The Mistresses of George I & II: A Maypole & a Peevish Beast

by Catherine Curzon

When George I arrived in England he found a kingdom in turmoil. Mistrustful of the new monarch from Hanover, his subjects met his coronation with riots. At George’s side was his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenberg, whilst his ex-wife languished in prison. Known as the Maypole thanks to her eye-catching figure, Melusine was the king’s confidante for decades. She was a mother to his children and a queen without a crown. George II never forgave his father for tearing him from his mother's arms and he was determined to marry for love, not duty. Though his wife, Caroline of Ansbach, proved to be a politically gifted queen, George II turned to another for affection. She was Henrietta Howard, the impoverished Countess of Suffolk, and she was desperate to escape her brutish husband. As the years passed, the royal affair became a powerplay between king and queen and the woman who was mistress to one and servant to another. Melusine and Henrietta's privileged position made them the envy of every courtier. It also made them a target of jealousy, plotting and ambition. In the tumultuous Georgian court, the bedroom and the throne room weren't so far apart.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

293 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 8, 2022

About the author

Catherine Curzon writes books about old Hollywood and even older royals. She writes WW2 sagas for Orion as Ellie Curzon.

Catherine’s work has been featured on the official website of BBC History Magazine, and in publications such as The Daily Telegraph, All About History, Who Do You Think You Are?, and Jane Austen’s Regency World. Further afield, she has appeared in the pages of publications including The Washington Post, Town & Country, Elle Australia, Der Bund, La Vanguardia and Metrópole.

She has spoken at venues including Kenwood House, Wellington College, the Royal Pavilion, the National Maritime Museum and Dr Johnson’s House. Her first play, Being Mr Wickham, premiered to sell-out audiences in 2019. It was streamed worldwide in 2021, followed by a nationwide tour of the UK.

Catherine holds a Master’s degree in Film and when not dodging the furies of the guillotine, can be found by following the distant sound of Dino. She lives in Yorkshire atop a ludicrously steep hill with a rakish gent, a relaxed cat, and an excitable dog.

Reviews

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses on two women, Melusine von der Schulenberg, and Henrietta Howard. Both were mistresses but their circumstances quite different. George I locked up his wife back in Hanover, and Melusine was very much the main woman in his life for more than 30 years. In George II’s court his wife ruled, and Henrietta was the approved mistress for 20yrs or so. It’s very interesting reading about this period in history, firstly as the Hanovers prepare for their future on the English throne, then the various court intrigues and politics once they’ve been crowned.

[Tammy Buchli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this well-researched and accessible book. I dote on royal mistresses, but recognise that they can be a touchy topic to modern sensibilities. Curzon managed to treat the subjects in a way that was both dishy and respectful. She also managed to maintain her focus on the women while providing enough overview to place them in history without overexplaining so much that she lost them in history.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because I love familiarizing myself with corners of history I don't know much about. Royal mistresses definitely fit the bill. I wanted to learn about the role as a political, practical move rather than through the lens of slut-shaming. This history covers the lives of two Hanoverian mistresses: Melusine von der Schulenberg and Henrietta Howard. The book was split evenly between the two, but I think I would have preferred a book entirely about Henrietta. There seemed to be a lot more source material about her life, including the opportunity to hear her own voice through her letters to friends. By the end, I felt I could see her clearly, whereas Melusine is still a bit of a mystery. Also, I think von der Schulenberg had more detractors, so the sources available on her weren't always forgiving.

What I appreciated most was an opportunity to see the difficult positions women were put in at this time. Even as aristocrats, these ladies experienced poverty, abuse, disease, and sexist limitations on the roles they could play and the options they had available. The author argues that both largely sought the role of royal mistress for the financial security. It's not a story of power-hungry social climbing but self-preservation. Also, both women had such "successful" and long tenures as mistresses by playing it safe and keeping their heads down when necessary. The royal power of the kings was on frightening display here, as well. The way their whims could dictate the rise and fall of those in court, not to mention make political decisions that can destroy an entire economy, was frankly appalling.

This was an informative read for me, and I am pleased to know more about these two intrepid women. I will warn potential readers that while there is a bit of wry humor thrown in, it's largely a dry accounting with no narrative aspect or attention to context, so it'e not particularly immersive. Also, prepare for a confusing bevy of people named either George or Sophia.

Thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, out on 7/30.

[Jean-Luc · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging and gossipy look at the lives of Melusine von der Schulenberg, Duchess of Kendal and Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk and their often difficult relationships with their royal lovers, George I and his son George II. Not always the brightest lights in the harbor, the first Hanoverian monarchs are also infamously known for their rather despicable attitudes towards women in their private spheres. Catherine Curzon has given us a colorful portrait of 2 royal paramours hankering after security and stability during their lives, the very steep price they had to pay in order to attain it and the amount of boorishness and oafishness they had to put up with from those two teutonic nitwits. A sad but captivating look at royal British history between 1714 and 1759 and a definitive confirmation that unfortunately Germany didn't gift Great Britain with its "best and brightest" after a century of difficult Stuart rule.....

Many thanks to Netgalley and Pen & Sword for this delightful ARC

[Moniek Bloks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melusine von der Schulenburg was the longtime mistress of King George I of Great Britain before he even succeeded as King. She gave birth to three daughters by George, although none of them were recognised by him. George’s wife Sophia Dorothea of Celle had been imprisoned following their divorce in 1694. His son, the future King George II, also kept a mistress, by the name of Henrietta Howard, who later also became Countess of Suffolk.

