Georgian Delights by J.H. Plumb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ever since reading Worsley’s Jane Austen at Home I have been rather puzzled about the Georgian time period and how people behaved back then. Not surprisingly, considering Worsley kept mentioning that Austen was, in fact, a true Georgian lady, acting accordingly, quite differently from her Victorian counterparts, including her very proper niece Fanny Knight.
I wanted to know more about how people lived and behaved, but more importantly I was curious about this Georgian code of conduct.
It appears it is quite difficult to find books on this subject matter, since most publications dealing with the Georgian period are more concerned about architecture and art.
Such was the case with this book. Its premise is based on using art to tell the story of Georgian people and how they lived.
The book begins with an extensive introduction about lifestyle, travel, farming and economic improvements and continues to provide many images of Georgian art representing various facets of the Georgian lifestyle, including literature, theatre, sports, and music.
I did find the author jumped in time a bit. One paragraph talked about events happening closer to the end of the 1700’s, he next one mentions facts from the middle of the 1700’s, and more than a few times I asked myself which year the author was referring to, since none was given.
Overall, it was a very interesting read and I found myself getting lost in the many images this book contained. I made a few notes of interesting points, but sadly I couldn’t use much more from it for my thesis. Nevertheless, it is well worth a read. I would recommend it.
