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I hope you’ve found me here either because you’ve enjoyed one of my shows on The National Geographic or History Channels, or because you’ve heard about my lovely new book…
The Courtiers
Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court It’s was published in the US in August 2010, by Bloomsbury USA, and here are a few advance reviews: ‘Serves up a tasty slice of 18th-century life that is colorful, gossipy, and authoritative’. Publishers Weekly A recommended 'serious summer read', listed among other 'captivating works of biography and history. The aristocratic lineage of newly minted British Prime Minster David Cameron gives added piquancy, and relevance ... to Lucy Worsley's 'The Courtiers', about 18th-century splendor and intrigue at Kensington Palace. All those flowers placed outside Princess Diana's London home 13 summers ago are only the latest chapter in the history of one of those palaces where the walls could tell many a tale about the intersection of aristocracy and political culture'. The Wall Street Journal 'Worsley, who as chief curator for a number of England's historic royal palaces appears to be something of a court groupie, writes breezy, chatty prose…. The Courtiers is amusing and, among other things, a useful reminder that, contrary to what many believe, sex was not invented in the 1960s…. The accounts Worsley gives of lords and ladies willingly sacrificing what dignity remained to them as they tried to wiggle their way upward on the court's greased pole is not pretty, though on the other hand not really any uglier than what goes on every day in the year 2010 in the salons of Imperial Washington'. The Washington Post
'Lucy Worsley writes with flair and passion about a lost world where smiles could kill and kisses condemn’. Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire You might want to get yours here at Amazon, and if you fancy hearing me talking about Kensington Palace and my work, then have a look at my Events page. I’m making a tour of the States in October this year. I wrote The Courtiers because I work at Kensington Palace, among other places, as Chief Curator of the charity Historic Royal Palaces. I’ve always been intrigued by the King’s Grand Staircase at Kensington Palace, which painted by William Kent in the 1720s with the portraits of no less than forty-five servants working in the royal household. These range from Peter the Wild Boy, an autistic child kept at court as a pet, Mohammed and Mustapha, the king’s Turkish valets, the bumptious painter himself, William Kent, his mistress the actress Elizabeth Butler, and the doctor and joker Dr Arbuthnot. I had the idea to explore the Georgian court and royal family as it must have been seen through the eyes of the courtiers and servants, and I selected my favourite court characters to act as guides: a Maid of Honour who is no longer a maid, a Bedchamber Woman in more than one sense, a Vice Chamberlain with many vices, a penniless poet, a drunken equerry, an aging mistress or three, as well as the ridiculous king, the passionate prince, and the clever queen. But please pop over to the New Book! page, which has lots more information about the British edition. |