The Mistresses of George I & II: A Maypole & a Peevish Beast by Catherine Curzon covers the stories of these women in great detail. Naturally, we also cover the ultimate double standard of the time. Sophia Dorothea also had a lover and she was brutally punished for it. Her lover mysteriously disappeared and his body has never been found. Sophia Dorothea saw her marriage ended and never saw her children again. She spent the rest of her life imprisoned and never became Queen of Great Britain.

Henrietta Howard had a Queen to compete with but she was generally on good terms with Caroline of Ansbach. She never bore her lover any children and had considerably less influence than Melusine. Henrietta’s own marriage to Charles Howard was practically non-existent. He liked to spend her money as far away from her as possible. They had a single son together. The couple never officially divorced so when Charles became Earl of Suffolk in 1731, she was entitled to call herself Countess of Suffolk. He died just two years and their son became the new Earl.

The book is a wonderful look at the Hanoverian court, although it can be a bit confusing at times. The author did her best to separate the many Georges and Sophias but sometimes they just become a blur. Don’t let that scare you off though, as this book is well worth the read.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received The Mistresses of George I and II as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

Melusine von der Schulenberg and Henrietta Howard were mistresses of Kings George I and II respectively. Both were left alone at a young age and rose to positions of massive prominence on a world stage, yet their stories were quite different. Melusine and George I were lifelong companions and she wielded enormous political influence, despite her lover's dour temperament. Meanwhile, Henrietta was forced into a loveless marriage which she could only escape by a place at the English court, a circumstance that led to a tenuous arrangement with George II and his wife Charlotte. Her place was never quite assured, and she never attained the prestige of either the lawful queen or her predecessor Melusine. It wasn't until she escaped life at court that she was able to find some measure of peace. This exploration of two women whose lives were simultaneously so similar and so different is a study of comparisons and contrasts in Georgian royal relationships.

I had no background in either of these women and I found their stories quite engaging. For those who aren't familiar with the Hanoverian dynasty, the repetition of names might be a bit daunting at the beginning, but once you get into the thick of the story it's easy enough to figure out who is who.. I'll say that I'm not quite sure why Curzon chose these two particular mistresses (George II in particular had several), as their stories seem to have as many differences as parallels, but I'm glad she did, as I've been introduced to two more fascinating historical women.

[Lora]

One mistress, Melusine von der Schulenberg, replaces the wife that George I left behind in prison, wielding enormous political influence over George's lifetime. George II's mistress, Henrietta Howard, didn't have that relationship with George II. George II's queen didn't view Henrietta as a threat to her power and convinced Henrietta to stay in her role long after she wanted to end her relationship with George II. The queen didn't want George II to find a mistress fight her for power and influence. I didn't realize how much of a soap opera the Georgian era was. The two women's story was told in an engaging manner. I'm looking forward to read other nonfiction books that Curzon has written in the Georgian era.

I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher and/or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have loved this book as I really enjoy most of Catherine Curzon's work but tbh I found this one a bit dull.

The book suffers from two problems.

The first is that neither of the women are interesting enough to devote 200 pages to them. Granted their rise from low (yet still aristocratic) backgrounds to the status of royal mistress was remarkable it falls short of making them interesting enough to have a book dedicated to them. Melusine von der Schulenburg was described by the author as being a "Hanoverian Hausfrau" and Henrietta Howard was known for being so neutral that even her contemporaries described her apartments at court as being the "Swiss Cantons".

In short, both of these ladies are lacking the type of scandal that makes royal mistresses interesting. They were fantastic bit players in other people's stories but there's just not enough information, not enough juice, not enough gossip about them to make them the star of the show.

Melusine's story is so lacking in content that the author has to devote 20 pages to explaining who George I was and how he came to be King of England. Curzon even goes to the lengths of describing Sophia of Hanover's upbringing in The Hague and then feels the need to justify why she has done so. I can't help but feel that when an author justifies why someone is being written about then they are already on pretty rocky ground and they know it.

There are times when I felt that Curzon was really scratching around trying to fill pages to get Melusine up the the 100 page count and it didn't make for an entertaining read. Furthermore, so much of Melusine's story has been told before, in no less than three of the author's previous works, that it really is "been there, read that". That brings me to the second problem and that is that if you a fan of Catherine Curzon then you'll probably have read all of this before in her previous books.

Whilst I really do enjoy the amusing and gossipy style of Curzon's work I feel that she doesn't really do her fans any favours by constantly rehashing her previous works. Given that her knowledge of European courts in the 1700's seems to be extensive I wish that she'd move away from the Hanoverian's and onto someone else.

[Helen Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rich tapestry of information and such level of detail that I really got an excellent feeling for the subjects of the book and their characters. Their stories were really insightful and a fascinating glimpse of the times within the upper echelons of society which was very eye opening and informative.
It is true sometimes that fact can be stranger than fiction and some of the actions and events within families and relationships would definitely give modern soaps a run for their money.
I found the style of writing very accessible and easy to read, without any previous background knowledge of the subject matter and the facts presently very well and in a way that was very engaging. Definitely recommend.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was well-researched the author managed to treat the subjects in a way that was both respectful yet detailed and intriguing, also managing to maintain her focus on the women rather than the George’s. Although I admit I was confused at times with the plethora of names and people while reading about the George’s and his mistresses. A fascinating read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion