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King George III: America's Last Monarch
To Englishmen George III is often remembered as "mad King George" whose principal distinction was having lost the American colonies. To Americans he is usually portrayed as "bad King George," that oppressive tyrant named in the Declaration of Independence as "unfit to be the ruler of a free people."
Was George bad or mad? Author John Brooke avoids the hearsay of history because of his access to all the King's papers which were never used in their entirety by previous biographers. In addition, Brooke inherited the complete papers of Sir Lewis Namier, whose researches into this period are unquestionably the most valuable of our century. Tracing George's life through notebooks, diaries, and accounts, Brooke provides a very personal biography of George III, rather than a history of his reign.
Was George bad? George founded the Royal Academy, was a patron of the great astronomer Herschel, and paid out of his own pocket for every book now in the King's Library of the British Museum. He was one of Britain's most devoted and best-informed rulers, fond of country life and his family.
Was George mad? Not insane at all, George was grievously afflicted with porphyria--a painful illness caused by a rare metabolic imbalance. His doctors did not understand his malady and their treatment was arbitrary, irrelevant, and cruel. It was enough to reduce any victim to fury and despair and insured that the last years of the King's life were miserable and largely empty.
The early death of his father made George his grandfather's unexpected heir, and when he came to the throe in 1760 at twenty-two, younger than any monarch since Edward VI, nothing in his education had prepared him for his new responsibilities. Brooke shows the torment this brought him, inexperienced and naïve, "trapped between Pitt who coveted power for a purpose and Bute who oscillated between the wish for power and the fear of responsibility, with Newcastle flitting between them. . . ." Somewhat of a rarity among English rulers, George had a long and happy marriage marred at the end by the queen's imposed separation from him to protect her form his alleged madness.
Of all that has been written about George, Brooke's King George III is the first to show him as a human being with likes and dislikes, penchants and perversities and to dispel the ludicrous caricature that has made up the myth.
George III was the last king of England who ruled as well as reigned. Because he was a very personal monarch whose own decisions and conduct affected public policy as no British monarch's have since, this biography provides us with new light on the causes and conduct of the American Revolution.
Was George bad or mad? Author John Brooke avoids the hearsay of history because of his access to all the King's papers which were never used in their entirety by previous biographers. In addition, Brooke inherited the complete papers of Sir Lewis Namier, whose researches into this period are unquestionably the most valuable of our century. Tracing George's life through notebooks, diaries, and accounts, Brooke provides a very personal biography of George III, rather than a history of his reign.
Was George bad? George founded the Royal Academy, was a patron of the great astronomer Herschel, and paid out of his own pocket for every book now in the King's Library of the British Museum. He was one of Britain's most devoted and best-informed rulers, fond of country life and his family.
Was George mad? Not insane at all, George was grievously afflicted with porphyria--a painful illness caused by a rare metabolic imbalance. His doctors did not understand his malady and their treatment was arbitrary, irrelevant, and cruel. It was enough to reduce any victim to fury and despair and insured that the last years of the King's life were miserable and largely empty.
The early death of his father made George his grandfather's unexpected heir, and when he came to the throe in 1760 at twenty-two, younger than any monarch since Edward VI, nothing in his education had prepared him for his new responsibilities. Brooke shows the torment this brought him, inexperienced and naïve, "trapped between Pitt who coveted power for a purpose and Bute who oscillated between the wish for power and the fear of responsibility, with Newcastle flitting between them. . . ." Somewhat of a rarity among English rulers, George had a long and happy marriage marred at the end by the queen's imposed separation from him to protect her form his alleged madness.
Of all that has been written about George, Brooke's King George III is the first to show him as a human being with likes and dislikes, penchants and perversities and to dispel the ludicrous caricature that has made up the myth.
George III was the last king of England who ruled as well as reigned. Because he was a very personal monarch whose own decisions and conduct affected public policy as no British monarch's have since, this biography provides us with new light on the causes and conduct of the American Revolution.
411 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 14, 2016
As a student of British history I am
Impressed when a book about a familiar subject provides a new point of view that I find believable and "embraceable". Even better is a book that provides a wealth of factual information that I haven't come across before. Best of all is such a book that has been around since the 1970s.
This is such a book. The misunderstanding of the King's attitudes and actions and underpinnings during the American "rebellion" we're completely fascinating. While the Americans painted King George as a tyrant, in fact he was the cypher of his ministers - as he HAD to be according to the British constitution. He was a scrupulously "correct" British king and rarely if ever overstepped his constitutional authority. He was among the last to give up on the cause but among the first to accept it with grace once it was done.
This is also the book that corrected the historical record a out the king's "madness." He lays out the case for an ailment (porphyria) that was at core physical rather than mental. He also points out the absolute cruelty that the king went through from the "doctors" that were appointed to "help" him.
All in all a tremendous read.
Impressed when a book about a familiar subject provides a new point of view that I find believable and "embraceable". Even better is a book that provides a wealth of factual information that I haven't come across before. Best of all is such a book that has been around since the 1970s.
This is such a book. The misunderstanding of the King's attitudes and actions and underpinnings during the American "rebellion" we're completely fascinating. While the Americans painted King George as a tyrant, in fact he was the cypher of his ministers - as he HAD to be according to the British constitution. He was a scrupulously "correct" British king and rarely if ever overstepped his constitutional authority. He was among the last to give up on the cause but among the first to accept it with grace once it was done.
This is also the book that corrected the historical record a out the king's "madness." He lays out the case for an ailment (porphyria) that was at core physical rather than mental. He also points out the absolute cruelty that the king went through from the "doctors" that were appointed to "help" him.
All in all a tremendous read.
June 1, 2019
John Brooke's biography of one of the most misunderstood British monarchs is in its own right a monument of historiography. When it came out, this book was the first academic work to portray the king in a sympathetic light. Maybe too sympathetic some would say, Brooke never hid the fact that he liked George III. Nonetheless, this biography was written in the tradition of Brooke's mentor and colleague Sir Lewis B. Namier. Even if King George III: America's Last Monarch becomes obsolete one day, its impact in historiography will never change. Brooke is also to be credited for helping Macalpine and Hunter's porphyritic theory being almost universally (and in a sadder way almost unquestionably) accepted by historians.
It should also be noted that Brooke wrote in an admirable fashion and the broader public can enjoy this book just as much as academics. However, the book is more detailed on the first half of George's reign, which in a way fits Brooke's interests in the 1760's and 70's. Almost half a century later, it remains an excellent book. Readers who want to learn more about George III can also consider Jeremy Black's George III: America's Last King (the title is a deliberate reference to Brooke) for a more up-to-date book with more recent research.
It should also be noted that Brooke wrote in an admirable fashion and the broader public can enjoy this book just as much as academics. However, the book is more detailed on the first half of George's reign, which in a way fits Brooke's interests in the 1760's and 70's. Almost half a century later, it remains an excellent book. Readers who want to learn more about George III can also consider Jeremy Black's George III: America's Last King (the title is a deliberate reference to Brooke) for a more up-to-date book with more recent research.
October 12, 2021
So many of the books on King George III presume the readers’ thorough knowledge of English mores and the British constitutional structure, with its varied earls, dukes, and lords, but Brooke offers, here, the most readable and contextually helpful biography of the man America comically and hyperbolically still refers to as a tyrant and a madman. And in providing that readable context, Brooke warmly and thoughtfully invites us into the company of a king who might just as well have preferred a common and simple life to the one that now locks him into a room of historical bias on both sides of the Atlantic. The author never veers too far from his subject, keeping us tethered to the very reason we picked up the book to learn more. What I found most poignant, most touching, most revealing, was the loss of little Octavius, the king’s second young son, just six months before peace was signed with the newly independent American states. Octavius died from an attempted smallpox inoculation for which he could not recover, leaving his father, King George III, to say, “There will be no heaven for me if Octavius is not there.”
April 18, 2022
Times are at a difficult moment for many. we ask that you would take the time to know that I will do all I can,and answer any of your questions to the best of my ability. I would one to see others get involved with one another and feel safe.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews