Royal Mysteries of the Stuart and Georgian Periods
£9.50
‘There is nothing new under the sun’, a phrase ascribed originally to King Solomon, applies to the present book, with echoes of ‘modern’ themes exposing royal scandal, sex, corruption, political absolutism – attempted – religious controversy, danger of mass-terrorism, murder and ‘suspicious’ deaths, ‘fake news’ and international threat from superpowers. And all focusing on inside stories which today would be ‘investigative journalism’ with huge popular media interest. This is history for both specialists and, especially, for general readers, given media interest, including TV and film coverage in ‘exciting’ popular history, as set out by the author.
The earlier ‘Royal Mysteries’ in the series were full of tragedy, suffering, pathos, heroism and romance, but the present set are equally interesting and disturbing and revisionist. These include the alleged attempt to murder James I and VI before the became King of England; the scandal at court involving ‘poisoned tarts’, James’ ‘toy-boy’, and a subsequent murder trial. And the following questions and mysteries: did Charles II really promise to convert to Catholicism to please Louis XIV; did Charles marry his mistress Lucy Walter, mother of rebel Duke of Monmouth; was James II and VII an enlightened religious reformer or trying to convert England to Catholicism – the religion of European superpowers; did George I ‘disappear’ (a ‘hit’ in modern terms) his divorced wife’s lover before ascending the English throne; did the unpopular Duke of Cumberland murder his gay lover; did the hugely admired ‘respectable’ George III, devoted husband and father, marry a middle-class Quaker woman?
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Additional information
| Publisher | Pen and Sword History (30 Dec. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 6107 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 247 pages |
by Mel
The mysteries which the book covers sound really interesting and should have made for an informative and perhaps even entertaining read. However the writing is so dry, and written with such long sentences full of parentheses and hyphens, that it’s actually quite hard at times to understand what is being said. Some chapters felt like more of an info dump about the situation at the time, rather than an exploration of the specific “mystery” that headed the chapter. I persisted to about the halfway point before giving up. I’m sure it’s well researched and factually correct – I’m not qualified to comment on that – but ultimately that’s pointless if it’s not putting across the information in a clear, readable and engaging format.
by Vicuña
This book covers some really intriguing and exciting Royal stories from the Stuart and Georgian era. It certainly proves that todays so called scandals of adultery and other ‘sexploits’ have numerous precedents. I was aware of a couple of the stories; James and his male lovers and rumours around George III marrying a commoner. I was hopeful that this book would be a revelation as the authors credentials as an academic are unparalleled.
I have to say I’m really struggling with the content. I have little doubt that the research is both meticulous and extensive. Every chapter is packed with facts but the way in which they’re presented is hard going. The text is very dense. There are numerous pages where the entire page has no paragraph break and and although I’m familiar with academic texts, I’ve found this very dry and hard going. It’s as if every possible detail has been packed in and at times the information overload is overwhelming. There’s not much let up and whilst I’m enjoying the detail of each of the scandals, I’m having to tackle the book in small bites. I wonder if it would be bette suited to audio, if well narrated?
In some ways, this has the potential to be a non fiction best seller. But it lacks a bit of lightheartedness to lead the reader along. Impressed with the research but less so the way it’s set out. Takes dedication and in the coming weeks, I’ll finish this bit by bit.