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Time Traveller's Guides #4
The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain: The Immersive and Brilliant Historical Guide to Regency Britain
'Ian Mortimer's Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain tells you all you need to know about criminals, disease, beggars and other late Georgian delights if you ever find yourself visiting the 1790s.' Daily Telegraph , History Books of the Year
This is the age of Jane Austen and the Romantic poets; the paintings of John Constable and the gardens of Humphry Repton; the sartorial elegance of Beau Brummell and the poetic licence of Lord Byron; Britain's military triumphs at Trafalgar and Waterloo; the threat of revolution and the Peterloo massacre. In the latest volume of his celebrated series of Time Traveller's Guides, Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history - the Regency, or Georgian England.
A time of exuberance, thrills, frills and unchecked bad behaviour, it was perhaps the last age of true freedom before the arrival of the stifling world of Victorian morality. At the same time, it was a period of transition that reflected unprecedented social, economic and political change. And like all periods in history, it was an age of many contradictions - where Beethoven's thundering Fifth Symphony could premier in the same year that saw Jane Austen craft the delicate sensitivities of Persuasion .
Once more, Ian Mortimer takes us on a thrilling journey to the past, revealing what people ate, drank and wore; where they shopped and how they amused themselves; what they believed in and what they were afraid of. Conveying the sights, sounds and smells of the Regency period, this is history at its most exciting, physical, visceral - the past not as something to be studied but as lived experience.
This is the age of Jane Austen and the Romantic poets; the paintings of John Constable and the gardens of Humphry Repton; the sartorial elegance of Beau Brummell and the poetic licence of Lord Byron; Britain's military triumphs at Trafalgar and Waterloo; the threat of revolution and the Peterloo massacre. In the latest volume of his celebrated series of Time Traveller's Guides, Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history - the Regency, or Georgian England.
A time of exuberance, thrills, frills and unchecked bad behaviour, it was perhaps the last age of true freedom before the arrival of the stifling world of Victorian morality. At the same time, it was a period of transition that reflected unprecedented social, economic and political change. And like all periods in history, it was an age of many contradictions - where Beethoven's thundering Fifth Symphony could premier in the same year that saw Jane Austen craft the delicate sensitivities of Persuasion .
Once more, Ian Mortimer takes us on a thrilling journey to the past, revealing what people ate, drank and wore; where they shopped and how they amused themselves; what they believed in and what they were afraid of. Conveying the sights, sounds and smells of the Regency period, this is history at its most exciting, physical, visceral - the past not as something to be studied but as lived experience.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published April 5, 2022
339 people are currently reading
5506 people want to read
About the author
Ian Mortimer
37 books1,442 followersAKA James Forrester.
Dr Ian Mortimer is a historian and novelist, best known for his Time Traveller's Guides series. He has BA, MA, PhD and DLitt degrees from the University of Exeter and UCL. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and was awarded the Alexander Prize by the Royal Historical Society in 2004. Home is the small Dartmoor town of Moretonhampstead, which he occasioanlly introduces in his books. His most recet book, 'Medieval Horizons' looks at how life changed between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries.
He also writes in other genres: his fourth novel 'The Outcasts of Time' won the 2018 Winston Graham Prize for historical fiction. His earlier trilogy of novels set in the 1560s were published under his middle names, James Forrester. In 2017 he wrote 'Why Running Matters' - a memoir of running in the year he turned fifty.
At present he is concentrating on writing history books that have experimental perspectives on the past. One example is a study of England as it would have appeared to the people living in his house over the last thousand years. This is provisionally entitled 'The History of England through the Windows of an Ordinary House'. It is due for completion in December 2024 and publication in 2026.
Dr Ian Mortimer is a historian and novelist, best known for his Time Traveller's Guides series. He has BA, MA, PhD and DLitt degrees from the University of Exeter and UCL. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and was awarded the Alexander Prize by the Royal Historical Society in 2004. Home is the small Dartmoor town of Moretonhampstead, which he occasioanlly introduces in his books. His most recet book, 'Medieval Horizons' looks at how life changed between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries.
He also writes in other genres: his fourth novel 'The Outcasts of Time' won the 2018 Winston Graham Prize for historical fiction. His earlier trilogy of novels set in the 1560s were published under his middle names, James Forrester. In 2017 he wrote 'Why Running Matters' - a memoir of running in the year he turned fifty.
At present he is concentrating on writing history books that have experimental perspectives on the past. One example is a study of England as it would have appeared to the people living in his house over the last thousand years. This is provisionally entitled 'The History of England through the Windows of an Ordinary House'. It is due for completion in December 2024 and publication in 2026.
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October 21, 2023
Ian Mortimer has a wonderful gift of making history come to life, make it feel real and lived in, make it fun and make it seem very relevant to our present, to our experiences and feelings in the here and now. It’s not an easy thing to do and yet he excels at it.
This is the last entry in his series of The Time Traveler’s Guides to the history of Britain, the nonfiction books that aim to show what life was actually like in those times. With his guidance, we have visited England of the medieval times, of the Elizabethan times, and of the Restoration in the 17th century. And now it’s time for Regency England, the period from 1789 to 1830 (think George IV whom Mortimer doesn’t quite admire that much):
This is the time that we often see in books that are still enormously popular today. Even those who don’t know much about history have probably read about the time of Mr. Darcy and Lizzie Bennett and have seen it depicted on small and big screens. The beautiful country estates, the formal dances, the splendid ballgowns — we have seen and read those imagined in one way or the other. Here is the chance to see how it really was, what life in that time period in England was actually like, without reliance on assumptions and artistic license.
Quite a few things, and what we think of as modern “normal” life have started in Regency times. Increasing professionalism and standardization, advances in medical care, trousers instead of breeches, the fascination with seaside vacations, the advances in transportation and travel, cities and towns lighted at night, and that greatest invention of humankind — the flushing loo. (Yes, Mr. Darcy could poop among modern conveniences if he so desired).
And of course the awfulness of horrific slums, childhood, mortality, London smog, a complete disregard all the health of the poor, the lack of sanitation — despite that flushing loo for the well-to-do. Mr. Darcy may have enjoyed the comforts of his life, and so did Lord Byron, but meanwhile millions of people lived and died in appalling abject poverty, oblivious to all the advances and comforts of their compatriots who were lucky enough to inherit money.
Obviously, there is a wealth of information about this time period, and it takes quite a skill to distill it all into an engaging and lively fun book of a manageable length, and Ian Mortimer possesses that skill in abundance. He is also quite an engaging narrator, making this lovely audiobook, a wonderful companion on long hikes and work commute.
Wonderful, engaging book on par with the rest of the history books in this series. I think I need to read everything Ian Mortimer has written so far.
5 stars.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
“The soul of history does not lie in separating the past and the present and examining the former in isolation, as if it were the fossil record of an extinct species, but in connecting the two and discovering they are equally full of life.”
This is the last entry in his series of The Time Traveler’s Guides to the history of Britain, the nonfiction books that aim to show what life was actually like in those times. With his guidance, we have visited England of the medieval times, of the Elizabethan times, and of the Restoration in the 17th century. And now it’s time for Regency England, the period from 1789 to 1830 (think George IV whom Mortimer doesn’t quite admire that much):
“Not since the days of Charles I has Britain had such a great collector and patron of the arts for a king. It’s just a pity he is such an insensitive, selfish pig.”
This is the time that we often see in books that are still enormously popular today. Even those who don’t know much about history have probably read about the time of Mr. Darcy and Lizzie Bennett and have seen it depicted on small and big screens. The beautiful country estates, the formal dances, the splendid ballgowns — we have seen and read those imagined in one way or the other. Here is the chance to see how it really was, what life in that time period in England was actually like, without reliance on assumptions and artistic license.
“Here, then, is a guide to four of the most exciting and culturally important decades in British history. It was an age of elegance and violence, of freedom and protest, of old-style heroism and increasing urbanisation. It was also a time of war: more than half of the period was spent fighting the French, heralding such household names as Lord Nelson, William Pitt and the duke of Wellington. It saw campaigns for liberty, political and social reform, and greater compassion towards the less-fortunate members of society. It was an age of industrialisation, when Britain emerged as the prime economic power in the world. It was also a great age of invention, from the steam locomotive to the electric clock and the earliest photograph. And, of course, it was an age when millions of ordinary people lived ordinary lives – including those named in Mr Puddicombe’s burial register and, indeed, the vicar himself, as the sun finally set on his world.”
Quite a few things, and what we think of as modern “normal” life have started in Regency times. Increasing professionalism and standardization, advances in medical care, trousers instead of breeches, the fascination with seaside vacations, the advances in transportation and travel, cities and towns lighted at night, and that greatest invention of humankind — the flushing loo. (Yes, Mr. Darcy could poop among modern conveniences if he so desired).
And of course the awfulness of horrific slums, childhood, mortality, London smog, a complete disregard all the health of the poor, the lack of sanitation — despite that flushing loo for the well-to-do. Mr. Darcy may have enjoyed the comforts of his life, and so did Lord Byron, but meanwhile millions of people lived and died in appalling abject poverty, oblivious to all the advances and comforts of their compatriots who were lucky enough to inherit money.
“Across Britain’s entire population, almost one in three children dies before his or her fifth birthday. As you’d expect, the industrial towns see the sharpest levels of infant mortality. In Liverpool, 53 per cent die before they are five; in Preston, 57 per cent.”
Obviously, there is a wealth of information about this time period, and it takes quite a skill to distill it all into an engaging and lively fun book of a manageable length, and Ian Mortimer possesses that skill in abundance. He is also quite an engaging narrator, making this lovely audiobook, a wonderful companion on long hikes and work commute.
“The more we communicate with our fellow men and women across the centuries, the more we enrich each other’s lives.”
Wonderful, engaging book on par with the rest of the history books in this series. I think I need to read everything Ian Mortimer has written so far.
5 stars.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
March 15, 2021
Regency Britain is not my favourite period, however, travelling in time with Ian Mortimer is. And again, the journey was elegant, often surprising and never boring. I enjoyed learning a lot about contemporaries of Jane Austen, the landscape, the housing, the medicine and everything that shaped those times.
Another book I recommend to those who are into history and want to know what it was like to live in that period.
Another book I recommend to those who are into history and want to know what it was like to live in that period.
October 10, 2021
Hugely enjoyable and readable packed with detail, information and facts, which are all traits of a Ian Mortimer book.
The period here is the regency but the wider one of 1789-1830, including the era where Prince George is acting for his father King George III during the "formal" regency of 1811-1820.
With that wide sweep in this book of those 41 years, the reader is given a high-quality tour. It is fair to point out here though that whilst the book's title is Regency Britain, it is in essence London centric. That may not be surprising overall but does disappoint a little, although one is understanding of the importance and draw of London to personalities, events and institutions of this period.
And what a period. If you haven't come across the Regency period in any great depth or detail I do highly recommend it. It is a period of great change and whilst some 200 years in the past retains strong connections to today in respect of music (a great period in classical), theatre, art, museums, architecture, design, sports, and much more.
The much more is also what one gets in Prof Mortimer's books. You will learn of food, travel, politics and laws, medicine and superstition, transport and technology, books (hurrah I hear Goodreaders cry), prisons and punishment. Prostitution, trade, science and discovery too. Some names you will know; others are given a place that allows the general reader to see them in brighter lights too.
It is intriguing and indeed a keen reminder to me of how many of these aspects are known to us today, and that is the connection between regency Britain and ourselves: this enjoyable book and the times it covers are present whilst I am sitting in a house on a sofa that both takes elements of their designs back to c1800.
The period here is the regency but the wider one of 1789-1830, including the era where Prince George is acting for his father King George III during the "formal" regency of 1811-1820.
With that wide sweep in this book of those 41 years, the reader is given a high-quality tour. It is fair to point out here though that whilst the book's title is Regency Britain, it is in essence London centric. That may not be surprising overall but does disappoint a little, although one is understanding of the importance and draw of London to personalities, events and institutions of this period.
And what a period. If you haven't come across the Regency period in any great depth or detail I do highly recommend it. It is a period of great change and whilst some 200 years in the past retains strong connections to today in respect of music (a great period in classical), theatre, art, museums, architecture, design, sports, and much more.
The much more is also what one gets in Prof Mortimer's books. You will learn of food, travel, politics and laws, medicine and superstition, transport and technology, books (hurrah I hear Goodreaders cry), prisons and punishment. Prostitution, trade, science and discovery too. Some names you will know; others are given a place that allows the general reader to see them in brighter lights too.
It is intriguing and indeed a keen reminder to me of how many of these aspects are known to us today, and that is the connection between regency Britain and ourselves: this enjoyable book and the times it covers are present whilst I am sitting in a house on a sofa that both takes elements of their designs back to c1800.
July 9, 2021
Not without flaws, but certainly worth reading for anyone interested in the Regency.
January 4, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. I find that surprising because I don't normally "do" social history. Although having a firm preference for C18th, I started reading this book more out of a sense of, "I suppose I ought to read it," rather than, "Yippee! I can't wait!" Mortimer skilfully seduced me.
The book had many strengths. The breadth of coverage was amazing. We gain a real sense of what it was like to live and work and die and think and relax and travel as a man or as a woman, rich, middle-class, and poor. The breadth is impressive, but I wanted to stand and applaud the depth of the coverage. Again and again we are given examples from diaries, journals, newspapers, and letters. He also marshalls the official statistics as well as giving amusing anecdotes. The man who invented both the device for pumping beer in a bar AND the flushing toilet seems indelibly fixed in my mind. You learn about, for example: the cost of candles and the price of staying in an inn or hotel; the etiquette of duelling and why men did it; the housing of the poor and rich; the different types of carriage and the perils of travel; the services available for your physical and mental ailments; the massive developments in farming, industry, and travel; sports, blood sports, card games, operas, and music; the infamous immorality of the period. There is even a hypothesis about why the French had fewer prostitutes than the British.
I think the thing that I found most attractive, and the thing which stopped it being a just a dull recitation of fact after fact, is that the book has personality. Although encyclopaedic in its coverage, it is so much more than a mass of data. It shows personality in two ways. First, behind the facts we are also given many personal stories. The lives of real people are brought to life as individuals. Second, the author's own voice shines through. He stands back from time to time and reflects with analysis, offering meaning, and suggesting links to our present time. When discussing the performance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony in London, Mortimer even gets quite lyrical.
Two things of particular enlightenment remain. First, the book brings home the important influence of the French Revolution on Britain in so many ways - everything from the obvious fear of social unrest to the subtle need to establish the National Art Gallery. Second, for me the most powerful section of the book describes the impact on poverty throughout the country. In certain areas the life expectancy figures for the poor are chilling, and those, together with the living accommodation details, are a world away from the Regency depicted in Jane Austen.
It's a great book that is worthy of your attention.
The book had many strengths. The breadth of coverage was amazing. We gain a real sense of what it was like to live and work and die and think and relax and travel as a man or as a woman, rich, middle-class, and poor. The breadth is impressive, but I wanted to stand and applaud the depth of the coverage. Again and again we are given examples from diaries, journals, newspapers, and letters. He also marshalls the official statistics as well as giving amusing anecdotes. The man who invented both the device for pumping beer in a bar AND the flushing toilet seems indelibly fixed in my mind. You learn about, for example: the cost of candles and the price of staying in an inn or hotel; the etiquette of duelling and why men did it; the housing of the poor and rich; the different types of carriage and the perils of travel; the services available for your physical and mental ailments; the massive developments in farming, industry, and travel; sports, blood sports, card games, operas, and music; the infamous immorality of the period. There is even a hypothesis about why the French had fewer prostitutes than the British.
I think the thing that I found most attractive, and the thing which stopped it being a just a dull recitation of fact after fact, is that the book has personality. Although encyclopaedic in its coverage, it is so much more than a mass of data. It shows personality in two ways. First, behind the facts we are also given many personal stories. The lives of real people are brought to life as individuals. Second, the author's own voice shines through. He stands back from time to time and reflects with analysis, offering meaning, and suggesting links to our present time. When discussing the performance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony in London, Mortimer even gets quite lyrical.
Two things of particular enlightenment remain. First, the book brings home the important influence of the French Revolution on Britain in so many ways - everything from the obvious fear of social unrest to the subtle need to establish the National Art Gallery. Second, for me the most powerful section of the book describes the impact on poverty throughout the country. In certain areas the life expectancy figures for the poor are chilling, and those, together with the living accommodation details, are a world away from the Regency depicted in Jane Austen.
It's a great book that is worthy of your attention.
April 8, 2025
The Time Traveler's Guide to Regency Britain focuses on details of life in Great Britain during the Regency period. While officially the Regency lasted from 1811 to 1820 (when the future George IV ruled as Prince Regent during his father's illness), Mortimer extends his exploration from 1789 to 1830. This expanded scope allows Mortimer to capture the leadup to the era and the full impact afterward. He presents a comprehensive picture of the social, economic, and cultural shifts that defined the period.
Mortimer plays the role of tour guide, explaining the experiences of daily life as if readers were time traveling visitors. He excels in portraying Regency society's many contradictions. This was an age of remarkable refinement and shocking brutality, scientific advancement and entrenched superstition, increasing wealth and devastating poverty. He describes almost every part of life, such as clothing, traveling, lodging, work, shopping, landscapes, buildings, government, justice, moral codes, social customs, hygiene, disease, life expectancy, military, entertainment, and how these factors changed over time.
It covers all types of people – monarchs, aristocrats, laborers, domestic servants, rural farmers, and the growing middle classes. He includes descriptions of what women and minorities would have experienced (which was mostly unpleasant). Mortimer's prose is accessible and often witty. His research is thorough and well-documented. This book is both informative and entertaining. It deepened my appreciation of the cultural and social dynamics that shaped era. Recommended to anyone interested in British history.
Mortimer plays the role of tour guide, explaining the experiences of daily life as if readers were time traveling visitors. He excels in portraying Regency society's many contradictions. This was an age of remarkable refinement and shocking brutality, scientific advancement and entrenched superstition, increasing wealth and devastating poverty. He describes almost every part of life, such as clothing, traveling, lodging, work, shopping, landscapes, buildings, government, justice, moral codes, social customs, hygiene, disease, life expectancy, military, entertainment, and how these factors changed over time.
It covers all types of people – monarchs, aristocrats, laborers, domestic servants, rural farmers, and the growing middle classes. He includes descriptions of what women and minorities would have experienced (which was mostly unpleasant). Mortimer's prose is accessible and often witty. His research is thorough and well-documented. This book is both informative and entertaining. It deepened my appreciation of the cultural and social dynamics that shaped era. Recommended to anyone interested in British history.
September 11, 2023
In the introduction to the first book in this series, The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England, I wrote that 'in order to understand your own century, you need to have come to terms with at least two others' Those words have been quoted back to me many times since 2008 - much to my delight because they succinctly sum up my original purpose in writing these Guides. By directly juxtaposing our daily lives with those of our ancestors, we may get a better impression of the quality and significance of what it means to be alive now as well as then.
I really agree with this sentiment and so, I don't think it's very surprising that I got along with the author on most of the subjects. First thing that you need to know is that this book is freakishly detailed. It honestly freaked me out in the first chapters that mostly focused on the setting - that means the big cities, London, country side, describing layouts of some of them in such a detail you almost felt like you were taking a walk there. It was a bit much, but I can't help but think that it might be a great tool if you were to write a book set in the period, really, I feel like more authors of historical fiction should read this.
The agent orders it to be torched. When he is informed that Chisholm's bedridden mother-in-law is still inside and too frail to be moved, being almost 100 years old, he shouts: "Damn her, the old witch, she had lived too long; let her burn!" Chisholm's friends manage to rescue the old lady from the building as the fire takes hold, burning their hands in the process, but she is traumatised by the event and dies five days later, having not spoken a word since her eviction.
However, I soldiered on and was rewarded by plethora of interesting information. One thing this book does extremely well is the deromantisation (ha! You know... because Romantism? Nevermind...) of the period, especially in relation to class. This book is really dedicated to describing lives of many different social groups and I loved that.
Real human teeth - or 'Waterloo teeth' as they are often called - cost £2, including fitting. These are taken from the corpses of hanged felons, recently deceased bodies in the keeping of undertakers, and pauper donors - often teenagers - for whom a guinea represents undreamt-of wealth. (Hence the joke, to be heard in every London pun, 'I might be here but my teeth are at court.')
Speaking about teeth, I really could do without the section on dentistry, it was... I didn't need to know! 🙈 Sapere aude indeed...
On to the things that I thought weren't handled so well. The author of this book is very uncritical to "the official medicine" he judges every process that makes medicine systems more... systematic and administrative as good. While this makes sense in some regard it isn't the case with midwifery. Those processes resulted in closing the field for women, because they were prevented from getting the official education needed. While this might seem well on the surface (since they were uneducated and often illiterate) it.... actually wasn't. Midwives' craft was based on oral traditions and their experiences and they were quite successful with their deliveries. While (most of the) doctors still refused to wash their hands before helping with the delivery, infecting their patiens with puerperal fever. This is how Mary Wollstonecraft dies!
Listen to this (from In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein):
The cause of puerperal fever has already been identified by Alexander Gordon, an Aberdeen obstetrician who two years earlier [1795] published his Treatise on the Epidemic of Puerperal Fever: 'It is disagreeable declaration for me to mention, that I myself was the means of carrying the infection to a great number of women.' So 'disagreeable' is this declaration to the rest of the medical profession that, far from trying to save lives, they have attacked Gordon. In fact, clinicians' continuing resistence to the idea that they fatally infect women during childbirth will remain so violently entrenched for nearly another century and a half that it gives its name to the more general phenomenon of knee-jek resistance to new knowledge.
So, yeah... forgive me my distrust to the system...
The second thing I would like to mention is the discussion of transvestitism. The author places this after his section on homosexuality, but in his conception, it isn't about trans people, it's about cross-dressing. So from this pov, it's fine, the only issue being that it implies that people with other gender identity that was assigned to them at birth don't exist. The second issue being that transvestitism is sexual kink (right?) and a lot of the people mentioned in this section (especially AFABs) cross-dressed for a very practical purposes that had nothing to do with sex. Overall, my point is that I was a bit uncomfortable with this part, because it assumes gender identity as a given even for people who lived their whole lives as the "other sex". I just better like to not presume anyone's gender identity, especially when there are signs that it's not that simple... If you are interested in this topic, I would highly recommend Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender to your attention. Among other things it discusses this exact problem and I really agree with the conclusion it comes to.
As for women, there is no expectation that two ladies should resort to violence; there is rather an expectation that they should not. The only notable duel between women in this period, the so-called Petticoat Duel of 1792, is a somewhat contrived affair, following Lady Almeria Braddock's inaccurate estimate of the age of her friend, Mrs Elphinstone. They meet in Hyde Park and shoot at each other, but without injury. Then they fight with swords, until one of the ladies is nicked in the arm - after which they make up and become friends again.
Overall, this was a great read full of little treasures of informations and I really enjoyed it even if it felt a little bit endless in places. The audio is good, read by the author! Would absolutely recommend this book if you are interested in this period, especially the daily lives of people and the small inconsequential things. I will be reading the rest of the series 😁
Actual rating 4,5 ⭐
August 6, 2022
"We are not one set of brothers and sisters in our own time – different from our parents, who are another; and from our Regency forebears, who are yet another. Rather we are all human, one humanity, one flesh and one blood, under that same eternal starry sky."
November 20, 2023
Ein unglaublich lesenswertes Buch. Es liest sich zwischenzeitlich wie ein Roman und dann auch wie ein Krimi, auch wenn es ganz eindeutig ein wissenschaftliches Werk mit all seinen Charakteristika ist. Das was es wahrscheinlich von vielen wissenschaftlichen Werken und allgemein anderen Sachbüchern unterscheidet ist das es noch zusätzlich zur Wissensvermittlung sehr gut geschrieben ist. Es ist unglaublich inspirierend und spannend vom Leben der Menschen vor uns zu lesen. Vor allem wenn es sich wie hier um Menschen aus der Zeit zwischen 1790 und 1830 handelt, die unserer in vielen Punkten nahe kommt.
„Robert Southey beschrieb England zwischen 1760 und 1803 mit den Worten:
Vielleicht hat kein Königreich jemals ohne eine gewaltsame Erschütterung des Staates einen so großen Wandel im Verlauf so weniger Jahre erlebt, wie es England unter der gegenwärtigen
Regierung widerfahren ist ... eine in der Fläche verdoppelte Hauptstadt; verfünffachte Steuern; der Wert des Geldes so schnell verfallen, als ob neue Minen entdeckt worden wären; Kanäle von einem Ende der Insel zum anderen gezogen; das Reisen
so schnell gemacht, dass der Nachrichtenaustausch im Lande das Zehnfache des Früheren leistet; die Erfindung der Dampfmaschine, eine fast ebenso große Epochenwende wie die Erfindung des Drucks; das Fabriksystem zum Äußersten getrieben;
das Kommerzdenken auf alles ausgedehnt; in Amerika ein Reich verloren und ein anderes im Osten gewonnen; das sind nur Teile des Bildes. Die Veränderung erstreckt sich auf die winzigsten
Dinge, selbst auf die Kleidung und die Verhaltensweisen jedes Gesellschaftsstandes.?“
Ein paar weitere Zitate:
„Oft geht es in Duellen um weitaus trivialere Dinge, besonders bei Militärs, die nicht die geringsten Zweifel an ihrer Ehre ertragen können. Hauptmann Tonge fordert im Juni 1788 Hauptmann Paterson zu einem Duell, nachdem Letzterer ihm wiederholt in
die Hacken getreten hat; es endet für Ersteren mit einem Schuss in den Oberschenkel. Im März 1794 duellieren sich Hauptmann Parkhurst und Leutnant Kelly im Streit um ihre Opernsitze, beide werden verletzt. Im April 1803 führt Hauptmann James Macnamara von der Royal Navy seinen Neufundländer im Hyde Park Gassi, wo dieser mit dem Neufundländer von Oberst Robert Montgomery aneinandergerät. Montgomery will wütend wissen, wem der Hund gehört, und droht damit, jedes Tier »niederzuschlagen«, das sein eigenes angreift. Macnamara wirft ihm Arroganz vor, Montgomery gibt die Beleidigung zurück, und die beiden Offiziere einigen sich auf ein Duell. Sie verwunden einander, Montgomery stirbt an seiner Wunde.“
„Und wenn Sie noch niemand bekannt gemacht hat? Man sagt, dass ein Engländer einen anderen nicht aus Seenot retten wird, solange sie einander nicht ordentlich vorgestellt worden sind.“
„Robert Southey beschrieb England zwischen 1760 und 1803 mit den Worten:
Vielleicht hat kein Königreich jemals ohne eine gewaltsame Erschütterung des Staates einen so großen Wandel im Verlauf so weniger Jahre erlebt, wie es England unter der gegenwärtigen
Regierung widerfahren ist ... eine in der Fläche verdoppelte Hauptstadt; verfünffachte Steuern; der Wert des Geldes so schnell verfallen, als ob neue Minen entdeckt worden wären; Kanäle von einem Ende der Insel zum anderen gezogen; das Reisen
so schnell gemacht, dass der Nachrichtenaustausch im Lande das Zehnfache des Früheren leistet; die Erfindung der Dampfmaschine, eine fast ebenso große Epochenwende wie die Erfindung des Drucks; das Fabriksystem zum Äußersten getrieben;
das Kommerzdenken auf alles ausgedehnt; in Amerika ein Reich verloren und ein anderes im Osten gewonnen; das sind nur Teile des Bildes. Die Veränderung erstreckt sich auf die winzigsten
Dinge, selbst auf die Kleidung und die Verhaltensweisen jedes Gesellschaftsstandes.?“
Ein paar weitere Zitate:
„Oft geht es in Duellen um weitaus trivialere Dinge, besonders bei Militärs, die nicht die geringsten Zweifel an ihrer Ehre ertragen können. Hauptmann Tonge fordert im Juni 1788 Hauptmann Paterson zu einem Duell, nachdem Letzterer ihm wiederholt in
die Hacken getreten hat; es endet für Ersteren mit einem Schuss in den Oberschenkel. Im März 1794 duellieren sich Hauptmann Parkhurst und Leutnant Kelly im Streit um ihre Opernsitze, beide werden verletzt. Im April 1803 führt Hauptmann James Macnamara von der Royal Navy seinen Neufundländer im Hyde Park Gassi, wo dieser mit dem Neufundländer von Oberst Robert Montgomery aneinandergerät. Montgomery will wütend wissen, wem der Hund gehört, und droht damit, jedes Tier »niederzuschlagen«, das sein eigenes angreift. Macnamara wirft ihm Arroganz vor, Montgomery gibt die Beleidigung zurück, und die beiden Offiziere einigen sich auf ein Duell. Sie verwunden einander, Montgomery stirbt an seiner Wunde.“
„Und wenn Sie noch niemand bekannt gemacht hat? Man sagt, dass ein Engländer einen anderen nicht aus Seenot retten wird, solange sie einander nicht ordentlich vorgestellt worden sind.“
June 11, 2025
“Who’s your fat friend?” That’s the question from Beau Brummell that sets the tone for the Regency era in Britain. He was referring to the Prince of Wales who was quite heavy and had no sense of proportion when it came to satisfying his earthly desires.
The book reads as though Ian Mortimer is your guide on a walking tour of mostly London, plopped down sometime between 1790 and 1830. He takes you to the theater, the prison, the hospitals, the shops and on the quays, into the homes of the wealthy, the middle-class and the poor. All the while pointing out the hazardous of life, like how clipping your toenails can lead to death or that a woman can still be prosecuted and publicly punished for being a “scold”.
It's an insightful and comprehensive view of the people, both famous and obscure, who lived, worked and traveled to Britain. Most of the sections end with a pithy little comment that reminds us how much has changed with our plumbing, but not our nature.
The book reads as though Ian Mortimer is your guide on a walking tour of mostly London, plopped down sometime between 1790 and 1830. He takes you to the theater, the prison, the hospitals, the shops and on the quays, into the homes of the wealthy, the middle-class and the poor. All the while pointing out the hazardous of life, like how clipping your toenails can lead to death or that a woman can still be prosecuted and publicly punished for being a “scold”.
It's an insightful and comprehensive view of the people, both famous and obscure, who lived, worked and traveled to Britain. Most of the sections end with a pithy little comment that reminds us how much has changed with our plumbing, but not our nature.
November 4, 2021
I really love these books. They take a very discrete period of time and look at how people really lived. What they wore, where they lived, how they dealt with illness and pain, what they did in the spare time. And the people that are looked at aren't just the upper classes but other people too; the real people. This book was amazingly easy to read. Very informative. Embarrassingly, I had just thought of 'Regency time as a bit before the Victorians where they had nice buildings in Bath' and that was my knowledge. This was great. Easy to read. Informative and highly recommended.
Read
January 1, 2022A fun and informative read, though the language used to describe queer identities is jarring to say the least
April 24, 2022
Interesting and thorough historical overview of British Life from about 1789 until the death of King George about 1830.
I would say a must read. This book was a huge undertaking and I think the author has succeeded admirably. Certainly this book will provide extensive background to deepen the understanding of events and social relationships described in early 19th century British novels.
I think there is no one way to present the information that will please all. The author has decided to proceed by covering topics of interest to the 'Time Traveler". I would say he manages to cover the breadth of possible topics.
This does leave the reader with some information disjoined in time. The studious reader will want to make some notes as to exactly what happens when. Or this organization lends itself well, to providing a reference book. One that can be readily referred to on particular topics when reading novels from the period.
Despite the extensive immersion of the reader in facts, dates, events, and figures, I enjoyed the read as entertaining, in and of itself.
I would say a must read. This book was a huge undertaking and I think the author has succeeded admirably. Certainly this book will provide extensive background to deepen the understanding of events and social relationships described in early 19th century British novels.
I think there is no one way to present the information that will please all. The author has decided to proceed by covering topics of interest to the 'Time Traveler". I would say he manages to cover the breadth of possible topics.
This does leave the reader with some information disjoined in time. The studious reader will want to make some notes as to exactly what happens when. Or this organization lends itself well, to providing a reference book. One that can be readily referred to on particular topics when reading novels from the period.
Despite the extensive immersion of the reader in facts, dates, events, and figures, I enjoyed the read as entertaining, in and of itself.
July 29, 2021
I absolutely love Ian Mortimer´s Time Traveller´s Guide series. The audiobooks are also excellent and I enjoy listening to them on repeat. Those who enjoy Lucy Worsley and Ruth Goodman will be quickly hooked by Mortimer´s engaging explorations of daily life in Britain during various historic periods. The guide to the Regency era is no exception. Highly recommended!!
November 8, 2021
Love this author and these books. Such a unique perspective on time travelling through history!
April 28, 2024
Confession: I didn't read to the end and decided to leave the last 1/4 as a research volume to be consulted when necessary. This book is detailed and useful and has plenty of interesting anecdotes, but it's very long and some things interested me less than others. I'm sure I'll consult it a lot when needed for writing!
November 20, 2025
A very engaging overview of Regency Britain, though it was a bit disappointing to see it oversimplify some complex topics (such as the rise of sentimentalism and liberal individualism in this era) despite saying this about the postal system: “I apologise for the complexity of what follows but anything simple on this subject would be misleading.”
There also wasn't much about Britain as the colonial empire it was in this time period, and how that influenced domestic life (which was the author's focus here), beyond some trade and imports mentions.
“Also like Brighton, [Liverpool] has grown extraordinarily over the last century. In 1700 it had only about 5,000 inhabitants but since then its population has doubled every twenty-five years. The reason is the expansion of trade across the Atlantic, especially in sugar, cotton and tobacco.”
Mentioning Liverpool's growth in this period without mentioning the slave trade is wild (it controlled the majority of the British slave trade in the 1790s), and I doubt every reader would infer from the mentioned "sugar, cotton, and tobacco" that those were all the products of slave labor. These types of convenient omissions appear occasionally, as do some outdated terms for minorities.
There were a few sections that weren't all that interesting to me, and I sometimes wondered at the placement and amount of words dedicated to some of them (particularly those in the final chapter). Still a worthwhile read that accomplishes its task of capturing the general vibe of the Regency. I somewhat wish these time traveler's guides existed for every country. 3.5 stars
There also wasn't much about Britain as the colonial empire it was in this time period, and how that influenced domestic life (which was the author's focus here), beyond some trade and imports mentions.
“Also like Brighton, [Liverpool] has grown extraordinarily over the last century. In 1700 it had only about 5,000 inhabitants but since then its population has doubled every twenty-five years. The reason is the expansion of trade across the Atlantic, especially in sugar, cotton and tobacco.”
Mentioning Liverpool's growth in this period without mentioning the slave trade is wild (it controlled the majority of the British slave trade in the 1790s), and I doubt every reader would infer from the mentioned "sugar, cotton, and tobacco" that those were all the products of slave labor. These types of convenient omissions appear occasionally, as do some outdated terms for minorities.
There were a few sections that weren't all that interesting to me, and I sometimes wondered at the placement and amount of words dedicated to some of them (particularly those in the final chapter). Still a worthwhile read that accomplishes its task of capturing the general vibe of the Regency. I somewhat wish these time traveler's guides existed for every country. 3.5 stars
October 15, 2023
Immensely enjoyable. My kind of history book.
April 20, 2021
There wasn't much in this book that I didn't know, but that's because I did extensive research for my three Rowankind books. But how I wish I'd had this book when I was buying masses of books for research and disappearing down internet rabbit holes for days on end. It has everything I needed in one succinct volume. There's loads of practical information here about how long it takes to travel from point A to point B, how much it will cost and how long you have to find a privy while your coach's horses are being changed at an inn. If you were dropped into the Regency period with this handbook, you could probably integrate pretty well (though your accent might be a bit strange to the locals). Chapters cover: landscape; London; The people; Character; Practicalities; What to Wear; Travelling; Where to Stay; What to Eat, Drink and Smoke; Cleanliness, Health and Medicine; Law and Order, and Entertainment.
The information is comprehensive, the style is readable. I had this on Kindle, but i will buy the paperback when it comes out later in 2021 as it's a great little reference book for the period. It's not strictly the Regency which only lasted for eleven years, but it covers what people think of as the wider period, from the 1789 to 1830. It compares and contrasts life through the period, noting changes. It covers this extraordinarily varied period from privileged scoundrels to the abject poverty of the urban poor; the cruelties of the law which would hang a child for stealing a handkerchief, to the beginnings of prison reform. It is, at once, comprehensive and succinct, and a great starting point for anyone interested in the period. I don't normally read non-fiction from beginning to end (I tend to dip in and out for research) but this read as easily as a novel. Though one warning to kindle readers, the illustrations are a dead loss in that format. You might do better with a Kindle Fire, or (probably) a dead tree version.
The information is comprehensive, the style is readable. I had this on Kindle, but i will buy the paperback when it comes out later in 2021 as it's a great little reference book for the period. It's not strictly the Regency which only lasted for eleven years, but it covers what people think of as the wider period, from the 1789 to 1830. It compares and contrasts life through the period, noting changes. It covers this extraordinarily varied period from privileged scoundrels to the abject poverty of the urban poor; the cruelties of the law which would hang a child for stealing a handkerchief, to the beginnings of prison reform. It is, at once, comprehensive and succinct, and a great starting point for anyone interested in the period. I don't normally read non-fiction from beginning to end (I tend to dip in and out for research) but this read as easily as a novel. Though one warning to kindle readers, the illustrations are a dead loss in that format. You might do better with a Kindle Fire, or (probably) a dead tree version.
September 29, 2024
Clever and chatty, a pop history guide with great vibes. I give Mortimer credit for covering the full scale of the socioeconomic ladder in exploring the time period. If you know nothing of the era, this is a decent place to start.
Where he frustrates -- an overemphasis on cute anecdotes, rather glib in his summaries of complex themes -- is an inherent weakness of the pop history genre. The Regency era spanned 1790 to 1830, and no one can do justice to 40 years of changes to a given cultural phenomenon in a single chapter. The goal is the atmosphere, not technical accuracy.
More annoying is Mortimer's tendency to bounce around the time period, bringing examples from 1815 and then 1792 out of order in the same paragraph. And although I get why he wanted to keep his focus domestic, he includes virtually no discussion of Empire at a time when Britain was both a naval and colonial worldpower. You can't understand Regency fashions without exploring England's war with France (still the style capital of Europe) or its trade exploitation of India.
For my purposes, the most helpful chapters were the discussion of average incomes per social class/industry, diets, and descriptions of sample middle class vs elite London townhouses. As Mortimer apparently cites his income figures from Patrick Colquhoun's 1814 survey of the British Empire - which is available for free online - I'm going to go to the primary source next.
Where he frustrates -- an overemphasis on cute anecdotes, rather glib in his summaries of complex themes -- is an inherent weakness of the pop history genre. The Regency era spanned 1790 to 1830, and no one can do justice to 40 years of changes to a given cultural phenomenon in a single chapter. The goal is the atmosphere, not technical accuracy.
More annoying is Mortimer's tendency to bounce around the time period, bringing examples from 1815 and then 1792 out of order in the same paragraph. And although I get why he wanted to keep his focus domestic, he includes virtually no discussion of Empire at a time when Britain was both a naval and colonial worldpower. You can't understand Regency fashions without exploring England's war with France (still the style capital of Europe) or its trade exploitation of India.
For my purposes, the most helpful chapters were the discussion of average incomes per social class/industry, diets, and descriptions of sample middle class vs elite London townhouses. As Mortimer apparently cites his income figures from Patrick Colquhoun's 1814 survey of the British Empire - which is available for free online - I'm going to go to the primary source next.
October 1, 2022
„Im Rausch des Vergnügens“ von Ian Mortimer ist zwar ein völliger legitimer Titel für ein Sachbuch über das Zeitalter des Regency in Großbritannien (1790-1830). Und doch verrät der Titel nichts vom Projekt des Autors, der sich seit einigen Büchern chronologisch durch die Geschichte von England (und ein bisschen Wales und Schottland) arbeitet und seinem Publikum ganz praktische Informationen und Tipps an die Hand geben will. Ian Mortimer legt hier nämlich eigentlich einen Reiseführer vor, denn im Englischen heißen die verschiedenen Teile seiner Reihe: „A Time Traveller’s Guide to ...“
Und so ist die Stoßrichtung klar, die Erzählhaltung eines imaginären Reiseleiters verlässt er nie. Groß angelegte politische Veränderungen, Kriege und Auseinandersetzungen spielen im Buch nur eine Rolle, wenn sie für die ganz praktische Lebenswirklichkeit der Menschen des Regency relevant sind. Könige werden erwähnt, auch Gesetze und natürlich die französische Revolution finden Erwähnung. Doch wichtig sind hier die Fragen, die uns als Zeitreisende interessieren: Wie haben die Menschen damals gewohnt? Was haben sie gearbeitet? Wie viel Geld haben sie zur Verfügung? Was haben sie angezogen? Wie haben sie ihre Freizeit verbracht? Anhand von Quellenmaterial und einem schier unerschöpflichen Wissensschatz geleitet uns Mortimer wie ein versierter Reiseleiter durch eine Zeit, die uns eigentlich fremd sein müsste. Er bringt uns Menschen und ihre Lebensweise nahe – wie auf einer Zeitreise eben.
Einzig Abbildungen hätten dieses gelungene Buchprojekt noch perfektionieren können. Wie schön wäre es, sich die Mode oder die Architektur der Zeit auch auf Stichen oder Gemälden anschauen zu können. Doch davon abgesehen, sollte jeder nach der Lektüre dieses Buchs perfekt für eine Zeitreise ins Regency gerüstet sein. Wer weiß, wann man das mal brauchen kann!
Und so ist die Stoßrichtung klar, die Erzählhaltung eines imaginären Reiseleiters verlässt er nie. Groß angelegte politische Veränderungen, Kriege und Auseinandersetzungen spielen im Buch nur eine Rolle, wenn sie für die ganz praktische Lebenswirklichkeit der Menschen des Regency relevant sind. Könige werden erwähnt, auch Gesetze und natürlich die französische Revolution finden Erwähnung. Doch wichtig sind hier die Fragen, die uns als Zeitreisende interessieren: Wie haben die Menschen damals gewohnt? Was haben sie gearbeitet? Wie viel Geld haben sie zur Verfügung? Was haben sie angezogen? Wie haben sie ihre Freizeit verbracht? Anhand von Quellenmaterial und einem schier unerschöpflichen Wissensschatz geleitet uns Mortimer wie ein versierter Reiseleiter durch eine Zeit, die uns eigentlich fremd sein müsste. Er bringt uns Menschen und ihre Lebensweise nahe – wie auf einer Zeitreise eben.
Einzig Abbildungen hätten dieses gelungene Buchprojekt noch perfektionieren können. Wie schön wäre es, sich die Mode oder die Architektur der Zeit auch auf Stichen oder Gemälden anschauen zu können. Doch davon abgesehen, sollte jeder nach der Lektüre dieses Buchs perfekt für eine Zeitreise ins Regency gerüstet sein. Wer weiß, wann man das mal brauchen kann!
June 29, 2024
Seventeen and a half hours! Seventeen and a half hours of audiobook details about Regency-era sports, clothing, sexism, debtors' prisons, breakfasts, manners, theater, stagecoaches, fashion, and liquor! I loved it. I don't know much about this era, so a lot of the information was eye opening. Some of my favorite bits:
• The first person to publish a work about atheism in English was Percy Bysshe Shelley. His 1811 essay "The Necessity of Atheism" got him kicked out of Oxford.
