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The Georgians: The Deeds and Misdeeds of 18th-Century Britain
A comprehensive history of the Georgians, comparing past views of these exciting, turbulent, and controversial times with our attitudes today
The Georgian era is often seen as a time of innovations. It saw the end of monarchical absolutism, global exploration and settlements overseas, the world’s first industrial revolution, deep transformations in religious and cultural life, and Britain’s role in the international trade in enslaved Africans. But how were these changes perceived by people at the time? And how do their viewpoints compare with attitudes today?
In this wide-ranging history, Penelope J. Corfield explores every aspect of Georgian life—politics and empire, culture and society, love and violence, religion and science, industry and towns. People’s responses at the time were often divided. Pessimists saw loss and decline, while optimists saw improvements and light. Out of such tensions came the Georgian culture of both experiment and resistance. Corfield emphasizes those elements of deep continuity that persisted even within major changes, and shows how new developments were challenged if their human consequences proved dire.
The Georgian era is often seen as a time of innovations. It saw the end of monarchical absolutism, global exploration and settlements overseas, the world’s first industrial revolution, deep transformations in religious and cultural life, and Britain’s role in the international trade in enslaved Africans. But how were these changes perceived by people at the time? And how do their viewpoints compare with attitudes today?
In this wide-ranging history, Penelope J. Corfield explores every aspect of Georgian life—politics and empire, culture and society, love and violence, religion and science, industry and towns. People’s responses at the time were often divided. Pessimists saw loss and decline, while optimists saw improvements and light. Out of such tensions came the Georgian culture of both experiment and resistance. Corfield emphasizes those elements of deep continuity that persisted even within major changes, and shows how new developments were challenged if their human consequences proved dire.
488 pages, Hardcover
First published February 8, 2022
24 people are currently reading
614 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 16, 2021
Georgian England is one of my favourite historical periods and I have, therefore, already read many texts about the era. What I enjoyed most about Penelope J. Corfield's The Georgians was the different approach she made, compared to other books on the same topic. Rather than just working through by year or theme, commenting on the events and the people from a modern perspective, Corfield focuses on changes and innovations that took place during the period from the point of view of its contemporaries, looking at what people living in that time thought about the world they inhabited, as recorded in novels, essays and diaries/memoirs. Even if you already know a lot about the Georgian period, I recommend anyone interested in that time to check out this book for its fresh approach and outlook. I still learnt something new and was able to take something away from this text despite all my former reading on the subject. For me, this was a 4.5-star read which I will round up to a five.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 15, 2022
The content was good, but it skipped about the timeline and, being an overview, didn't really explain things so much as described them which meant that I struggled to engage with it.
This book also focusses on the slave trade when discussing Britain's overseas actions, whilst spending much less time on India for instance. The abolition movement was a big force in British politics at the time and needed coverage, but one can't help but feel that the narrative that we were involved in an inhuman trade but then decided not to be is a more comforting thing to read about than Britain's exploits elsewhere. This seems to be a common way in which this topic is discussed and I wonder if it's believed people won't read something that casts Britain in a too negative light.
Part of the reason for the focus on the slave trade is that the book focuses on people living in Britain and people had strong opinions about the trade. However, this seems very incomplete in such a global era when Britain's "Deeds and Misdeeds" can only be considered fully with the rest of the world in mind.
This book also focusses on the slave trade when discussing Britain's overseas actions, whilst spending much less time on India for instance. The abolition movement was a big force in British politics at the time and needed coverage, but one can't help but feel that the narrative that we were involved in an inhuman trade but then decided not to be is a more comforting thing to read about than Britain's exploits elsewhere. This seems to be a common way in which this topic is discussed and I wonder if it's believed people won't read something that casts Britain in a too negative light.
Part of the reason for the focus on the slave trade is that the book focuses on people living in Britain and people had strong opinions about the trade. However, this seems very incomplete in such a global era when Britain's "Deeds and Misdeeds" can only be considered fully with the rest of the world in mind.
