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Courtiers: The Secret History of the Georgian Court
In the eighteenth century, the palace's most elegant assembly room was in fact a bloody battlefield. This was a world of skulduggery, politicking, wigs and beauty-spots, where fans whistled open like flick-knives... Ambitious and talented people flocked to court of George II and Queen Caroline in search of power and prestige, but Georgian court was also a gilded cage. Successful courtiers needed level heads and cold hearts; their secrets were never safe. Among them, a Vice Chamberlain with many vices, a Maid of Honour with a secret marriage, a pushy painter, an alcoholic equerry, a Wild Boy, a penniless poet, a dwarf comedian, two mysterious turbaned Turks and any number of discarded royal mistresses.
402 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
251 people are currently reading
5687 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Worsley
33 books2,973 followersI was born in Reading (not great, but it could have been Slough), studied Ancient and Modern History at New College, Oxford, and I've got a PhD in art history from the University of Sussex.
My first job after leaving college was at a crazy but wonderful historic house called Milton Manor in Oxfordshire. Here I would give guided tours, occasionally feed the llamas, and look for important pieces of paper that my boss Anthony had lost. Soon after that I moved to the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, in the lovely job for administrator of the Wind and Watermills Section. Here I helped to organise that celebrated media extravaganza, National Mills Day. I departed for English Heritage in 1997, first as an Assistant Inspector and then as an Inspector of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings; Bolsover Castle, Hardwick Old Hall, and Kirby Hall were my favourite properties there. In 2002 I made a brief excursion to Glasgow Museums before coming down to London as Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces in 2003. Yes, this is a brilliant job, but no, you can’t have it. (Bribes have been offered, and refused.)
You might also catch me presenting history films on the old goggle box, giving the talks on the cruise ship Queen Mary 2, or slurping cocktails.
***
Lucy Worsley, OBE (born 18 December 1973) is an English historian, author, curator, and television presenter.
Worsley is Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces but is best known as a presenter of BBC Television series on historical topics, including Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency (2011), Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls (2012), The First Georgians: The German Kings Who Made Britain (2014), A Very British Romance (2015), Lucy Worsley: Mozart’s London Odyssey (2016), and Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016).
-From Wikipedia
My first job after leaving college was at a crazy but wonderful historic house called Milton Manor in Oxfordshire. Here I would give guided tours, occasionally feed the llamas, and look for important pieces of paper that my boss Anthony had lost. Soon after that I moved to the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, in the lovely job for administrator of the Wind and Watermills Section. Here I helped to organise that celebrated media extravaganza, National Mills Day. I departed for English Heritage in 1997, first as an Assistant Inspector and then as an Inspector of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings; Bolsover Castle, Hardwick Old Hall, and Kirby Hall were my favourite properties there. In 2002 I made a brief excursion to Glasgow Museums before coming down to London as Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces in 2003. Yes, this is a brilliant job, but no, you can’t have it. (Bribes have been offered, and refused.)
You might also catch me presenting history films on the old goggle box, giving the talks on the cruise ship Queen Mary 2, or slurping cocktails.
***
Lucy Worsley, OBE (born 18 December 1973) is an English historian, author, curator, and television presenter.
Worsley is Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces but is best known as a presenter of BBC Television series on historical topics, including Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency (2011), Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls (2012), The First Georgians: The German Kings Who Made Britain (2014), A Very British Romance (2015), Lucy Worsley: Mozart’s London Odyssey (2016), and Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016).
-From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
July 26, 2020
A very interesting read – Lucy Worsley writes wonderfully, and is just a brilliant historical.
November 7, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Heather Wilds' rendition of this gossipy history-lite book. There are lots of quotations in the book, and Wilds did an excellent job with a variety of voices -- from German-accented Kings to serving maids.
I like Lucy Worsley's breezy writing style; her research is decidedly un-breezy however. She is the real deal. But don't expect to hear much about diplomacy or wars; as the title implies, this isn't that kind of history.
My knowledge of 18th century European history is inadequate, except as events in Europe may have affected the American colonies. Thus, I knew very little about the reigns of George I and George II. (Now I need to find a good one-volume about George III, who I know was not truly the tyrant that I was taught about.)
Although I was familiar with French court life, I had no idea that the early Georgian court was so similarly stuffy and formal. The entire daily dressing routine just sounds ludicrous, although it was deadly important to the courtiers. Court life sounds boring and miserable for every one involved, including even the King and Queen. There was plenty of hanky-panky, and both kings had semi-official mistresses who wielded a degree of power.
The palaces were a far cry from what we imagine -- at times cramped, drafty, damp, and dirty. But there was also splendor, and Worsley's discussion of William Kent's work at Kensington Palace is fascinating.
I enjoy reading historical romances set in this period, and what I learned from this book will just add to my ability to imagine this world that was so dramatically different from our own.
I like Lucy Worsley's breezy writing style; her research is decidedly un-breezy however. She is the real deal. But don't expect to hear much about diplomacy or wars; as the title implies, this isn't that kind of history.
My knowledge of 18th century European history is inadequate, except as events in Europe may have affected the American colonies. Thus, I knew very little about the reigns of George I and George II. (Now I need to find a good one-volume about George III, who I know was not truly the tyrant that I was taught about.)
Although I was familiar with French court life, I had no idea that the early Georgian court was so similarly stuffy and formal. The entire daily dressing routine just sounds ludicrous, although it was deadly important to the courtiers. Court life sounds boring and miserable for every one involved, including even the King and Queen. There was plenty of hanky-panky, and both kings had semi-official mistresses who wielded a degree of power.
The palaces were a far cry from what we imagine -- at times cramped, drafty, damp, and dirty. But there was also splendor, and Worsley's discussion of William Kent's work at Kensington Palace is fascinating.
I enjoy reading historical romances set in this period, and what I learned from this book will just add to my ability to imagine this world that was so dramatically different from our own.
Read
September 29, 2017A domestic history of the courts of George I and II, focusing more on selected wives, mistresses, children, equerries, hangers on, painters, lightly on upper servants. It's very informative about the running of the court and 18th century palace life, loads of detail, exactly the sort of thing that brings history to life.
I didn't actually enjoy it very much though. I think it was the writing, which is reminiscent of Worsley's TV persona (a huge plus if you're a fan of her presenting style, but I'm not) with novelistic interjections ("the duke carefully combed his hair and wondered what the day would hold" sort of thing). She also has what becomes a truly enraging habit of trailing the next episode in someone's story ("he could never have guessed what would happen next"), then switching to another subject, then when we finally catch up with the person again it wasn't actually very dramatic after all. Again, very TV.
IDK. I welcome the challenge to the idea that history should be a dry procession of great men and war dates, I found the content some of the most informative and interesting about the early Georgian era I've read (admittedly the competition here isn't stiff), and the writing wasn't bad, just a bit over-determined to be chummy. It definitely took off for me whenever Worsley got deep into the stories and dropped the commentary. So, yeah, just incompatible styles I think.
I didn't actually enjoy it very much though. I think it was the writing, which is reminiscent of Worsley's TV persona (a huge plus if you're a fan of her presenting style, but I'm not) with novelistic interjections ("the duke carefully combed his hair and wondered what the day would hold" sort of thing). She also has what becomes a truly enraging habit of trailing the next episode in someone's story ("he could never have guessed what would happen next"), then switching to another subject, then when we finally catch up with the person again it wasn't actually very dramatic after all. Again, very TV.
IDK. I welcome the challenge to the idea that history should be a dry procession of great men and war dates, I found the content some of the most informative and interesting about the early Georgian era I've read (admittedly the competition here isn't stiff), and the writing wasn't bad, just a bit over-determined to be chummy. It definitely took off for me whenever Worsley got deep into the stories and dropped the commentary. So, yeah, just incompatible styles I think.
June 17, 2013
Worsley tracks the people and art that populated the courts of George I and II of England. She has a very easy to read style, but cites well and was able to draw upon a good number of first-person sources. That said, there were three things I distinctly disliked about this book.
One, Worsley has a completely unearned appreciation for George II and his wife Caroline. Both of them seem to have been thoroughly unpleasant in several arenas, not least their treatment of their immediate family. The abuse, lack of support, and outright hatred shown by each of them toward their children soured me on both of them. In vain were Worsley's repeated reminders that Caroline was bffs with philosophers, or her assertion that George II's lack of reaction to Prince Frederick's death was due to "rigid royal training" (how then to explain his inattention to the funeral? Or for that matter, where was his "rigid royal training" during the ~70 years of George II throwing tantrums and exploding into feuds at the slightest instigation?).
Two, the politics, laws and wars of the age get hardly a mention. Surely actual events were just as important to understanding the Georgian court as knowing that the royal mistresses' rooms were damp?
And three, truly hideous line drawings interrupt the text to illustrate various personages. Not only do these drawings make everyone look like lumpy potatoes, but they also bear no resemblance whatsoever to their subjects' other portraits. What use ARE they? A poor choice, and an unnecessary one, given the good range and number of color paintings included.
One, Worsley has a completely unearned appreciation for George II and his wife Caroline. Both of them seem to have been thoroughly unpleasant in several arenas, not least their treatment of their immediate family. The abuse, lack of support, and outright hatred shown by each of them toward their children soured me on both of them. In vain were Worsley's repeated reminders that Caroline was bffs with philosophers, or her assertion that George II's lack of reaction to Prince Frederick's death was due to "rigid royal training" (how then to explain his inattention to the funeral? Or for that matter, where was his "rigid royal training" during the ~70 years of George II throwing tantrums and exploding into feuds at the slightest instigation?).
Two, the politics, laws and wars of the age get hardly a mention. Surely actual events were just as important to understanding the Georgian court as knowing that the royal mistresses' rooms were damp?
And three, truly hideous line drawings interrupt the text to illustrate various personages. Not only do these drawings make everyone look like lumpy potatoes, but they also bear no resemblance whatsoever to their subjects' other portraits. What use ARE they? A poor choice, and an unnecessary one, given the good range and number of color paintings included.
November 4, 2019
This is an entertaining, readable, yet well-researched look at the royal courts of George I and II of England (early to mid-18th century). Worsley picks out a handful of people and follows them throughout the book: a royal mistress who was also the queen’s lady-in-waiting; an ambitious painter who got the commission for a palace mural; a few hanger-ons who wrote extensively about their contacts with the royals; a feral child who was brought to court as a curiosity. A solid chunk of the book is also spent on the domestic intrigues of the royal family themselves – and wow, did these people tear each other apart at every opportunity – but we also learn a fair bit about the lives of the people around them. The book is worth reading for its storytelling alone.
Meanwhile, it taught me a lot about how the royal court functioned. The crowds of nobles at court, as it turned out, weren’t just the idle rich; much of what they were scheming for was jobs, which paid actual salaries, upon which many of them depended. Even menial positions close to the royalty were occupied by the nobility: we see a lot of one equerry, a sort of unarmed honor guard whose job was to follow the king around all day without apparently having much personal interaction with him, and who nevertheless is the son of an earl. Overall being a courtier sounds fairly miserable from a modern perspective (and based on their writings, at least some of these folks thought so too): always surrounded by other people, and if you were a woman, you wore incredibly restrictive clothing and took hours getting ready for an event. Though the maids of honor also got to raise quite a ruckus without anyone seeming to care much about their behavior. If you were married to someone in the line of succession though, you were expected to give birth before an audience of high-ranking men.
I did wish Worsley’s writing about the rules of court was more comprehensive. For instance, she mentions that no one was allowed to leave the king’s presence without his permission, which led to one unfortunate lady-in-waiting peeing all over the floor. To which my question is: how did the system normally work to keep this from happening all the time? Did the king spend tons of time granting people permissions to leave? Or was it understood when you attended an event that you had to wait for the king to leave first? Did this rule apply even in the crowded drawing-room gatherings, large enough to attract gate-crashers as well as actual courtiers? Did people dash out whenever the king himself left to use the toilet? Or did they all go around a bit dehydrated to ensure they wouldn’t have to? Or maybe the whole thing was more of an etiquette suggestion that this one lady took way too seriously? Maybe Worsley can’t explain further because no one wrote it down. But the book definitely left me curious about how the practices we see in the narrative worked in other contexts.
At any rate, this is entertaining history, gossipy without being frivolous, and I definitely learned a lot about the Hanovers from it (not having known anything about them previously). Worth reading for those interested in royal history.
Meanwhile, it taught me a lot about how the royal court functioned. The crowds of nobles at court, as it turned out, weren’t just the idle rich; much of what they were scheming for was jobs, which paid actual salaries, upon which many of them depended. Even menial positions close to the royalty were occupied by the nobility: we see a lot of one equerry, a sort of unarmed honor guard whose job was to follow the king around all day without apparently having much personal interaction with him, and who nevertheless is the son of an earl. Overall being a courtier sounds fairly miserable from a modern perspective (and based on their writings, at least some of these folks thought so too): always surrounded by other people, and if you were a woman, you wore incredibly restrictive clothing and took hours getting ready for an event. Though the maids of honor also got to raise quite a ruckus without anyone seeming to care much about their behavior. If you were married to someone in the line of succession though, you were expected to give birth before an audience of high-ranking men.
I did wish Worsley’s writing about the rules of court was more comprehensive. For instance, she mentions that no one was allowed to leave the king’s presence without his permission, which led to one unfortunate lady-in-waiting peeing all over the floor. To which my question is: how did the system normally work to keep this from happening all the time? Did the king spend tons of time granting people permissions to leave? Or was it understood when you attended an event that you had to wait for the king to leave first? Did this rule apply even in the crowded drawing-room gatherings, large enough to attract gate-crashers as well as actual courtiers? Did people dash out whenever the king himself left to use the toilet? Or did they all go around a bit dehydrated to ensure they wouldn’t have to? Or maybe the whole thing was more of an etiquette suggestion that this one lady took way too seriously? Maybe Worsley can’t explain further because no one wrote it down. But the book definitely left me curious about how the practices we see in the narrative worked in other contexts.
At any rate, this is entertaining history, gossipy without being frivolous, and I definitely learned a lot about the Hanovers from it (not having known anything about them previously). Worth reading for those interested in royal history.
Read
February 11, 2012An enjoyable look at the lives of the first three Georges and their courtiers. Worsley gives a vivid account not only of courtiers, but those they took and interest in (like the poignant tale of Peter the Wild Boy) and those who built their palaces and painted the interiors (some great stuff about William Kent).
Two things occurred to me as I was reading this, and sometimes comparing specific incidents with letters and diaries I already have (like Mary Wortley Montagu's and Horry Walpole's): one, I should get down Thackeray's book on the Four Georges and the 18th century humorists, and read it again in light of what I've read here. So much of the humorists' op eds and satirical verses was obscure, as the Victorians who later wrote about them or collected them suppressed a great deal of the pungency and point.
Second, how very young these people were, and how emotionally screwed up, yet the fate of a nation (several nations) rested in their hands. It's another reminder of how closely politics and personalities are entwined . . . a cautionary tale, yes, but when the personality is taken out, and people become mere statistics, the scale of atrocity ascends sharply. I guess it's all a reminder of how very, very fragile, and superficial, is our pretense to civilization.
Two things occurred to me as I was reading this, and sometimes comparing specific incidents with letters and diaries I already have (like Mary Wortley Montagu's and Horry Walpole's): one, I should get down Thackeray's book on the Four Georges and the 18th century humorists, and read it again in light of what I've read here. So much of the humorists' op eds and satirical verses was obscure, as the Victorians who later wrote about them or collected them suppressed a great deal of the pungency and point.
Second, how very young these people were, and how emotionally screwed up, yet the fate of a nation (several nations) rested in their hands. It's another reminder of how closely politics and personalities are entwined . . . a cautionary tale, yes, but when the personality is taken out, and people become mere statistics, the scale of atrocity ascends sharply. I guess it's all a reminder of how very, very fragile, and superficial, is our pretense to civilization.
April 10, 2025
A lively, casual look into court life during George I and George II's reigns in England, diligently researched, and with what feels like genuine sympathy and appreciation for its subjects. At times it could have gone a smidgen more in-depth, or been slightly better organized, so I didn't lose track of who was who among the many royal personages and their hangers-on.
I wasn't entirely convinced by Worsley's depiction of George II's solicitous heel turn toward his children late in life, after decades of feuding and neglect with his son Frederick in particular. The gross and sometimes horrifying effects of 18th-century medicine were difficult to sit through, especially when it came to the end of George II's queen Caroline's life. I'm not disappointed that the "kings and generals" aspects were glossed over since my interest in war is slight at best, and this is obviously intended as a social history.
I wasn't entirely convinced by Worsley's depiction of George II's solicitous heel turn toward his children late in life, after decades of feuding and neglect with his son Frederick in particular. The gross and sometimes horrifying effects of 18th-century medicine were difficult to sit through, especially when it came to the end of George II's queen Caroline's life. I'm not disappointed that the "kings and generals" aspects were glossed over since my interest in war is slight at best, and this is obviously intended as a social history.
January 16, 2012
Did you see Lucy Worsley's recent 'Regency' series on BBC4? Did you, like me, find it disappointing in content and Worsley herself, as presenter, irritating in the extreme? Well, don't let that put you off buying/reading this book - because it really is very good.
It's packed with information, some of which might even be new to the more well-read history fans, and is written in an engaging, knowledgeable manner that makes the words flow and transforms the book into an easy, pleasurable read.
It is the opposite of everything I disliked about the previous book I read ('Passion & Principle' by Jane Aiken Hodge'); Worsley has written with enthusiasm - but not too much, and has an intimate, slightly mischievous, manner of talking to the reader, as though she were sharing a delicious story or piece of gossip with a friend... which I suppose she is, in a way. Having said that, she always maintains a pleasingly neutral stance whilst still managing to show sympathy for the people she's writing about, leaving the reader to make up their own minds about the characters involved.
The story-telling path can be a bit twisty-turny at times but, far from being a distraction, is actually a clever way of presenting a large amount of information whilst keeping a firm grip on the reader's attention.
Comedy and farce, high romance and scandalous behaviour are never far from these tales of palace politics and intrigue, but the frivolous side of Georgian history is then always tempered by stories of sadness and misery, such as those of Peter the Wild Boy, or even tragedy and horror, such as in the gruesomely detailed retelling of poor Queen Caroline's last days (note: definitely NOT to be read whilst eating soup). Worsley has achieved a perfect balance of all the sides of court life and, as a result, has given us a book that offers the closest thing to actually experiencing the Georgian era - without the benefit of a time machine.
Highly recommended.
It's packed with information, some of which might even be new to the more well-read history fans, and is written in an engaging, knowledgeable manner that makes the words flow and transforms the book into an easy, pleasurable read.
It is the opposite of everything I disliked about the previous book I read ('Passion & Principle' by Jane Aiken Hodge'); Worsley has written with enthusiasm - but not too much, and has an intimate, slightly mischievous, manner of talking to the reader, as though she were sharing a delicious story or piece of gossip with a friend... which I suppose she is, in a way. Having said that, she always maintains a pleasingly neutral stance whilst still managing to show sympathy for the people she's writing about, leaving the reader to make up their own minds about the characters involved.
The story-telling path can be a bit twisty-turny at times but, far from being a distraction, is actually a clever way of presenting a large amount of information whilst keeping a firm grip on the reader's attention.
Comedy and farce, high romance and scandalous behaviour are never far from these tales of palace politics and intrigue, but the frivolous side of Georgian history is then always tempered by stories of sadness and misery, such as those of Peter the Wild Boy, or even tragedy and horror, such as in the gruesomely detailed retelling of poor Queen Caroline's last days (note: definitely NOT to be read whilst eating soup). Worsley has achieved a perfect balance of all the sides of court life and, as a result, has given us a book that offers the closest thing to actually experiencing the Georgian era - without the benefit of a time machine.
Highly recommended.
February 7, 2018
I will begin this review with an admission of bias. I am an unashamed fan of Lucy Worsley. Had she been my history teacher at school my life would have taken a very definite course, probably beginning with a declaration of marriage at 16!! She has the knack of taking the story of the great and good (and not-so-good) and making it accessible. I have always liked her delivery in her documentaries and this, the first of her written works that I have read, did not disappoint.
Her examination of the Court of the first two Georges is witty, poignant and above all sympathetic. Even with the descriptions of the follies, foibles and downright nastiness of the people involved, I came to somehow like them all and in the end understand, as La Worsley describes it, that the Court was also a prison.
Her examination of the Court of the first two Georges is witty, poignant and above all sympathetic. Even with the descriptions of the follies, foibles and downright nastiness of the people involved, I came to somehow like them all and in the end understand, as La Worsley describes it, that the Court was also a prison.
April 13, 2024
First dip into the Georgians. Loved the relaxed storytelling style.
October 2, 2022
If you have watched Lucy Worsley on tv, then you have an idea of what this book is like. I love her take on history - relatable, easy to understand, fascinating glimpses into personal lives and daily life.
I am the target audience for this book, I love reading about British history and have a fair grasp of the major players and events. This book delves into the lives of the surrounding courtiers, which I find more interesting than the lives of the royals. Each chapter is about a different key person at the Hanoverian court.
My favorite chapter is on Henrietta Howard. Wow, what a life! I thought to myself, there has to be a historical fiction book about her. I googled and indeed there is, so I ordered it. Her life reads like a work of fiction.
Enjoyable read. Highly suggest it if you are a British history fan.
I am the target audience for this book, I love reading about British history and have a fair grasp of the major players and events. This book delves into the lives of the surrounding courtiers, which I find more interesting than the lives of the royals. Each chapter is about a different key person at the Hanoverian court.
My favorite chapter is on Henrietta Howard. Wow, what a life! I thought to myself, there has to be a historical fiction book about her. I googled and indeed there is, so I ordered it. Her life reads like a work of fiction.
Enjoyable read. Highly suggest it if you are a British history fan.
June 28, 2022
A re-read of this excellent book by Ms Worsley, looking at life in the Georgian court from the perspectives of seven different people who all had roles to play there.
April 8, 2025
An enjoyable non-fiction read from Lucy Worsley, a historian and curator of England's historic royal palaces, as well as a TV presenter. I've enjoyed some of her docos on TV about various historical characters and royal residences, but this is the first book of hers I've read. I found her writing style to be straightforward and readable. It was also backed up with a weight of historical knowledge and research, with numerous credible sources credited at the back of the book.
The book focussed on Kensington Palace, mostly during the first half of the eighteenth century, during the reigns of King George I and King George II. I've not (yet) been lucky enough to visit the palace (which is now open to the public). But apparently, there is a large mural, painted by William Kent, beside the King's Grand Staircase. It depicts a number of courtiers, servants etc, painted from life. Many but not all have been identified as the actual people they were. Some of these people, as well as the artist himself, form the cast of characters that Ms Worsley focusses on in her book. In the hardback copy, there are coloured plates showing scenes from the mural, which added to the enjoyment of the book.
The kings and queens of course play significant roles in the text, because the lives of the courtiers and servants revolved around them. But we read about the fascinating lives of royal mistresses, ladies-in-waiting, gentleman servants of the king, including two favoured Turkish personal manservants, who continued to wear their turbans throughout their long service. There was Peter 'the Wild Boy' (as he was known at the time), a feral child who had been found living in a European forest. Peter ended up living a long life, and hopefully a happy one in the end. He never really became acclimatised to civilisation, and for some years was treated as a kind of royal pet, until he lived out the rest of his days on a country farm with a kindly family who cared for him. He did wear an iron collar with his name and address in case he became lost. There is a photo of the collar - eek!
Worsley writes with some sympathy towards her cast of characters. The royals themselves led very proscribed and public lives, and the women especially must have found life boring and frustrating at times. Fashion for the upper classes in this period, especially for women, was quite ridiculous. They probably looked fabulous in their huge wigs and wide, elaborate dresses weighted down with silver cloth and heavy jewels, but they weren't allowed to sit down in the presence of the king, so drawing rooms must have been exhausting. Also very smelly in the overheated, crowded rooms, full of courtiers who rarely bathed. Again, eek!
Worsley shows that although the court looked glamorous, and people vied quite viciously to get a position, in fact the jobs were often very tedious and repetitive. No wonder the courtiers loved to gossip, gamble, and indulge in illicit affairs.
So, an interesting read, with a convincing feel to the historical research and background. One day perhaps I'll get to Kensington Palace myself, and see the King's Grand Staircase with its intriguing portraits of long-gone people who apparently gaze out at you as you walk up the stairs. I will definitely consider reading more books by this author.
The book focussed on Kensington Palace, mostly during the first half of the eighteenth century, during the reigns of King George I and King George II. I've not (yet) been lucky enough to visit the palace (which is now open to the public). But apparently, there is a large mural, painted by William Kent, beside the King's Grand Staircase. It depicts a number of courtiers, servants etc, painted from life. Many but not all have been identified as the actual people they were. Some of these people, as well as the artist himself, form the cast of characters that Ms Worsley focusses on in her book. In the hardback copy, there are coloured plates showing scenes from the mural, which added to the enjoyment of the book.
The kings and queens of course play significant roles in the text, because the lives of the courtiers and servants revolved around them. But we read about the fascinating lives of royal mistresses, ladies-in-waiting, gentleman servants of the king, including two favoured Turkish personal manservants, who continued to wear their turbans throughout their long service. There was Peter 'the Wild Boy' (as he was known at the time), a feral child who had been found living in a European forest. Peter ended up living a long life, and hopefully a happy one in the end. He never really became acclimatised to civilisation, and for some years was treated as a kind of royal pet, until he lived out the rest of his days on a country farm with a kindly family who cared for him. He did wear an iron collar with his name and address in case he became lost. There is a photo of the collar - eek!