• Toll takers did not have to provide change. If the toll cost sixpence and you only had shillings, you had to pay a shilling. So travelers brought many sixpences with them.
• If you wanted to travel on a stagecoach but couldn't afford it, you could pay half price if you were willing to sit on top of the stagecoach and hang on the entire time.
• Cookbooks became very popular during this period. The goal for the author of one of the most popular cookbooks was for any servant who could read to become a cook. I'm sure you can see the potential convenience and savings of this.
• The Prince Regent, later King George IV, was very powerful during the latter part of his father's reign because not only did poor old George III have bouts of insanity, but he eventually became deaf and blind as well. Most British people intensely disliked the Prince Regent for being rude, lazy, gluttonous, mean, and wasteful. He wore spectacular clothing, though.
• The famous dandy Beau Brummel spent three hours every morning washing and getting dressed. He was besties with the Prince Regent but eventually they had a big fight and Brummel insulted the prince by calling him "your fat friend" in public.
• The first person to publish a work about atheism in English was Percy Bysshe Shelley. His 1811 essay "The Necessity of Atheism" got him kicked out of Oxford.
• Toll takers did not have to provide change. If the toll cost sixpence and you only had shillings, you had to pay a shilling. So travelers brought many sixpences with them.
• If you wanted to travel on a stagecoach but couldn't afford it, you could pay half price if you were willing to sit on top of the stagecoach and hang on the entire time.
• Cookbooks became very popular during this period. The goal for the author of one of the most popular cookbooks was for any servant who could read to become a cook. I'm sure you can see the potential convenience and savings of this.
• The Prince Regent, later King George IV, was very powerful during the latter part of his father's reign because not only did poor old George III have bouts of insanity, but he eventually became deaf and blind as well. Most British people intensely disliked the Prince Regent for being rude, lazy, gluttonous, mean, and wasteful. He wore spectacular clothing, though.
• The famous dandy Beau Brummel spent three hours every morning washing and getting dressed. He was besties with the Prince Regent but eventually they had a big fight and Brummel insulted the prince by calling him "your fat friend" in public.
March 19, 2024
This book goes beyond the name dropping, war dates, and fashion choices of the times. You will learn about how it was to post a letter, the cheapest way to travel, who to see in Drury Lane Theatre. And way more! All done with a hint of humour and great historical sense. I absolutely adored it and made me think that I could survive the Regency era!
April 1, 2025
Loved all the little biographical descriptions. Travel descriptions. I had a chapter I didn't like, housing was different from what I expected. Love Mortimers jokes. He was fierce about the Prince Regent. Loved learning about the newspaper charicatures.
June 7, 2025
Wow, this is not the view of regency England that you get if you all you do is read Jane Austen.
December 4, 2024
This is the second Time Travelers Guide by Mortimer and it is just as engaging. I’ve often wondered why the Regency period in England resonates with me so much. The short answer is that a lot happened in that era, despite the really appalling leadership by the Prince Regent. Social change and technology breakthroughs abound. As stagnant as the hugely hierarchical social structure was, so much was changing! The author is an engaging author and narrator. A bit long but highly recommended.
November 23, 2022
This is a comprehensive work of social history that does not entirely succeed as a book to both enlighten and entertain knowledgeable but non-academic readers. Given the level of detail provided on aspects of everyday life the shortage of illustrations is a great drawback for a book purporting to be a guide. It is likely attributable to the bottom line mentality of current publishers, as decent illustrations would have added to the cost. A “guide” or companion to life in the Regency era might also have been organized more usefully along the lines of a reference work with shorter entries or perhaps been centered on the lives of select Regency people from different classes (the author scatters haphazard references to various individuals throughout the book). As written the book seems to repetitiously cycle back to the same social conditions, with numerous renderings of the same execrable and deplorable conditions of the urban poor. The author’s level of expertise on various topics is uneven. For instance, while the law in Regency Britain was in great need of reform, the discussion of the underpinnings of the legal system is deficient with virtually no attention paid to the organization of the courts, legal education, and the various types of legal practitioners. This is in marked contrast to a vastly overblown discussion of opera singers and composers, a topic on which the author was evidently much more enthusiastic. Finally while we should all condemn the cruelties and inequities of the past, the book concludes with an iconoclastic essay that seems to say judge figures from the past from our perspective and outside the context of their times. While this idea is much in vogue, a more balanced approach to history is a better guide to the future.
March 22, 2021
The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain is the most recent and perhaps the best book in the Time Traveller social history series. (Past volumes explored the medieval, Elizabethan and Restoration eras). Ian Mortimer has written an accessible and engaging guide to the Regency period including walking tours of London in different time periods, and room by room accounts of homes belonging to the wealthy, the middle class and the poor, illustrating the vast disparities in wealthy during this time period. There are some passages that are especially beautifully written including the section about how Sir Walter Scott transformed the writing of historical fiction, the power of the premiere of Beethoven's 9th symphony, and encouragement to readers to keep their own diaries, "leaving a whispered testimony to your descendants in the twenty-fifth or thirtieth century, becoming another voice in the almighty chorus of humanity." Highly recommended!
April 12, 2021
Informative and entertaining guide to the Regency period
I always enjoy reading Ian Mortimer’s Time Traveler Guides and learn so much from them. Being a fan of historical fiction, especially of this period, it certainly enriched my knowledge.
Mainly it’s little nuggets of information about everyday life in the stated period that surprises me; for example, the introduction of tea as a beverage that I certainly thought was much earlier.
Mortimer is a respected historian and invests his guides with his wry wit. It’s not quite Horrible Histories for grownups but certainly entertains as well as informs.
Highly recommended.
I always enjoy reading Ian Mortimer’s Time Traveler Guides and learn so much from them. Being a fan of historical fiction, especially of this period, it certainly enriched my knowledge.
Mainly it’s little nuggets of information about everyday life in the stated period that surprises me; for example, the introduction of tea as a beverage that I certainly thought was much earlier.
Mortimer is a respected historian and invests his guides with his wry wit. It’s not quite Horrible Histories for grownups but certainly entertains as well as informs.
Highly recommended.
December 27, 2020
Ian Mortimer is one of my favourite historians and I love his Time Traveller’s Guide series. This addition doesn’t disappoint and I intend to buy a paperback copy as soon as it’s released so I can fit one on my classroom bookshelf! Fortuitously, I finished this book at just the right time to get stuck into the Bridgerton series on Netflix, fully armed with secure understanding of the regency period!
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