February 8, 2022
As a reviewer, I’m often given free electronic copies of books and Penelope J. Corfield’s book, The Georgians: The Deeds and Misdeeds of 18th-Century Britain, was one such book, given to me by the publisher through NetGalley. However, I have only subsequently purchased a physical copy of the book on two occasions – why would I, if I have a free one? However, I think the Georgians will be #3. I want this book on my bookshelf. It left me stunned. How can one person, even an Emeritus Professor like Corfield, know so much about so many topics – and have the skill to fit them together in this highly, highly readable Rubik’s cube? She admits in the introduction that the book has taken many years to complete and I can believe it. I have seldom read a book that covers so much so well.
The book comprises five parts:
I. The Georgian Debating an Age of Change
II. The Georgians Experiencing Change in Daily Life
III. The Georgians Ruling and Resisting
IV. The Georgians in Social Ferment
V. The Georgians Viewed Long
Oh, and approximately sixty pages of erudite endnotes.
As can be deduced from that structure, Corfield shows us how things changed over the long eighteenth century, illustrating points with the stories of individuals; citing books; and at the end of each chapter, suggesting further reading; a list of places to visit in person or online; and even a Youtube performance of The Rivals. She makes the point that Georgians were aware of change and were keen to share their views about it was for better or worse. Corfield goes back to sources and debunks several myths.
Based upon Corfield’s book, my belief is that the reason it’s so interesting to look back and study the Georgian Age was because, as she states, the numbers of both men and women who were literate and numerate overtook – for the first time in Britain’s history – the numbers of the illiterate and innumerate. That increase in people who COULD write translated to an increase in the numbers who DID write – and hence we have so much more evidence of contemporary thoughts and beliefs than we do for previous ages. But it is such a comprehensive book and so well argued that you might have a different view – and so might I, the next time I read it. And I shall re-read it, probably several times – and certainly keep it as my “go to” reference book for ALL aspects of life from the 1690s to the 1830s.
#TheGeorgians #NetGalley
The book comprises five parts:
I. The Georgian Debating an Age of Change
II. The Georgians Experiencing Change in Daily Life
III. The Georgians Ruling and Resisting
IV. The Georgians in Social Ferment
V. The Georgians Viewed Long
Oh, and approximately sixty pages of erudite endnotes.
As can be deduced from that structure, Corfield shows us how things changed over the long eighteenth century, illustrating points with the stories of individuals; citing books; and at the end of each chapter, suggesting further reading; a list of places to visit in person or online; and even a Youtube performance of The Rivals. She makes the point that Georgians were aware of change and were keen to share their views about it was for better or worse. Corfield goes back to sources and debunks several myths.
Based upon Corfield’s book, my belief is that the reason it’s so interesting to look back and study the Georgian Age was because, as she states, the numbers of both men and women who were literate and numerate overtook – for the first time in Britain’s history – the numbers of the illiterate and innumerate. That increase in people who COULD write translated to an increase in the numbers who DID write – and hence we have so much more evidence of contemporary thoughts and beliefs than we do for previous ages. But it is such a comprehensive book and so well argued that you might have a different view – and so might I, the next time I read it. And I shall re-read it, probably several times – and certainly keep it as my “go to” reference book for ALL aspects of life from the 1690s to the 1830s.
#TheGeorgians #NetGalley
July 17, 2022
The Georgians serves a decent and highly readable overview of the long eighteenth century, touching on social, economical, and political changes. Corfield does a good job at discussing the contradictions of the period and of our conceptions of it. The first half of the book is the strongest, as I found the last part in particular tended towards quick summary with little reflection or analysis and some of the assumptions made were frankly just wild. As much as I enjoyed the overview of the period (especially the social history side of it), I was frustrated with Corfield refusal to dig deeply into (and at times, she often tries to tip-toe around) British colonialism and the ways it created and sustained Georgian life. That is not to say that Corfield doesn’t discuss the slave trade or other experiences of empire - she does - rather she tends to play both sides to point that some of her points are bordering on ahistorical. (Her section on Canada as a colony and the War of Independence is particularly bad and lacks nuance, which is surprising because there are plenty of Canadian historians’ works she could have consulted.) That being said, I thought the book served as a good reference point to learn about the Georgian period and captured the spirit of the era well.
August 22, 2025
This surprised me in that it was such a riveting read. I like reading historical books but I usually expect them to be on the drier (or at least more academic) side. This, however, was really fascinating and written in a way that I couldn't put it down. It's almost like an info dump but it somehow works. Every chapter ends with a then and now section on Georgian elements that have survived to today and generally the author references a lot of books and media set in that time, which helped make the content more relatable. The author also does try to get as diverse a POV as possible, which was great considering the availability of these perspectives in primary sources of the time. The end definitely slowed a bit for me as she brought it full circle for modern times but 75% were excellent.
January 20, 2024
This book comes in at 389 pages, plus endnotes and it covers a lot of ground. It's takes in a very broad sweep of history and as such it's not especially deep in any area. However, you do get a wonderful view of the bigger picture, the trends and a feel for the whole. As such it's definitely worth reading. It makes a good companion piece to Colley's work, or more specialist books. I enjoyed it.
July 27, 2024
I absolutely loved this book. I kept it my bedside and would read a few pages every night before bed - I frequently stayed up later than intended because it drew me in. So well-written, so interesting, so informative.
August 10, 2023
Interesting read, learnt some new facts. It had a habit of introducing something or someone interesting but not going into any detail, just use as a passing point. But otherwise a good read.
December 11, 2024
Honestly felt like a well collated Wikipedia article. Broad and shallow. Better off reading a narrower history that likes its digressions. Age of Wonder (English Romanticism and Enlightenment Science) and Radical Potter (Life of Wedgwood) are much more satisfactory reads that lead you to the same material.
March 27, 2022
Very fact-dense, which means it’s a slow read. Interesting but not very entertaining. I’d have liked more examples of Regency artworks.
March 12, 2023
I read Penelope Corfield’s The Georgians as part of the Dr Johnson Reading Circle where I later had a discussion with the group and with the author there as well.
It takes a comprehensive skim through the Georgian era, looking at many different aspects that gave the era its shape and flavour. There’s a desire to sketch out these broad shapes along with a desire to examine how the Georgians themselves understood the society they lived in with a glance at what we make of them now.
It’s a refreshingly democratic piece of history, while it happily uses comment and anecdote from famous names, it’s conception of change (and continuity) are treated as broad, sociological functions. There’s a striking chapter about the change in lower-class consciousness, from being ‘the poor’ to ‘the working class’ and a discussion of the formation of early trade unions called combinations. As such, it’s a history that includes everybody without apportioning blame or glory.
While I didn’t love the book, I kept wanting it to go more in depth into certain areas, I did enjoy the conversations the book provoked in the meeting. That’s probably where The Georgians works best, as impetus for a book-group, student seminar where the themes and patterns can be discussed. As such, it works rather like an eighteenth century newspaper or essay, providing material for the mill-wheels of civilised conversation to grind.
It takes a comprehensive skim through the Georgian era, looking at many different aspects that gave the era its shape and flavour. There’s a desire to sketch out these broad shapes along with a desire to examine how the Georgians themselves understood the society they lived in with a glance at what we make of them now.
It’s a refreshingly democratic piece of history, while it happily uses comment and anecdote from famous names, it’s conception of change (and continuity) are treated as broad, sociological functions. There’s a striking chapter about the change in lower-class consciousness, from being ‘the poor’ to ‘the working class’ and a discussion of the formation of early trade unions called combinations. As such, it’s a history that includes everybody without apportioning blame or glory.
While I didn’t love the book, I kept wanting it to go more in depth into certain areas, I did enjoy the conversations the book provoked in the meeting. That’s probably where The Georgians works best, as impetus for a book-group, student seminar where the themes and patterns can be discussed. As such, it works rather like an eighteenth century newspaper or essay, providing material for the mill-wheels of civilised conversation to grind.
March 29, 2025
I read this as part of some research I was doing into the Georgian lifestyle for something I was writing, and I found it extremely informative, but not exactly light reading. This isn't the case with other books I've read on the subject. For example, Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune: How Younger Sons Made Their Way in Jane Austen's England was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and just as informative.
This book was a struggle at times and I did not enjoy it, but it gave me more than enough information for my thing.
