Book info

• Title Courtiers
• Author Lucy Worsley
• Year 2010
• Genre History

Ambitious and talented people flocked to court of George II and Queen Caroline in search of power and prestige, but Kensington Palace was also a gilded cage. Successful courtiers needed level heads and cold hearts; their secrets were never safe. Among them, a Vice Chamberlain with many vices, a Maid of Honour with a secret marriage, a pushy painter, an alcoholic equerry, a Wild Boy, a penniless poet, a dwarf comedian, two mysterious turbaned Turks and any number of discarded royal mistresses. An eye-opening portrait of a group of royal servants, Courtiers also throws new light on the dramatic life of George II and Queen Caroline at Kensington Palace.

Thoughts

Lucy Worsley came to my attention after her rather excellent BBC series If Walls Could Talk. She was so engaging and had a great way of sharing history in a fascinating way. After another series about the regency period, I decided to have a look at her books and was glad to see this one available as an eBook.

Covering the period of George I and George II at Kensington Palace, the book tells the tale of those surrounding the royal family, those that make up the hustle and bustle of court life. As well as looking at the twists and turns of the royal family themselves, we get to hear the unusual tales of courtiers, mistresses, feral children, architects, poets, and old wives.

From their diet to their health issues, from their marriages to their children, it’s all covered in the book and all done really well. I love the writing style, although it took me a little while to get into it. There were quite a lot of characters to get to know, but by halfway through I was curious to see what happened next in this royal soap opera.

The writing is supplemented with lots of quotes, so that we’re really hearing about these people from the horse’s mouth and it’s clear a lot of research went into putting the book together. If you’re interested in the more day to day goings on of life in court, this could be something you’d enjoy.

Rating: 4 / 5