Reviews

In Bed with the Georgians: Sex, Scandal and Satire in the 18th Century by Mike Rendell

annettelt's review against another edition

3.0

It's hard not to start drawing parallels between the Georgian courtesans, rakes, adulterous aristocrats, and sex workers described in this book to today's celebrities, content creators, and pornstars. Whether at their country estates, London homes, or on a European 'Grand Tour' the Georgian elite were known to indulge in gambling, excessive drinking, and lustful affairs. At a time when upper-class marriages were arranged for political, economic, and social reasons it's not surprising that both sexes pursued love and passion outside of the marriage. In Bed with the Georgians is richly illustrated with contemporary satirical prints that contextualize the scandalous behaviour of the era's nobility and royals. I am not convinced that the book is structured to present the material to its best advantage. I found myself wanting to create a visual "crime wall" linking courtesans and roués to their various conquests as a great deal of partner swapping occurred. Rendell helpfully includes a glossary, bibliography, and index.

ssejig's review against another edition

3.0

I thought the idea for this book was interesting. And the execution was okay. The division of the chapters was interesting but allowed for a LOT of repetition and overlap. The decision to put almost all of the illustrations into an appendix was definitely odd and really difficult to flip back and forth in an ebook. If you like history or would like to learn more about the Georgian period, this was an okay book. The writing was readable if not particularly exciting and the idea was a good one.