Overview

‘The way Robert Peal describes Georgian England, you’d be mad not to want to live there yourself’ GUARDIAN Anne Bonny and Mary Read, pirate queens of the Caribbean Tipu Sultan, the Indian ruler who kept the British at bay Olaudah Equiano, the former slave whose story shocked the world Mary Wollstonecraft, the feminist who fought for women’s rights Ladies of Llangollen, the lovers who built paradise in a Welsh valley ‘Mad, bad and dangerous to know’ is how Lord Byron, the poet who drank wine from a monk’s skull and slept with his half-sister, was described by one of his many lovers. But ‘mad, bad and dangerous’ serves as a good description for the entire Georgian period: often neglected, the hundred or so years between the coronation of George I in 1714 and the death of George IV in 1830 were years when the modern world was formed, and changes came thick and fast. Across this century, new foods – pineapples, coffee and pepper – suddenly became available in the shops. Fashion exploded into a riot of colour, frilly shirts and wigs. Gin was drunk like it was water. Demands for women’s rights were heard, and it became possible to question the existence of God without fear of prompt execution. These exciting new developments came, of course, from the expanding British Empire. Britain’s wealth and its sudden access to chocolate, chillies and spices, was entirely bound up with the conquest of overseas territories and the miserable suffering of enslaved workers. This is the backdrop to Robert Peal’s new book, which introduces the Georgian era through the diverse lives of twelve ‘magnificent – if not moral’ people who defined it.

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9780008437022

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Reviews

'Really interesting ... It wasn't at all what I expected, but in a good way, and made a good book to pick up when you have a spare 10 mins to read ... I learnt some interesting facts I didn't already know, and enjoyed the way the author told the stories of their lives. I would recommend, and hope the author considers writing more like this, but set in other eras also' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 5/5 STARS

'The way Robert Peal describes Georgian England, you'd be mad not to want to live there yourself ... He does make us think about the extraordinary breadth of experience on show in a period that tends to get written off in popular history ... Peal has a sharp awareness of the best scholarly work on the subject and where to find it ... An excellent entry point' KATHRYN HUGHES, GUARDIAN 'Really interesting ... It wasn't at all what I expected, but in a good way, and made a good book to pick up when you have a spare 10 mins to read ... I learnt some interesting facts I didn't already know, and enjoyed the way the author told the stories of their lives. I would recommend, and hope the author considers writing more like this, but set in other eras also' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 5/5 STARS 'A most enjoyable, witty and let's not forget educational read! I think this book can be a great way to attract teens to history. But it is definitely not only a read for teens, not at all. It is a delight to read regardless of you age and you may even learn a new thing or two. I would love to see this made into a series(patiently waiting for 'Meet the Victorians' to be made a reality)' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 4/5 STARS

Author Information

Rob Peal is a history teacher and Joint Headteacher at the West London Free School, an all-ability secondary school in Hammersmith. He is also the author of Knowing History, a series of Key Stage 3 textbooks published by Collins.

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