The Journal of a Georgian Gentleman: The Life and Times of Richard Hall 1729-1801

by Mike Rendell, Richard Hall (Illustrator)

The historical value and interest of diaries is not so much in their accounts of great historical events but in their ability to convey the quality - the sights, smells and textures - of everyday life that would otherwise be lost to us. It is everyday life that abounds in the diaries of Richard Hall, a sometimes pious Baptist haberdasher who kept shop at one end or other of the old London Bridge through much of the late eighteenth century. He recorded what he ate, what he purchased, how he slept and above all what the weather was like in near obsessive detail. He charts the hurly-burly of family life - he had two marriages and numerous children - his sometimes tumultuous relationship with his church, and his boundless curiousity about almost everything - from astronomy to the latest fashions. His great-great-great-great grandson, Mike Rendell, has meticulously sifted through the rich treasure trove of Richard's papers to present us with an engaging portrait of a flawed but thoroughly likeable 'Georgian gentleman'.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2012

About the author

Once upon a time, a long while ago, I was a lawyer, Then I came to my senses and packed it up to become a historian - more specifically, to become a historian specializing in Britain in the Georgian Era. I was helped by the fact that my family have kept boxes and boxes of letters, diaries and general ephemera from the 18th Century and I decided to write them up as a "Journal of a Georgian Gentleman" - a social history of the times seen through the eyes of my great great great great grandfather.
I illustrated the book with amazingly intricate paper cut outs made by my ancestor - and followed up my first book with one specifically on 18th Century paper cutting.
Then followed one on Bristol Blue Glass - a gorgeous full-blue tableware made from adding cobalt oxide to the manufacturing process. Other books will follow as time permits, but all will be on one aspect or another of the Georgian period.

Reviews

[Mrs Olga A Danes-Volkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fabulous Book

This is a fascinating read, the life of an ancestor of the author, beautifully written and full of wonderful details of eighteenth century life. Highly recommended to lovers of both biography and history.

[Stevie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging look into the life of Richard Hall, ancestor of the author. Loads of detail about life in Georgian England. Totally worth the read if you want to know more about day to day life for the white middling class of the time.