". ISSN   0006-7539 . Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  6. "Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives". The National Archives (United Kingdom). Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  7. hardmanswainson (17 November 2025). "Alice Loxton's ELEANOR is launched at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey!". Hardman & Swainson. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  8. Stokes, Tim (30 November 2023). "The secret spy objects that helped shape the world". BBC. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  9. "Michael Palin, Ian Hislop, Anthony Scaramucci and Alice Loxton Announced for Chalke History Festival". The Salisbury and Avon Gazette. 16 April 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  10. Barber, Kimberley (11 September 2023). "Winchester Heritage Open Days: Alice Loxton kicks off event". The Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  11. Atkinson, Christopher (10 July 2023). "Alice Loxton to give fundraising talk for Hampshire History Trust". The Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  12. "Our 2024 '30 under 30' list | HistoryExtra". www.historyextra.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  13. 1 2 "https://www.britishpilgrimage.org/about-us". British Pilgrimage Trust.{{cite web}}: External link in |title= and |url-status= (help); Invalid |url-status=https://www.britishpilgrimage.org/about-us (help)
  14. Spanoudi, Melina (21 November 2024). "Historian Alice Loxton's Eighteen crowned Blackwell's Book of the Year 2024". The Bookseller . ISSN   0006-7539 . Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  15. 1 2 Choudhury, Yasmin (19 November 2025). "Alice Loxton: 'I met David Beckham but I'm more starstruck by buildings'". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 21 November 2025.