Worsley writes with some sympathy towards her cast of characters. The royals themselves led very proscribed and public lives, and the women especially must have found life boring and frustrating at times. Fashion for the upper classes in this period, especially for women, was quite ridiculous. They probably looked fabulous in their huge wigs and wide, elaborate dresses weighted down with silver cloth and heavy jewels, but they weren't allowed to sit down in the presence of the king, so drawing rooms must have been exhausting. Also very smelly in the overheated, crowded rooms, full of courtiers who rarely bathed. Again, eek!
Worsley shows that although the court looked glamorous, and people vied quite viciously to get a position, in fact the jobs were often very tedious and repetitive. No wonder the courtiers loved to gossip, gamble, and indulge in illicit affairs.
So, an interesting read, with a convincing feel to the historical research and background. One day perhaps I'll get to Kensington Palace myself, and see the King's Grand Staircase with its intriguing portraits of long-gone people who apparently gaze out at you as you walk up the stairs. I will definitely consider reading more books by this author.
August 28, 2018
Three and a half stars for a goodish read that was drawn out a bit too long. It takes her several chapters (that's right, chapters) to tell about George II's last day of life, as she keeps interrupting herself and going off down rabbit trails, only to come back to that last fateful day...which somehow started the night before, with an unnecessary account of his last meal. Interruption, rabbit trail...two or three chapters later she goes back to "the fateful day" only now it's the morning he actually died...but off she goes again! An experienced historian and TV presenter really should have known better than to drag Queen Victoria and Princess Diana into a book on the Georgian Court, having scamped over George III's reign as if somehow he weren't "a real Georgian".
January 18, 2022
Good book about the court of the georgian kings I and II. The first half of the book is really enjoyable en informative. Lucy has a very inviting writing style. The second half of the book was for me a little less interesting as it went too long into the story of the mistresses.
December 24, 2019
10 hours of nothing but court gossip, who slept with whom, nasty divorces (before people could get divorced), and people using sex and intrigue to get access to the king. That said, I prefer this sort of history to the boring old fashioned battles and politics focus. The Reader is very good and is skillful at different accents.
February 15, 2023
3.5
First book I’ve read by Lucy Worsley. Reasonably accessible but dragged a bit at times, however I liked the fact she concentrated on women’s lives. I think the audible would be good as the writing is in tune with her voice. I learned a lot and it will be interesting to see how the group find it. I wouldn’t choose it for a book club as it’s more a historical read, but makes a change from novels. It went down quite well in the group but not everyone read it. General feeling was it was educational but a bit too chatty. People seem to like or hate LW which coloured their opinion
First book I’ve read by Lucy Worsley. Reasonably accessible but dragged a bit at times, however I liked the fact she concentrated on women’s lives. I think the audible would be good as the writing is in tune with her voice. I learned a lot and it will be interesting to see how the group find it. I wouldn’t choose it for a book club as it’s more a historical read, but makes a change from novels. It went down quite well in the group but not everyone read it. General feeling was it was educational but a bit too chatty. People seem to like or hate LW which coloured their opinion
March 25, 2011
This was a fascinating, and surprisingly easy read about the life of courtiers during the reigns of George I and George II. It has just the right mix of detail, wider context and anecdote to make it quite fun. Some of the quotes of the contemporaries are hilarious - witty, bitchy and LOL funny.
I'm one of those people who wanders what it was actually like at Court. The dresses look fabulous in portraits, but what were they like to wear? Answer: Incredibly uncomfortable. Did they wear them all the time? No. They were considered old fashioned then, and were actually melted down to recover the silver in the thread. Was Court really as poisonous and powerful as I thought? Yes to poisonous (although noxious would be also truthful, since all the sweat, body-odor and general dirt of London made the Court very smelly), and yes and no to powerful (the center of power shifted to Parliament during the Georgian era after James II's daughters essentially complied in his sacking by the People. After this period, the Monarch and his heir were used as a political football by Parliamentary factions).
What I'm left with is a picture of a rather unpleasant, insular "village", where appearance was all, and whose inhabitants were lucky if they kept any vestiges of their own humanity. It would have been a horrible place to have lived and worked, and I actually feel rather sympathetic to the two kings and their families included. They didn't want to be King in the first place, but you are left with the feeling that they just grimaced and got on with it.
5 star read.
I'm one of those people who wanders what it was actually like at Court. The dresses look fabulous in portraits, but what were they like to wear? Answer: Incredibly uncomfortable. Did they wear them all the time? No. They were considered old fashioned then, and were actually melted down to recover the silver in the thread. Was Court really as poisonous and powerful as I thought? Yes to poisonous (although noxious would be also truthful, since all the sweat, body-odor and general dirt of London made the Court very smelly), and yes and no to powerful (the center of power shifted to Parliament during the Georgian era after James II's daughters essentially complied in his sacking by the People. After this period, the Monarch and his heir were used as a political football by Parliamentary factions).
