Reviews of Cavalier

‘Lucy Worsley has created a new kind of history … this is ‘living’ history, with the details of everyday life in an English country house in the seventeenth century brought to vivid life.  Cavalier is richly entertaining, beautifully illustrated and an absorbing interactive experience’. Kate Chisholm, Daily Mail

‘Sensuous and immediate … Worsley has created an astonishing reconstruction of Cavendish’s life and world.  Cavalier is a remarkable achievement by an immensely talented and innovative historian’, Lucy Moore, Mail on Sunday

‘Worsley's strength is her sense of period, and her ability to bring people to life. It is almost as if she knows each of the army of servants that attended the Cavendishes, thanks to her forensic knowledge of the family's archives’. Charles Spencer, Independent on Sunday

‘Marvellous … a tour de force of the historic imagination, aligned to impeccable scholarship’. Sir Roy Strong

‘Extraordinary … a fantastic ride from start to finish’, Peter Curran, Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4

‘Breathtaking … this original book – part history, part biography – has an exciting sense of narrative, and is full of strongly drawn vignettes of life in the seventeenth century’, Jeremy Musson, Country Life

‘Worsley really excels.  She has a rare gift for evoking how these ‘great houses’ functioned … anyone who reads this book cannot fail to be impressed by Worsley’s sure sense of the texture of the past’, John Adamson, Literary Review

'Lucy Worsley paints the most wonderful pictures with her text; the reality conveyed by her grasp of detail and her ability to translate from one form of evidence (whether it be painting, fabric or architecture) to another form is captivating ... there are touches of the Playboy Mansion about Bolsover Castle with its sexually-charged garden ornamentation and its sexually-obliging female servants'. English Historical Review

‘The foreground of most versions of Cavendish's life—his poetry, tutoring of young Charles II, civil war defeat in battle at Marston Moor, and subsequent exile to Antwerp—becomes the background in this charming picture of how Cavendish and his household experienced their lives. Worsley argues that this careful look at Cavendish's household shows a world transforming itself from medieval to recognizably modern during the course of his life. No library should be without this innovative volume’. Stuart Desmond, Library Journal

‘Very vivid … Worsley’s greatest achievement is to evoke the form and fabric of the great houses she knows so well’. Ruth Scurr, Times Literary Supplement

‘Wonderful material, so skilfully deployed … an estimable historian with a fascinating story to tell.  Through the character of William Cavendish, smitten by women, horses and architecture, we are offered a revelatory account of life inside the seventeenth-century aristocratic house … Worsley, Chief Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, is clearly in her element’. Jonathan Wright, The Tablet

‘A spirited portrait … relayed with tremendous gusto by Lucy Worsley, chief curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, who obviously thrills to these historic times, sleuthing through piles of ancient papers and weaving their detail into a fast-paced narrative … riveting and skilfully written biography’.  Ed Peters, South China Morning Post

‘Worsley revels in the architecture, interior decoration, fashion and diet of the household’.  David Honigmann, Financial Times

Worsley ‘has invented an intriguing new genre … the great strength of this book, indeed, lies in the mass of details Worsley has drawn from a range of sources … above all, you learn about that long-gone institution, the great noble household, which formed a complete social world and economy of its own … This is one of the many worlds we have lost; it becomes visible and almost tangible again in Lucy Worsley’s book’.  Noel Malcolm, The Sunday Telegraph

‘Worsley’s architectural and domestic history tells Cavendish’s story through his various sumptuous homes. From a vast array of sources – blueprints and design plans, inventories and recipe books, the notes of the family doctor and Cavendish’s own poetry – Worsley recreates intimate moments in the life of the household’.  The New Yorker

‘In this compendious survey of how an obscenely wealthy 17^th-century household was run, Worsley rarely forgets the put-upon servants’.  Ian Pindar, The Guardian

‘Excellent, vividly depicting the extraordinary size and complexity of a nobleman’s household’. Judith Flanders, New York Times

‘A fast-paced, passionate tale doesn’t sound like your average history book but in Cavalier: A Tale of Chivalry, Passion and Great Houses, author Lucy Worsley has brought a colourful historical figure to life’. Derby Evening Telegraph

‘Every detail of Cavendish's universe comes to life, from architect John Smithson's designs for his exquisite home to the job descriptions and diets of the building site's labourers … vividly described’. Publishers Weekly

‘Recounted by Worsley with infectious joy … details deliver many satisfying “aha” moments of discovery and recognition, as the shapes of modern-day conventions emerge from the residue of medieval customs … her fascination for her subject is evident in the way she lovingly dwells on the details’.  Deborah Rosario, The Oxonian Review of Books

‘No woman is safe from the playboy of Bolsover Castle … he still wins female hearts today, including that of Lucy Worsley, chief curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, who has written an affectionate new biography of him’.  The Star

‘Historian Lucy Worsley offers an intimate, highly original portrait of Cavendish … the stately homes of the seventeenth century emerge vividly in Cavalier’s expert telling … Worsley, the chief curator of England’s Historic Royal Palaces, has produced a compelling portrait’.  History Book Club Review

‘Even if you’re not a historian you’ll enjoy this book … the story, the lively writing style and the crazy cast of real characters just won’t let you go’.  Amazon.co.uk

‘Compellingly readable and informative, it is soon clear why Worsley has chosen this method of story-telling.  It gives free rein to her vivid imagination, and allows her to bring to life the world of William Cavendish … Cavalier makes an original contribution to architectural history’.  Emily Cole, Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain Newsletter

‘Superb’. Contemporary Review

‘Excellent … not only telling [Cavendish's] story but also bringing to life the day-to-day life of a country house in this period’.  The Chap

'I especially liked this for its detail and the wealth of research and archival detail that has allowed Worsley to paint such a complete picture of William Cavendish in the world of Restoration England’. Sue Baker, Personal Choice, Publishing News