MEET THE GEORGIANS

An entertaining gallop through an extraordinary era

In Meet the Georgians: Epic Tales from Britain’s Wildest Century, Robert Peal attempts to tell the story of an era through the lives of 12 remarkable people. From pirate queens to radicals, the ladies of Llangollen to courtesans, and not forgetting Lord Byron and Tipu Sultan, each story captures a fresh facet of life in the Georgian world.

For those unfamiliar with the Georgian era, Peal provides a useful introduction that neatly encapsulates the kings who reigned, the politicians who governed, and what the Georgian world looked like to those who lived in it. Though there is humour – the farting club, for example – the book doesn’t shy away from the ugly side of the era. Peal confronts the issue of slavery unflinchingly, and devotes a chapter to the extraordinary story of Olaudah Equiano, a formerly enslaved man who became a prominent voice in the campaign for abolition.

Meet the Georgians is an entertaining introduction to a tumultuous era. Although there are few surprises among the dozen figures chosen to be profiled, for those seeking an introduction this will provide all they need to get started. There is no bibliography but Peal provides a useful selection of further reading for those wishing to take a deeper dive, ranging from popular and gossipy accounts to more scholarly approaches. Meet the Georgians is an excellent primer for one of the most fascinating periods the world has ever seen.