We have heard about the mad king George III and his son George IV. However, we tend to forget the queens who reigned alongside them. Thus, Mrs. Curzon gives us a biography of the four queens during the Hanoverian reign, starting with Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the wife of George I and the princess who never made it to the throne. Mrs. Curzon shows that each of these queens faced many challenges and were strong women in their own right.

While reading these short biographies, I was fascinated and sympathetic to these women. Most of them went through many hardships, and I was astounded how they dealt with them. For instance, Sophia Dorothea of Celle spent most of her life under house arrest. Caroline of Ansbach had to endure her husband George II’s mistresses. Charlotte had to endure her George III’s madness. She was so afraid of being alone with him that she always insisted her daughters accompany her. Caroline of Brunswick had to endure George IV putting her on public trial for adultery so that he could divorce her. Therefore, my heart broke for these women as I learned of their unhappy stories. Even though these women were dazzled by the glittering prospect of becoming queen, their lives were not as shimmering as they hoped. They realized the crown was merely an illusion. In fact, Caroline of Brunswick deeply regretted marrying George IV.

Overall, this was a very sympathetic look at each Hanoverian queen. The biographies are short, but very detailed. The writing was very witty, engaging, and insightful. I did not know anything about the Georgian queens. However, it deepened my interest, and I’m curious to learn more about them. This book is recommended to novices like me who do not know much about the era. Thus, if you have never heard of the queens, I suggest you have a cup of tea and get lost in reading about these extraordinary women. I bet that you will also be astounded by their stories as I was. Queens of Georgian Britain proves that these queens should never be forgotten.

This was a well written, informative and engaging mini biography of four ‘Queens’ of Georgian Britain. Prior to reading this, I didn’t know much about Georgian England, except that there were a lot of kings named George, but this showed an extremely fascination snapshot of the royal household across this period. I particularly liked how each Queen was contrasted with her predecessor, as well as the King Georges. I found this topic fascinating, and this book was such a joy to read. I loved it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical nonfiction look at Georgian Britain. In my experience, I have not found a lot of literature about this field, and the consorts of the Georges. Not dry at all, and I will probably return to this book again in the future.

For a history buff, I know very little about Georgian Britain.  I have seen a few TV shows and films but that’s about it. So, in a effort to stretch my brain cells a bit, and increase my knowledge, I picked up a copy of Queens of Georgian Britain by Catherine Curzon, which had the added bonus of being about women embroiled in politics and fighting to gain meaningful power – another favourite subject of mine.
I find it fascinating to see how women were treated and how they were seen if they behaved in any way which saw them stepping outside the norm; it always makes me feel very lucky to be living when I am (though, given recent events, maybe attitudes to women haven’t changed as much as I had thought?). 
Fascinating is also a word I could use to describe each of the women featured in this book, though the title is slightly misleading as one of those included was not, in fact, a Georgian queen but, rather, the mother of a future Georgian king.  This is Sophia Dorothea of Celle, a woman who was treated very badly by her husband (who would become George I) and ended up living a lonely, sad, life with her potential stifled.
Whilst not a Georgian queen, what made her story so interesting is that many of the actions of her husband and his family, had a chain reaction on the lives of his sons and grandsons and the way Britain was ruled for over a century as bad blood led to more bad blood and each generation railed against the behaviours and attitudes of the previous one.  It was a tumultuous time, one with political intrigue and public disgust (at times) with the monarchy.
Whilst much of this can be laid at the feet of the Georges’ who were kings (four, one after the other), their wives played into the chaos too – or what felt like chaos to me.  All were married because of perceived political gain and not all of them even seemed to like their husbands.  All fought at times, often tooth and nail, with their husbands and played games behind the scenes where they could to try and exert influence.  Add to this their having to put up with mistresses and mother-in-laws who aimed to get in their way.
Reflecting the times we live in, the press had a field day with all this and – one of the things I found most interesting – was how all this played out in the public domain, right down to court cases that bared the monarchy’s dirty laundry for all to see. In fact, I would like to have been told more of this.  At times, Curzon does go into detail, but mostly – for me – it felt like it was barely touched on.  Whilst the stories of the women were fascinating, I feel like I am missing some of the context for their actions.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – the book very much looks at the queens as people – it’s just a personal preference.  And it didn’t take away from me enjoying the book, which I did – in part, because it was written in a lovely, conversational style, which drew me in from the first pages.  I really felt that Curzon was talking to me, which I liked.  And I liked the book too – a lot.

Queens of Georgian Britain by Catherine Curzon is a book that history enthusiasts will love. Those who do not wholeheartedly embrace history should also enjoy this book, in part because of the writing style and the format of the book itself.

I’m a Medievalist at heart, but Georgian Britain is an era I enjoy studying, and it’s difficult to find books on this subject at bookstores in the US! As a result, I was thrilled when presented with the opportunity to read Queens of Georgian Britain.

I have never read any of her previous works and found Ms. Curzon’s writing engrossing even though it is more informal than most non-fiction books I’ve read. This is no boring history textbook! Instead, it’s an easy to read book that focuses on the four wives of King Georges II, III, and IV of Great Britain.

However, I do suggest that if you are not familiar with the historical figures present in the book, you have Wikipedia page available because the book covers over a century of history and some of the names are similar. It can be difficult to follow who belongs to which country and which child belongs to which set of parents, as the sections aren’t completely in chronological order.

The political machinations that take place in each queen’s life—some as a direct result of interference from more powerful family—is a fascinating insight into the schemes that shaped Great Britain and some of Europe over this time period. It’s amazing what people with power will do to keep it! Though I can’t empathize with a lot of it—as I am neither royalty or nobility and will definitely not have an arranged marriage—I can understand the feelings of hope, disappointment, and anger these women feel as their lives move in directions they didn’t always anticipate.

I give this book 4/5 stars and recommend it to those interested in learning more about Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Caroline of Ansbach, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Caroline of Brunswick, their Georges, and Georgian Britain.

This chatty biography of the wives of the Georgian kings of Britain will appeal to the reader interested in an intimate glimpse into these women’s personal lives. A sort of “Vasari’s lives” of the queens, each chapter is relatively short (which frankly helps to keep track of which George, Sophia or Caroline is contemporary!) From the bed chamber to the council chamber, from Hanover to Italy and back to England, Curzon gives as a close-in view of the queens, their families and the courtiers who surrounded them.

This book brings together the four queen consorts of Georgian Britain. Well, one actually never was queen, but she fits in the with the rest quite nicely.

As too often is the case with biographies or historical non-fiction I was afraid that it would read like one of those history school books. Luckily that worry was quickly forgotten. I did not find it dry or stuffy. Instead, the stories of these queens are well told and I flew through the pages, feeling like I was getting to know them. The author does a great job bringing these women, their husbands, and their respective characters to life.

In this ARC copy there were no portraits or pictures until the very end and I do feel that would have enhanced the reading experience if they were interspersed throughout the text. I assume that will be the case in the printed book.

All in all, a very interesting read.

The Georgian era of Britain lasted for several generations, and for each King George there was a queen, either wanted or unwanted, by his side.

What I especially loved about this nonfiction work was the lighthearted tone in which it was written. An abundance of information is given about each queen (or in one case, one who might have been queen) but it isn't done in a dry, overwhelming way.

Each queen is given her own section. We learn of her childhood, the politics of her day, whether she had an impact on her world or not, and how she bowed out to the queen to come before her.

This is a fantastic resource that I would read again and again, and still learn something new!