George Cruickshank developed into one of the greatest British book illustrators. His working life of over seventy years began as his father's assistant in political and social caricature in 1806 and, with no formal artistic training, by the time he was eighteen had succeeded James Gilray as the leading caricaturist of the day. At thirty-one he turned to book illustration, a field which he was to dominate for the next twenty-five years. During that time Cruikshank overcame an addiction to alcohol, turning into an exuberant advocate of Total Abstinence.