Ever since watching the BBC adaptation ofPride & Prejudice, I’ve been fascinated by the Georgian era. At university I always chose modules that connected with the period, which typically focused on the works of Keats, Byron and Shelley. One module introduced me to the essayist William Hazlitt, and my first novel Infelicedrew on his illicit love affair with serving girl Sarah Walker. My début Pandorais vastly different, but both novels required a plethora of research. The books I’ve chosen all helped me bring my writing to life, and I hope aspiring novelists with a passion for the Georgians will find these as useful as I have.
London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellry artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents' famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle's suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. Edward sees the ancient vase as the key to unlocking his academic future. Dora sees it as a chance to restore the shop to its former glory, and to escape her nefarious uncle. But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth she starts to realise that some mysteries are buried, and some doors are locked, for a reason.
A cultural tour de force, this book includes everything you could ever wish to know about the Georgian era, although it does specifically stick to its latter years (1789-1830). It is a deeply informative read yet the author maintains a lively and engaging tone throughout as he covers a wide range of topics such as the landscape of Regency Britain, travel, law and order, as well as entertainment, health, and sexuality, so it’s just perfect for any reader unfamiliar with the period. In fact, it’s perfect for anyone who already is. Established writers of the genre will surely pick up something new by reading it.
'Excellent... Mortimer's erudition is formidable' The Times
A time of exuberance, thrills, frills and unchecked bad behaviour...Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history - the Regency, or Georgian England.
This is the age of Jane Austen and the Romantic poets; the paintings of John Constable and the gardens of Humphry Repton; Britain's military triumphs at Trafalgar and Waterloo. It was perhaps the last age of true freedom before the arrival of the stifling world of Victorian morality.
And like all periods in history, it was an age of many contradictions - where Beethoven's thundering…
On the other side of the coin, there is this behemoth of a book. I’d be lying if I said that its sheer size and tightly-packed text weren’t slightly off-putting, but I consider Cruickshank’s formidable work a must-have for any novelist writing in the Georgian era. Impeccably researched and showing a wide range of social history from the lives of ordinary layman to the wealthy and powerful, it's a truly fantastic resource, and if you’re looking to familiarise yourself with the 'dirty underbelly' of eighteenth-century London (a whole world away from shiny Bridgerton-esque ballrooms and stately homes) then this is absolutely the book for you.
Georgian London evokes images of elegant buildings and fine art, but it was also a city where prostitution was rife, houses of ill repute widespread, and many tens of thousands of people dependent in some way or other on the wages of sin. The sex industry was, in fact, a very powerful force indeed, and in The Secret History of Georgian London, Dan Cruickshank compellingly shows how it came to affect almost every aspect of life and culture in the capital.
Examining the nature of the sex trade, he offers a tantalising insight into the impact of prostitution to give…
Dora Blake—the protagonist in my book—is an aspiring jewellery designer, which meant it was imperative I understood not just how jewellery looked but how it was made. This book ticks both those boxes and more. Not only is it filled with beautiful photographs to make your inner magpie tingle with excitement, it tells the reader a history of how jewellery was fashioned, what was worn in the daytime and evening, as well as the significance of certain gems for certain occasions. Learn all about cut steel, foiled backs, and harlequin jewels, the language of flowers, memento mori, cameos, and lover’s eyes, all delivered in a wonderfully accessible conversational tone. A truly fascinating book that is also a feast for the eyes!
Georgian Jewellery is a celebration of the style and excellence of the eighteenth century, and of the ingenuity that produced such a wealth of fabulous jewellery.
Heavy academic tomes have already been written about the period, but this book examines it in a more colourful and accessible way. The book aims to show that Georgian jewellery is not only the stuff of museums and safe boxes, but that it can be worn as elegantly and fashionably today as it was 200 years ago.
Much disparate information about the jewellery has been gathered together and the period is brought alive by…
It’s all in the details. No matter what social circle a Georgian man and woman lived in, knowing how each functioned within their innercircle is key to creating fully fleshed-out worlds. Vickery uses archival material such as diaries, ledgers, letters, court trials, and other sources to show how the Georgians lived in the comfort (or discomfort) of their own homes, and, interestingly, how this also had an effect on their lives outside the home. The author even provides the reader with an insight into how their homes actually looked, from furniture and portraits, right down to textiles and wallpaper.
In this brilliant new work, Amanda Vickery unlocks the homes of Georgian England to examine the lives of the people who lived there. Writing with her customary wit and verve, she introduces us to men and women from all walks of life: gentlewoman Anne Dormer in her stately Oxfordshire mansion, bachelor clerk and future novelist Anthony Trollope in his dreary London lodgings, genteel spinsters keeping up appearances in two rooms with yellow wallpaper, servants with only a locking box to call their own. Vickery makes ingenious use of upholsterer's ledgers, burglary trials, and other unusual sources to reveal the roles…
At first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking this is rather similar to Dan Cruickshank’s Georgian Londonconsidering its title. However, this book takes a modern comparative view of the era, considering how people of the time mimic the attitudes of people today. History oft-times repeats itself, and Corfield’s book is an incredibly nuanced take on this viewpoint yet still succeeds in being a thoroughly pleasurable read. Fiction nowadays not only seeks to tell a story but aims as well to tell us something about the world we live in, and this is no less true than historical fiction—it is why books like this are so crucial to a writer’s research.
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,…
Gabrielle found her grandfather’s diaries after her mother’s death, only to discover that he had been a Nazi. Born in Berlin in 1942, she and her mother fled the city in 1945, but Api, the one surviving male member of her family, stayed behind to work as a doctor in a city 90% destroyed.
Gabrielle retraces Api’s steps in the Berlin of the 21st century, torn between her love for the man who gave her the happiest years of her childhood and trying to come to terms with his Nazi membership, German guilt, and political responsibility.
Api's Berlin Diaries: My Quest to Understand My Grandfather's Nazi Past
"This is not a book I will forget any time soon."
Story Circle Book Reviews
Moving and provocative, Api's Berlin Diaries offers a personal perspective on the fall of Berlin 1945 and the far-reaching aftershocks of the Third Reich.
After her mother's death, Robinson was thrilled to find her beloved grandfather's war diaries-only to discover that he had been a Nazi.
The award-winning memoir shows Api, a doctor in Berlin, desperately trying to help the wounded in cellars without water or light. He himself was reduced to anxiety and despair, the daily diary his main refuge. As Robinson retraces Api's…
Interested in
Regency,
London,
and
intelligence agency?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them.
Browse their picks for the best books about
Regency,
London,
and
intelligence agency.
