Republicans and royalists alike will enjoy Janice Hadlow’s authoritative debut, which looks at the strange world of the Hanoverian court in 18th- and 19th-century England with wit and compassion. Hadlow focuses on George III and Queen Charlotte, whose desire to govern the country by moral example, especially as a happy and fruitfully married couple (with no fewer than 15 children), initially appeared to pay dividends but descended into chaos when he succumbed to a terrifying bout of madness and she to deep depression.
Hadlow’s particular skill in this lengthy book is to provide sympathetic, nuanced portraits of all of the main figures of the time, with enjoyable cameos from some of the rakes and debauchees of the age, such as the corrupt Foxes, a pair of father and son politicians, and the dashingly licentious Prince of Wales, while lending psychological shading to what is as much a family saga as a nationalistic one. If the allusions to Jane Austen feel like so much window dressing, then that is a minor flaw in a book that has all the flair and engaging storytelling as the documentaries that Hadlow was responsible for commissioning in her former roles in broadcasting.
The Strangest Family - William Collins
Hadlow’s particular skill in this lengthy book is to provide sympathetic, nuanced portraits of all of the main figures of the time, with enjoyable cameos from some of the rakes and debauchees of the age, such as the corrupt Foxes, a pair of father and son politicians, and the dashingly licentious Prince of Wales, while lending psychological shading to what is as much a family saga as a nationalistic one. If the allusions to Jane Austen feel like so much window dressing, then that is a minor flaw in a book that has all the flair and engaging storytelling as the documentaries that Hadlow was responsible for commissioning in her former roles in broadcasting.
The Strangest Family - William Collins
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