Format: Paperback
Published: July 8th, 2021
Age: Adult
Genre: Non-Fiction – History
Goodreads
Rating: 5/5 Stars
This was a great book to finish 2023 on!
Meet the Georgians contains a range of short biographies on various historical figures from 1714 to the 1830s, including Byron, Mary Wollstonecraft, Olaudah Eqiano, the Ladies of Llangollen, and many more. Peal keeps the biographies light and engaging, showing through the different figures the society they lived in at the time, and the shifts in attitudes and behaviours that occurred as the Georgian period edged closer to the Victorian.
It’s informative and fairly comprehensive, giving the reader as much detail as possible in a way that remains accessible. There’s a number of historical figures here I hadn’t heard of, and Peal takes it beyond the British Isles, too, giving us the stories of others who had impacts on the period. The tales are impactful and often told in a humorous way, keeping the reader entertained throughout.
It’s also worth noting Peal covers a variety of different people, presenting a diverse range of figures from different points in the Georgian period. I found the book fascinating and it introduced me to people I would love to read more about. And rather than just cutting the book off as the Georgian period ends, he delves into the invention of the steam engine, and how this signalled such a changing time for Britian.
This is a really useful, entertaining book that shows why the Georgian period is so highly regarded and focused on now, especially considering it’s often been overlooked in British schools, with more of a focus on Tudors, Stuarts, and Victorians. If, like me, you enjoy reading or watching Regency and Georgian era books/films/TV, but are lacking in some of the knowledge, this is a really worthwhile book to pick up, especially paired with Mad and Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency by Bea Koch.
Unwrapping Words 