What I'm left with is a picture of a rather unpleasant, insular "village", where appearance was all, and whose inhabitants were lucky if they kept any vestiges of their own humanity. It would have been a horrible place to have lived and worked, and I actually feel rather sympathetic to the two kings and their families included. They didn't want to be King in the first place, but you are left with the feeling that they just grimaced and got on with it.
5 star read.
December 20, 2012
A good overall picture of the Hanoverian English court, good use of details, good use of sources. I feel like the author may have tried to do a little too much: to show the atmosphere of the period, the life of the court, political events, and the life of some of the court servants. I came away knowing much more than I did before about the time period generally. I was hoping that there would be discussion of the intellectual pursuits of Queen Caroline, but while she is a central figure, this is not a full biography of her, and these are mentioned once or twice but not really explored.
I enjoyed reading about John, Lord Hervey, a minor historical figure I first encountered when I was reading up on Francesco Algarotti before attending a lecture about him. Partly related: the more I hear about Alexander Pope, the more I think that he wasn't a very nice guy. But that perhaps goes hand in hand with being a brilliant satirist.
I found two errors in the bibliography — so if you are trying to find a book listed here and it doesn't seem to exist, consider the possibly that the listing may be erroneous. (In both cases I did eventually find the referenced book.)
I enjoyed reading about John, Lord Hervey, a minor historical figure I first encountered when I was reading up on Francesco Algarotti before attending a lecture about him. Partly related: the more I hear about Alexander Pope, the more I think that he wasn't a very nice guy. But that perhaps goes hand in hand with being a brilliant satirist.
I found two errors in the bibliography — so if you are trying to find a book listed here and it doesn't seem to exist, consider the possibly that the listing may be erroneous. (In both cases I did eventually find the referenced book.)
October 2, 2021
2.5 stars
This book came up as a suggested alternative in a review for another book that interested me, and I can see why.
Admittedly, George I and George II are not monarchs on whom I have ever spent much time. After reading The Courtiers, I cannot say I am particularly drawn to either of them. But the social lives of their courts, which gain focus here, were quite fascinating.
Worsley has clearly done her research, and the actual contents of the book can be rather fun. Everything from small tidbits to grand revelations carries equal weight, and I really enjoyed the breadth of information.
The reason this receives such a middling rating from me is that I did not really care for the author’s style. While the work was easy to follow and full of intrigue, I felt like it often wished to runaway on a tangent. There was a sense that topics were either treated too surface level or given far too much time when they had not earned it. I can see this working as an audiobook better than it did in text (though as someone who does not listen to books on tape, I may be missing the mark with that assessment).
On the whole, The Courtiers had me walking away with plenty of newfound knowledge and interest, but nothing was done in a way that gripped me or made me want to immediately read more on the subject.
This book came up as a suggested alternative in a review for another book that interested me, and I can see why.
Admittedly, George I and George II are not monarchs on whom I have ever spent much time. After reading The Courtiers, I cannot say I am particularly drawn to either of them. But the social lives of their courts, which gain focus here, were quite fascinating.
Worsley has clearly done her research, and the actual contents of the book can be rather fun. Everything from small tidbits to grand revelations carries equal weight, and I really enjoyed the breadth of information.
The reason this receives such a middling rating from me is that I did not really care for the author’s style. While the work was easy to follow and full of intrigue, I felt like it often wished to runaway on a tangent. There was a sense that topics were either treated too surface level or given far too much time when they had not earned it. I can see this working as an audiobook better than it did in text (though as someone who does not listen to books on tape, I may be missing the mark with that assessment).
On the whole, The Courtiers had me walking away with plenty of newfound knowledge and interest, but nothing was done in a way that gripped me or made me want to immediately read more on the subject.
January 5, 2016
This took a bit of slogging to get into, since the opening was very slow. After I got passed the first 100 pages, I started to enjoy and finished it within a couple of days. The introduction (Worsley's personal opinions about working in Kensington) kind of dragged things down, and it took a while to sort out the cast of characters. The structure (gradual progression through time with occasional regressions to re-introduce people) didn't really work for me.
I did enjoy this portrait of the early Georgian Court (George I and George II). It felt like a pretty good orientation to the politics of the time, but it really wasn't meant for people unfamiliar with this time period. Really, it was a tour of Kensington Palace's Georgian times (and since I plan to visit there this year, it was worthwhile for me). Worsley was pretty balanced with her opinions of the courtiers and royalty (she avoids caricaturing the Georges as "sad" and "bad").
There's plenty of good historical information, but I didn't love this. I think the book would have been improved by focusing on just one of the Georges, or doing a grandsweep into George III and IV to continue the theme of Hanoverian father/son conflict.
I did enjoy this portrait of the early Georgian Court (George I and George II). It felt like a pretty good orientation to the politics of the time, but it really wasn't meant for people unfamiliar with this time period. Really, it was a tour of Kensington Palace's Georgian times (and since I plan to visit there this year, it was worthwhile for me). Worsley was pretty balanced with her opinions of the courtiers and royalty (she avoids caricaturing the Georges as "sad" and "bad").
There's plenty of good historical information, but I didn't love this. I think the book would have been improved by focusing on just one of the Georges, or doing a grandsweep into George III and IV to continue the theme of Hanoverian father/son conflict.
March 24, 2021
An enjoyable book about court life in the reigns of King George I and George II, which focuses on the courtiers who surrounded the royal family and attracted the attention of the public. The complicated relationship between George II, Queen Caroline and her lady-in-waiting Henrietta Howard, the King's mistress, receives considerable attention as well as the strange story of "Peter the Wild Boy" who became a favourite of Queen Caroline. While the historical figures and their lives are interesting, the structure of the book is meandering. For example, a key passage about the role of the royal mistress at court and her ability to influence royal patronage is placed long after the chapters focusing on Henrietta Howard. With so many courtiers highlighted in the book, a more chronological approach or a successive focus on each role at court might have been a more effective way to structure the book.
December 18, 2010
As ever, when I read about the world of courtiers, I wonder why anyone ever fought to be part of that world. How unpleasant it all was. Worsley made it clear that different people were there for different reasons--escaping an abusive husband, seeking power, seeking wealth. It was, to use a cliche, "where the action was."
Worsley does a very good job of making the reader understand what it was like, and not just for the royals but for the people around them high and low. It is very readable--almost novelistic.
Worsley does a very good job of making the reader understand what it was like, and not just for the royals but for the people around them high and low. It is very readable--almost novelistic.
August 21, 2014
An absolute riot from start to finish. Full of salacious court gossip and scandal, this reads like a juicy novel but is in fact an enlightening glance into court life in the early Georgian era. Of particular interest is the exposition of the unknown courtiers that grand histories often forget: Peter the Wild Boy, the vivacious Molly Lepell and so on. But in exposing these shrouded figures, Worsley sheds greater light on the big players of history-the kings and the queens, the princes and princesses-their lives, and the Georgian era itself; and she does a fantastic job of it, too.
August 9, 2014
Courtiers was a wonderful non-fiction book about Courtiers in the early Georgian Courts (George I & II). Sixteen of the courtiers shown in William Kent's Grand Staircase painting are brought back to life in vivid detail. It's almost like they are still alive and their plotting, cattiness and insults are as stinging then as they are now. Worsley's writing style is easy to read and overall, the book reads more like fiction than non-fiction.
August 9, 2016
review to come :)
November 13, 2019
Immensely readable and engaging!
February 3, 2022
This one was fascinating and very engaging to me. It was quite in depth, but I can understand how the author felt invested in her research and probably hated to pare down. I also loved the premise for why Worsley chose to write this book--she worked at Kensington Palace and passed these portraits of people from the Georgian Court (both royalty and servants) and wanted to know who they were. So she found out! It's the kind of thing I'd love to do myself, and the book she turned out shows both her skill as a researcher and as a writer.
I've been surprised since reading this book at how many pieces of knowledge gained from it have come up. It's a great introduction to the time period (one I wasn't super familiar with) in addition to the royalty.
Anyway, if you have any interest in the life and times of English royalty, or just like getting a sneak peek into a very different way of life, you'll enjoy this book.
I've been surprised since reading this book at how many pieces of knowledge gained from it have come up. It's a great introduction to the time period (one I wasn't super familiar with) in addition to the royalty.
Anyway, if you have any interest in the life and times of English royalty, or just like getting a sneak peek into a very different way of life, you'll enjoy this book.
February 23, 2024
This was an okay book, although the first third read in a way that felt like I needed to have previously read a primer on Georgian society (though admittedly that may just be a fault of my own). I enjoyed the more focused sections on specific figures, especially when it stopped jumping about in time.
However, the constant, constant references to how fat people were left a bad taste in my mouth. More than half the time it was completely unrelated to what was being discussed, just a "oh also, this former maid of honour got fat in her middle aged retirement" like okay??? Only one time was a persons thinness ever mentioned, and that being a woman so thin that her nickname at the time was "the May-Pole".
Especially odd and uncomfortable to me was including a sketch of Queen Caroline on her deathbed and labelling it "The obese Queen Caroline" like???? Unnecessary, uncomfortable, very fucking weird.
However, the constant, constant references to how fat people were left a bad taste in my mouth. More than half the time it was completely unrelated to what was being discussed, just a "oh also, this former maid of honour got fat in her middle aged retirement" like okay??? Only one time was a persons thinness ever mentioned, and that being a woman so thin that her nickname at the time was "the May-Pole".
Especially odd and uncomfortable to me was including a sketch of Queen Caroline on her deathbed and labelling it "The obese Queen Caroline" like???? Unnecessary, uncomfortable, very fucking weird.
April 30, 2018
I love gaining insight into a century of British history I’m a little murky on, but slowly coming to love! Lucy Worsley once again writes an entertaining, insightful, and readable history. This time revolving around the first two Georgian kings and their courtiers! I wanted to read this book anyways but I decided to read it now to prepare for an assignment in my Public History course where I am going to write a YA historical fiction (just a chapter) centered on court life during the Georgian period!
I have gained so much more than preparation for the assignment, and now I will find myself staring just a little bit harder at all of the painted figures on the King’s Grand Staircase at Kensington Palace...
I have gained so much more than preparation for the assignment, and now I will find myself staring just a little bit harder at all of the painted figures on the King’s Grand Staircase at Kensington Palace...
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