18th century blog

I was contacted by the publishers of this book what must have been at least a couple of years ago, and asked if I wanted a copy to review for the blog. At the time I was busy with university and said I had no time to read it, but they still sent the book!

My main period of interest has always been the 1770s to early 1790s, but lately my interest for the mid and early 18th century has grown, I’m even tempted to make a mid 18th century outfit! This is what made me pick up this book and finally read it. The Courtiers by Lucy Worsley is a book about the court at Kensington Palace during the reigns of George I and George II, and it was a fun introduction to this period. The author presents all the interesting people at the court, and we get to follow them through their lives, and hear all the court gossip.

It’s not exactly an in-depth book and very much written as entertainment, which for me made it a great and easy to read introduction to earlier 18th century court life in England. I think it started out very interesting and fun but lost some of its momentum towards the end, which I suppose is natural since at the beginning all the characters are young and at their social peak with tons of things happening around them and at the end everyone is growing old and things are slowing down. Definitely recommended if you want to learn about the Georgian court!