Four stars for that, although yeah, this isn't exactly going to keep you on the edge of your seat, or not even mildly entertained.
This book was a struggle at times and I did not enjoy it, but it gave me more than enough information for my thing.
Four stars for that, although yeah, this isn't exactly going to keep you on the edge of your seat, or not even mildly entertained.
February 21, 2022
I quite enjoyed this thematically organised analysis of Georgian society, politica and economics focused mainly on the ‘long century’ from around 1688 to the 1820’s. It was accessible, readable and packed full of good analysis and thoughtful interweaving of themes. I found the end chapter notes ‘Time shift - then and now’ to be slightly infantile as though the reader needed excursions to see statues, houses and other examples to relive the previous chapter. It reminded me of books written with a book club in mind which give suggested questions for the club to consider. An irritating device which spoiled the book for me.
February 11, 2022
"The Georgians" gives an overview of the major developments of the Georgian era in Britain. While I am interested in the subject matter, I couldn't really get into this book. The writing was rather dry and the "then-now-chapters" didn't really add anything important, in my opinion.
While many topics were touched on, none were really dealt with in any depth and I caught myself skimming over some chapters.
While many topics were touched on, none were really dealt with in any depth and I caught myself skimming over some chapters.
February 20, 2022
This book is an absolute joy! Corfield brings a huge amount of knowledge about a long period of time (late 17th century to early 19th century) and yet presents it in a very straightforward and enjoyable way. Taking different themes of different sections, she manages to fit in many vignettes linking fact with fiction and quirky little tales to delight. I feel I understand this period so much more!
July 28, 2024
This book is organized by topic and the changes in Britain during the Georgian era. While I think this was a useful way of organizing the book, it did make some references confusing as something from 100+ pages ago would be mentioned very casually.
It's well researched, but I didn't walk away feeling like I had learned as much as I could have from a 300+ page book. More topics could have been explored in greater depth, or grouped together better to make points more concise.
It's well researched, but I didn't walk away feeling like I had learned as much as I could have from a 300+ page book. More topics could have been explored in greater depth, or grouped together better to make points more concise.
February 13, 2022
An interesting history book about an interesting historical timeframe. It's more about what changed and how people faced it.
I learned something new and found this book highly informative and interesting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I learned something new and found this book highly informative and interesting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
June 21, 2022
This deft mixture of sociology and history covers the broad range of the long 18th century, centering mainly on the reigns of the first four Georges … appended to each chapter is a section, “Time-Shift: Then and Now” which details sites, museums, and artifacts that can be visited by the modern-day reader … breath-taking in scope …
October 3, 2022
This is a great book for people who want an in-depth description of how 18th century society worked in terms of politics, social hierarchy and religion.
I really liked the part at the end where it gave three points of view of slavery from a slave owner, a slave and a modern commentator.
I'd be really interested in a book that developed that approach further.
I really liked the part at the end where it gave three points of view of slavery from a slave owner, a slave and a modern commentator.
I'd be really interested in a book that developed that approach further.
did-not-finish
September 2, 2024Dnf at 30%. I found this really hard to engage with. Dry, with lots of references and statistics and an annoying time shift at the end of each chapter with then and now. I’m annoyed that I’m not enjoying this one as it was purchased as a new book. 😞
March 27, 2023
A thorough and thought provoking romp through the long eighteenth century. Good on trends and patterns not so good on the 4 Georges and 1 William who sat on the throne.
June 8, 2023
Enjoyable, thematic essays, with a baffling structure that puts the public/private distinction and Georgian sexuality at the start of the book proper, and class at the end. Guess it's the 2020s.
February 14, 2024
Authoritative, well-researched, infinitely readable and endlessly fascinating, sad to finish it, but I can imagine dipping back into it to clarify points. Useful index too.
Read
May 16, 2024Very good, a proper people’s history full of interesting details and facts about the Georgian period. Might have been interesting to read a bit more of a critical examination at times.
February 22, 2022
This is a highly readable and superb account of life in the UK in the 'long' 18th century. If you have already read The Lunar Men this book provides the complete historical and cultural context for the events described therein.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews