Absolutely engrossing, 11 Oct 2008
This is a retelling of the Road House murder of 1860. The Kents - an outwardly conventional and respectable middle class family - are horrified to discover that three year old Saville has disappeared from his cot. He is soon found gruesomely murdered and his body dumped in the outside privy. The local police arrive and begin a somewhat haphazard investigation. They decline to ask any questions of the family in the belief that people of their class would be too genteel to be involved in murder. Later Detective Inspector Jonathan Whicher arrives from London. He soon suspects one of the Kent daughters but she is released by the court and Whicher generally castigated by all for his error.

Kate Summerscale has succeeded in writing a non-fiction book that reads like a modern detective story. Her research is obviously meticulous and she brings to life all the main characters as well as the social history of the time. Her references to Wilkie Collins, Dickens and Henry James all help to place Whicher at the heart of the developing interest in detective fiction. Even those who already know the story of the Road House murder will find this a page-turner.

But at the end we are still left with an enigma. Constance Kent - was she mad, bad or abused? We will probably never know the whole truth.



Padding out the story, 10 Oct 2008
Oh dear, what on earth were the judges thinking when they gave this book the Samuel Johnson Prize? It is a page-turner, I grant you, which is no doubt why it won the prize, and it's cleverly conceived, written in the style of a country-house murder, the genre it explores. But there have been many books on the Constance Kent case, perhaps the most famous murder in the Victorian era, and Summerscale has nothing new to say. Worse, the book is padded out with social history, elementary details that could have come directly from any one of countless history books on the shelves of Waterstones. In short, the book is not nearly as good as its many plaudits in the press and book prize judges think.

I absolutely disagree, 07 Oct 2008
This is the worst book I've read for a long time. "Pacey" is not the word - in fact I have trouble staying awake. The Author frequently digresses from the main plot (which, all told would take up less than a quarter of the book) to examine in detail things like excerpts from 3 different newspaper articles saying more or less the same thing, quotes from Sigmund Freud, Whichers' previous cases (which although interesting rarely add anything to the progression of the story), and anything else which could possibly hinder the sloppy storytelling.

Then we have the fact that the story teller sees fit to remind us at every opportunity of previous stated clues - something she doubtless decided the story needed with all the frequent asides. The book honestly reads like an academic work like a thesis rather than the story it claims.

Well researched? Yes. Well written? Action packed? Pacey? Indeed not. I would avoid this book, and I feel slightly angry that I was tricked by the back cover into thinking it was something it wasn't, and buying it.

The Emperor's New Clothes, 06 Oct 2008
I have to say that this book, although much touted, is not the wonder the reviewers in the UK media have made it out to be. Most of them know nothing about true crime and they have seized on this book as though it were the Holy Grail. It's dull and plodding, and suggestive of segments that I have read elsewhere. There are many books about the Constance Kent case ("Cruelly Murdered", "Saint - with Red Hands?" are two that instantly come to mind) which are a lot more informative than this book and as for Mr Whicher and Constance Kent , Dickens' letters to friends about this case is the best place for the media information of the time and a great novelist's take on the case - not this mind-numbing piece of self importance.

history of a murder, 03 Oct 2008
Simply brilliant book. The fascinating storylines, quality of research and the craftmanship with which they were woven together has made this one of the best books I've read this year. This book will please both popular history buffs and crime fiction afficnados. Will definately be on the lookout for Kate Summerscales next book.

Absolutely engrossing, 11 Oct 2008
This is a retelling of the Road House murder of 1860. The Kents - an outwardly conventional and respectable middle class family - are horrified to discover that three year old Saville has disappeared from his cot. He is soon found gruesomely murdered and his body dumped in the outside privy. The local police arrive and begin a somewhat haphazard investigation. They decline to ask any questions of the family in the belief that people of their class would be too genteel to be involved in murder. Later Detective Inspector Jonathan Whicher arrives from London. He soon suspects one of the Kent daughters but she is released by the court and Whicher generally castigated by all for his error.

Kate Summerscale has succeeded in writing a non-fiction book that reads like a modern detective story. Her research is obviously meticulous and she brings to life all the main characters as well as the social history of the time. Her references to Wilkie Collins, Dickens and Henry James all help to place Whicher at the heart of the developing interest in detective fiction. Even those who already know the story of the Road House murder will find this a page-turner.

But at the end we are still left with an enigma. Constance Kent - was she mad, bad or abused? We will probably never know the whole truth.



Padding out the story, 10 Oct 2008
Oh dear, what on earth were the judges thinking when they gave this book the Samuel Johnson Prize? It is a page-turner, I grant you, which is no doubt why it won the prize, and it's cleverly conceived, written in the style of a country-house murder, the genre it explores. But there have been many books on the Constance Kent case, perhaps the most famous murder in the Victorian era, and Summerscale has nothing new to say. Worse, the book is padded out with social history, elementary details that could have come directly from any one of countless history books on the shelves of Waterstones. In short, the book is not nearly as good as its many plaudits in the press and book prize judges think.

I absolutely disagree, 07 Oct 2008
This is the worst book I've read for a long time. "Pacey" is not the word - in fact I have trouble staying awake. The Author frequently digresses from the main plot (which, all told would take up less than a quarter of the book) to examine in detail things like excerpts from 3 different newspaper articles saying more or less the same thing, quotes from Sigmund Freud, Whichers' previous cases (which although interesting rarely add anything to the progression of the story), and anything else which could possibly hinder the sloppy storytelling.

Then we have the fact that the story teller sees fit to remind us at every opportunity of previous stated clues - something she doubtless decided the story needed with all the frequent asides. The book honestly reads like an academic work like a thesis rather than the story it claims.

Well researched? Yes. Well written? Action packed? Pacey? Indeed not. I would avoid this book, and I feel slightly angry that I was tricked by the back cover into thinking it was something it wasn't, and buying it.

The Emperor's New Clothes, 06 Oct 2008
I have to say that this book, although much touted, is not the wonder the reviewers in the UK media have made it out to be. Most of them know nothing about true crime and they have seized on this book as though it were the Holy Grail. It's dull and plodding, and suggestive of segments that I have read elsewhere. There are many books about the Constance Kent case ("Cruelly Murdered", "Saint - with Red Hands?" are two that instantly come to mind) which are a lot more informative than this book and as for Mr Whicher and Constance Kent , Dickens' letters to friends about this case is the best place for the media information of the time and a great novelist's take on the case - not this mind-numbing piece of self importance.

history of a murder, 03 Oct 2008
Simply brilliant book. The fascinating storylines, quality of research and the craftmanship with which they were woven together has made this one of the best books I've read this year. This book will please both popular history buffs and crime fiction afficnados. Will definately be on the lookout for Kate Summerscales next book.

Excellent book, 27 Sep 2008
I took this book on holiday with me and I feel a week by the pool is a perfect way to enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed the pace of this work. I felt it gave just the right amount of detail without dwelling on unimportant facts.

For me it was constantly enthralling. As a 23 year-old I certainly learnt a great deal. The detail is far greater than the BBC series that accompanied the book. My only doubt is whether had I lived through the times discussed I would have found it a little lightweight.

History at its best, 26 Sep 2008
I found this book a real pleasure to read. It is a penetrating and scholarly account of Britain's post-war history. It is brilliantly researched and beautifully written - the author has a good eye for the amusing bon mot - yet it deals in a balanced and sensible way with the key developments and personalities of the post-war era. If a better book has been published in the past year, then I have not come across it.

A future school textbook - and useful now., 29 Aug 2008
This book was updated for its paperback release and having read it carefully I suspect that many of the errors referred to by other reviewers were removed at that point. Having lived out of Britain for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, I found that I had much to learn from the pages - several large gaps in my knowledge were filled in.

I found it difficult to detect any signs of bias, and Andrew Marr's easy writing style made it a pleasure to read. This is almost as far removed from the dry history textbook that I wrestled with as a young student as it is possible to be. For anyone wanting a crash course on British modern history, this could not be bettered. Well researched and referenced, this deserves to become a standard.

I learnt all I should have at school, 26 Aug 2008
If I hadn't been taught some trendy (in the 1970's) History O Level course I may have learned some modern history and have subsequently been on catch up since!

This is the most readable book I have read covering the post war period and having seen the TV programme the writers voice is audible. It's a must read for a holiday (preferably with understanding people who don't want to talk very much as being interrupted reading won't go down too well)

A Superficial History of Modern Britain. , 12 Aug 2008
Andrew Marr's book is, if not a totally one-way glass facade, then certainly a pretty smeared window upon society that is clearly influenced by the naive, PC stupidity of those many refer to as the 'chattering classes'. Shallow and childlike. The professional intelligentsia, and their private armchair and public media imitators, will surely love it.

Georgiana Spencer was, in a sense, an 18th-century "It Girl". She came from one of England's richest and most landed families, and married into another. She was, beautiful, sensitive and extravagant. Acquainted fairly young with Charles James Fox, her move from parties to Parties led her to become the intimate of ministers and princes, and she canvassed assiduously for the Whig cause, most famously in the Westminster election of 1784. By turns she was caricatured and fawned on by the press, and she provided the inspiration for Lady Teazle in Sheridan's School For Scandal. But, luckily for her biographer, she also had weaknesses that were to taint her life. As gin gripped the masses, so gambling enthralled the aristocracy. By 1784 Georgiana owed "many, many, many thousands", and the creditors she acquired dogged her until her death, but the sterility of her marriage meant that she never came close to disclosing the magnitude of her debts. Amanda Foreman describes astutely the mess that was personal relationships for the aristocratic subculture (Georgiana and the Duke engaged for many years in a ménage à trois with Lady Elizabeth Fraser, who inveigled her way into his bed and her heart). She is, by her own admission, a little in love with her subject, which can lead to occasional lapses of perspective, but generally it adds zest to a narrative built on, rather than burdened by, scholarship, that is at once accessible and learned. An impressive debut, in every sense. --David Vincent

Absolutely engrossing, 11 Oct 2008
This is a retelling of the Road House murder of 1860. The Kents - an outwardly conventional and respectable middle class family - are horrified to discover that three year old Saville has disappeared from his cot. He is soon found gruesomely murdered and his body dumped in the outside privy. The local police arrive and begin a somewhat haphazard investigation. They decline to ask any questions of the family in the belief that people of their class would be too genteel to be involved in murder. Later Detective Inspector Jonathan Whicher arrives from London. He soon suspects one of the Kent daughters but she is released by the court and Whicher generally castigated by all for his error.

Kate Summerscale has succeeded in writing a non-fiction book that reads like a modern detective story. Her research is obviously meticulous and she brings to life all the main characters as well as the social history of the time. Her references to Wilkie Collins, Dickens and Henry James all help to place Whicher at the heart of the developing interest in detective fiction. Even those who already know the story of the Road House murder will find this a page-turner.

But at the end we are still left with an enigma. Constance Kent - was she mad, bad or abused? We will probably never know the whole truth.



Padding out the story, 10 Oct 2008
Oh dear, what on earth were the judges thinking when they gave this book the Samuel Johnson Prize? It is a page-turner, I grant you, which is no doubt why it won the prize, and it's cleverly conceived, written in the style of a country-house murder, the genre it explores. But there have been many books on the Constance Kent case, perhaps the most famous murder in the Victorian era, and Summerscale has nothing new to say. Worse, the book is padded out with social history, elementary details that could have come directly from any one of countless history books on the shelves of Waterstones. In short, the book is not nearly as good as its many plaudits in the press and book prize judges think.

I absolutely disagree, 07 Oct 2008
This is the worst book I've read for a long time. "Pacey" is not the word - in fact I have trouble staying awake. The Author frequently digresses from the main plot (which, all told would take up less than a quarter of the book) to examine in detail things like excerpts from 3 different newspaper articles saying more or less the same thing, quotes from Sigmund Freud, Whichers' previous cases (which although interesting rarely add anything to the progression of the story), and anything else which could possibly hinder the sloppy storytelling.

Then we have the fact that the story teller sees fit to remind us at every opportunity of previous stated clues - something she doubtless decided the story needed with all the frequent asides. The book honestly reads like an academic work like a thesis rather than the story it claims.

Well researched? Yes. Well written? Action packed? Pacey? Indeed not. I would avoid this book, and I feel slightly angry that I was tricked by the back cover into thinking it was something it wasn't, and buying it.

The Emperor's New Clothes, 06 Oct 2008
I have to say that this book, although much touted, is not the wonder the reviewers in the UK media have made it out to be. Most of them know nothing about true crime and they have seized on this book as though it were the Holy Grail. It's dull and plodding, and suggestive of segments that I have read elsewhere. There are many books about the Constance Kent case ("Cruelly Murdered", "Saint - with Red Hands?" are two that instantly come to mind) which are a lot more informative than this book and as for Mr Whicher and Constance Kent , Dickens' letters to friends about this case is the best place for the media information of the time and a great novelist's take on the case - not this mind-numbing piece of self importance.

history of a murder, 03 Oct 2008
Simply brilliant book. The fascinating storylines, quality of research and the craftmanship with which they were woven together has made this one of the best books I've read this year. This book will please both popular history buffs and crime fiction afficnados. Will definately be on the lookout for Kate Summerscales next book.

Excellent book, 27 Sep 2008
I took this book on holiday with me and I feel a week by the pool is a perfect way to enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed the pace of this work. I felt it gave just the right amount of detail without dwelling on unimportant facts.

For me it was constantly enthralling. As a 23 year-old I certainly learnt a great deal. The detail is far greater than the BBC series that accompanied the book. My only doubt is whether had I lived through the times discussed I would have found it a little lightweight.

History at its best, 26 Sep 2008
I found this book a real pleasure to read. It is a penetrating and scholarly account of Britain's post-war history. It is brilliantly researched and beautifully written - the author has a good eye for the amusing bon mot - yet it deals in a balanced and sensible way with the key developments and personalities of the post-war era. If a better book has been published in the past year, then I have not come across it.

A future school textbook - and useful now., 29 Aug 2008
This book was updated for its paperback release and having read it carefully I suspect that many of the errors referred to by other reviewers were removed at that point. Having lived out of Britain for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, I found that I had much to learn from the pages - several large gaps in my knowledge were filled in.

I found it difficult to detect any signs of bias, and Andrew Marr's easy writing style made it a pleasure to read. This is almost as far removed from the dry history textbook that I wrestled with as a young student as it is possible to be. For anyone wanting a crash course on British modern history, this could not be bettered. Well researched and referenced, this deserves to become a standard.

I learnt all I should have at school, 26 Aug 2008
If I hadn't been taught some trendy (in the 1970's) History O Level course I may have learned some modern history and have subsequently been on catch up since!

This is the most readable book I have read covering the post war period and having seen the TV programme the writers voice is audible. It's a must read for a holiday (preferably with understanding people who don't want to talk very much as being interrupted reading won't go down too well)

A Superficial History of Modern Britain. , 12 Aug 2008
Andrew Marr's book is, if not a totally one-way glass facade, then certainly a pretty smeared window upon society that is clearly influenced by the naive, PC stupidity of those many refer to as the 'chattering classes'. Shallow and childlike. The professional intelligentsia, and their private armchair and public media imitators, will surely love it.

A great disappointment, 12 Aug 2008
Although 'Georgiana' is competently written and well-researched, I am frankly amazed that it has achieved such massive success and popularity since its first publication ten years ago. As other reviewers have pointed out, it perhaps fulfills a useful purpose in putting women back in the 'front-line' of the eighteenth-century political scene but, speaking for myself, I found the exhaustive discussion of the ups-and-downs of the Whigs and Tories tedious in the extreme and an almost total turn-off. This was doubly disappointing, since the rave reviews had led me to expect so much more.

Strangely enough, the most engaging part of the book was the introduction, in which the author writes with real verve and enthusiasm of how she was first 'introduced' to the duchess and how her sympathy and interest grew to such an extent that a full-length biography seemed to be the natural and inevitable conclusion. Would that this enthusiasm had percolated through to the rest of her work which I found to be both turgid and dull. Comparisons have already been drawn to the infinitely warmer, livelier and more approachable biographies of Flora Fraser, Claire Tomalin and Stella Tillyard. Being very familar with the writing of all these authors, and a great fan to boot, I am left to wonder why THIS work should be so celebrated, so well-regarded - and, sad to say, so completely over-hyped.

Engaging, 07 May 2008
I have given this review 5 stars because I think the book is well researched and an engaging read. It easily moves through the early life of the duchess (who originates in the Spencer family) and her movement through 'the ton'. The author clearly highlights the role of a women in the regency type period - feminism was unheard of and yet here we have a woman influencing politics and refusing to be constrained by her gender. The only negative comment I can make (and this is not a reflection on the book at all) is that I am not sure that I would like Georgiana very much and whilst I have sympathy for her loveless marriage, I find it hard to find empathy for a woman who lived in to such excess when many women of the era would have been grateful for a fragment of the fortune she had.

A brilliant read, but a bit over political, 03 May 2007
I found this book absorbing from the minute I picked it up. Amanda Foreman managed to mix the political elaments with the more social side of her life, to keep it interesting and to keep our attention. Even though I had been warned that it was heavily political, I still found it managable. However, as the book came towards the end, I felt that maybe Amanda Foreman was being pressed by her publishers to get it finished or maybe she was restricted to a limited word count. It seemed to become very rushed, brushing over elements in her life that I felt should have been covered, such as 'Little G's' wedding, both daughters' period of being debutante's and her sister Harriet's affairs, which saw her baring more illegitimate children, instead of only focusing on her political attributes. Maybe it was simply due to the fact that there are little surviving sources, but the fact that the last chapters are only appromimatly 10 pages long stays alot! Overall, It's a good read and I do recommend it, but be prepared to read alot about 18th Century politics.

An exhaustively researched yet highly accessible book, 09 Jan 2005
I found this absolutely compelling; I simply couldn't put it down. I found the politcal angle paticularly absorbing; the extra juice was just an added bonus! I also loved how Foreman points the reader to the ironies which pepper Georgina's life.It's really got me hooked on 18thc social and political history. I'm lucky enough to have a history degree, but this book is so accessible you don't need one; Foreman just guides through giving you all extra info without sounding patronising. This has to be the best researched biography I've read... if only my academic reading was as fun.

a well-crafted, sympathetic and vivid portrayal, 21 Dec 2001
Clearly well-researched, this biography of one of the eighteenth century's most enigmatic figures conveys vividly the tumultous world of eighteenth century politics alongside that of Georgiana's private life. A pioneer in women's involvement in politics, her role as a campaigner and society hostess placed her in the centre of the Whig party throughout its years of opposition; prominent men instinctively sought her advice. As well as highlighting G's pivotal political role, Foreman succeeds in capturing the moral ambiguity of the age in the private dilemmas her heroine faces: a hopeless addiction to gaming, her husband's mistress being her best friend, forcing to choose between her lover and her children etc. Although from an age difficult to empathise with, Foreman never the less makes G and her world instantly accessible. An Interesting and insightful read.

Absolutely engrossing, 11 Oct 2008
This is a retelling of the Road House murder of 1860. The Kents - an outwardly conventional and respectable middle class family - are horrified to discover that three year old Saville has disappeared from his cot. He is soon found gruesomely murdered and his body dumped in the outside privy. The local police arrive and begin a somewhat haphazard investigation. They decline to ask any questions of the family in the belief that people of their class would be too genteel to be involved in murder. Later Detective Inspector Jonathan Whicher arrives from London. He soon suspects one of the Kent daughters but she is released by the court and Whicher generally castigated by all for his error.

Kate Summerscale has succeeded in writing a non-fiction book that reads like a modern detective story. Her research is obviously meticulous and she brings to life all the main characters as well as the social history of the time. Her references to Wilkie Collins, Dickens and Henry James all help to place Whicher at the heart of the developing interest in detective fiction. Even those who already know the story of the Road House murder will find this a page-turner.

But at the end we are still left with an enigma. Constance Kent - was she mad, bad or abused? We will probably never know the whole truth.



Padding out the story, 10 Oct 2008
Oh dear, what on earth were the judges thinking when they gave this book the Samuel Johnson Prize? It is a page-turner, I grant you, which is no doubt why it won the prize, and it's cleverly conceived, written in the style of a country-house murder, the genre it explores. But there have been many books on the Constance Kent case, perhaps the most famous murder in the Victorian era, and Summerscale has nothing new to say. Worse, the book is padded out with social history, elementary details that could have come directly from any one of countless history books on the shelves of Waterstones. In short, the book is not nearly as good as its many plaudits in the press and book prize judges think.

I absolutely disagree, 07 Oct 2008
This is the worst book I've read for a long time. "Pacey" is not the word - in fact I have trouble staying awake. The Author frequently digresses from the main plot (which, all told would take up less than a quarter of the book) to examine in detail things like excerpts from 3 different newspaper articles saying more or less the same thing, quotes from Sigmund Freud, Whichers' previous cases (which although interesting rarely add anything to the progression of the story), and anything else which could possibly hinder the sloppy storytelling.

Then we have the fact that the story teller sees fit to remind us at every opportunity of previous stated clues - something she doubtless decided the story needed with all the frequent asides. The book honestly reads like an academic work like a thesis rather than the story it claims.

Well researched? Yes. Well written? Action packed? Pacey? Indeed not. I would avoid this book, and I feel slightly angry that I was tricked by the back cover into thinking it was something it wasn't, and buying it.

The Emperor's New Clothes, 06 Oct 2008
I have to say that this book, although much touted, is not the wonder the reviewers in the UK media have made it out to be. Most of them know nothing about true crime and they have seized on this book as though it were the Holy Grail. It's dull and plodding, and suggestive of segments that I have read elsewhere. There are many books about the Constance Kent case ("Cruelly Murdered", "Saint - with Red Hands?" are two that instantly come to mind) which are a lot more informative than this book and as for Mr Whicher and Constance Kent , Dickens' letters to friends about this case is the best place for the media information of the time and a great novelist's take on the case - not this mind-numbing piece of self importance.

history of a murder, 03 Oct 2008
Simply brilliant book. The fascinating storylines, quality of research and the craftmanship with which they were woven together has made this one of the best books I've read this year. This book will please both popular history buffs and crime fiction afficnados. Will definately be on the lookout for Kate Summerscales next book.

Excellent book, 27 Sep 2008
I took this book on holiday with me and I feel a week by the pool is a perfect way to enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed the pace of this work. I felt it gave just the right amount of detail without dwelling on unimportant facts.

For me it was constantly enthralling. As a 23 year-old I certainly learnt a great deal. The detail is far greater than the BBC series that accompanied the book. My only doubt is whether had I lived through the times discussed I would have found it a little lightweight.

History at its best, 26 Sep 2008
I found this book a real pleasure to read. It is a penetrating and scholarly account of Britain's post-war history. It is brilliantly researched and beautifully written - the author has a good eye for the amusing bon mot - yet it deals in a balanced and sensible way with the key developments and personalities of the post-war era. If a better book has been published in the past year, then I have not come across it.

A future school textbook - and useful now., 29 Aug 2008
This book was updated for its paperback release and having read it carefully I suspect that many of the errors referred to by other reviewers were removed at that point. Having lived out of Britain for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, I found that I had much to learn from the pages - several large gaps in my knowledge were filled in.

I found it difficult to detect any signs of bias, and Andrew Marr's easy writing style made it a pleasure to read. This is almost as far removed from the dry history textbook that I wrestled with as a young student as it is possible to be. For anyone wanting a crash course on British modern history, this could not be bettered. Well researched and referenced, this deserves to become a standard.

I learnt all I should have at school, 26 Aug 2008
If I hadn't been taught some trendy (in the 1970's) History O Level course I may have learned some modern history and have subsequently been on catch up since!

This is the most readable book I have read covering the post war period and having seen the TV programme the writers voice is audible. It's a must read for a holiday (preferably with understanding people who don't want to talk very much as being interrupted reading won't go down too well)

A Superficial History of Modern Britain. , 12 Aug 2008
Andrew Marr's book is, if not a totally one-way glass facade, then certainly a pretty smeared window upon society that is clearly influenced by the naive, PC stupidity of those many refer to as the 'chattering classes'. Shallow and childlike. The professional intelligentsia, and their private armchair and public media imitators, will surely love it.

A great disappointment, 12 Aug 2008
Although 'Georgiana' is competently written and well-researched, I am frankly amazed that it has achieved such massive success and popularity since its first publication ten years ago. As other reviewers have pointed out, it perhaps fulfills a useful purpose in putting women back in the 'front-line' of the eighteenth-century political scene but, speaking for myself, I found the exhaustive discussion of the ups-and-downs of the Whigs and Tories tedious in the extreme and an almost total turn-off. This was doubly disappointing, since the rave reviews had led me to expect so much more.

Strangely enough, the most engaging part of the book was the introduction, in which the author writes with real verve and enthusiasm of how she was first 'introduced' to the duchess and how her sympathy and interest grew to such an extent that a full-length biography seemed to be the natural and inevitable conclusion. Would that this enthusiasm had percolated through to the rest of her work which I found to be both turgid and dull. Comparisons have already been drawn to the infinitely warmer, livelier and more approachable biographies of Flora Fraser, Claire Tomalin and Stella Tillyard. Being very familar with the writing of all these authors, and a great fan to boot, I am left to wonder why THIS work should be so celebrated, so well-regarded - and, sad to say, so completely over-hyped.

Engaging, 07 May 2008
I have given this review 5 stars because I think the book is well researched and an engaging read. It easily moves through the early life of the duchess (who originates in the Spencer family) and her movement through 'the ton'. The author clearly highlights the role of a women in the regency type period - feminism was unheard of and yet here we have a woman influencing politics and refusing to be constrained by her gender. The only negative comment I can make (and this is not a reflection on the book at all) is that I am not sure that I would like Georgiana very much and whilst I have sympathy for her loveless marriage, I find it hard to find empathy for a woman who lived in to such excess when many women of the era would have been grateful for a fragment of the fortune she had.

A brilliant read, but a bit over political, 03 May 2007
I found this book absorbing from the minute I picked it up. Amanda Foreman managed to mix the political elaments with the more social side of her life, to keep it interesting and to keep our attention. Even though I had been warned that it was heavily political, I still found it managable. However, as the book came towards the end, I felt that maybe Amanda Foreman was being pressed by her publishers to get it finished or maybe she was restricted to a limited word count. It seemed to become very rushed, brushing over elements in her life that I felt should have been covered, such as 'Little G's' wedding, both daughters' period of being debutante's and her sister Harriet's affairs, which saw her baring more illegitimate children, instead of only focusing on her political attributes. Maybe it was simply due to the fact that there are little surviving sources, but the fact that the last chapters are only appromimatly 10 pages long stays alot! Overall, It's a good read and I do recommend it, but be prepared to read alot about 18th Century politics.

An exhaustively researched yet highly accessible book, 09 Jan 2005
I found this absolutely compelling; I simply couldn't put it down. I found the politcal angle paticularly absorbing; the extra juice was just an added bonus! I also loved how Foreman points the reader to the ironies which pepper Georgina's life.It's really got me hooked on 18thc social and political history. I'm lucky enough to have a history degree, but this book is so accessible you don't need one; Foreman just guides through giving you all extra info without sounding patronising. This has to be the best researched biography I've read... if only my academic reading was as fun.

a well-crafted, sympathetic and vivid portrayal, 21 Dec 2001
Clearly well-researched, this biography of one of the eighteenth century's most enigmatic figures conveys vividly the tumultous world of eighteenth century politics alongside that of Georgiana's private life. A pioneer in women's involvement in politics, her role as a campaigner and society hostess placed her in the centre of the Whig party throughout its years of opposition; prominent men instinctively sought her advice. As well as highlighting G's pivotal political role, Foreman succeeds in capturing the moral ambiguity of the age in the private dilemmas her heroine faces: a hopeless addiction to gaming, her husband's mistress being her best friend, forcing to choose between her lover and her children etc. Although from an age difficult to empathise with, Foreman never the less makes G and her world instantly accessible. An Interesting and insightful read.

A Delight, 20 Sep 2008
This book is a delight, a gem. The original illustrations take the diaries beyond the mundane, and Thomas Livingstone's gentle humour enlivens the often dreary weather and seemingly constant worries over Agnes health. Zeplins, Chimneys, the wash house, news from the front, the ironing, the cost of coal..... all of life is here. You will love it!

Glasgow's WWI Kiss, 19 Sep 2008
Well, what a find, I am normally an avid veiwer of the Antiques Roadshow but must have missed the autumn 2007 episode at alnwick castle which featured the original MSS of these diaries, these are, I think unique, part facsimilie MSS part typeset, the diaries are illustrated throughout by Thomas Cairns Livingstone, a well to do Glasweigian shipping clerk, the diaries span the best part of 30 years, but here we have the best bits, the Great War years, plus a few entries for 1933, depression era (how spookily apt for today) I am a collector of WWI Diaries, I like seeing the great war from all angles, but I have never come across one like these, and i don't think there will be another set like these published, I can rave on about how superb they are, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, I am sure you will agree, it will be the best money you've ever spent, open the pages of Thomas Cairns livingstone's diaries and let him talk to you himself and be transported back to Post Edwardian Glasgow

Absolutely engrossing, 11 Oct 2008
This is a retelling of the Road House murder of 1860. The Kents - an outwardly conventional and respectable middle class family - are horrified to discover that three year old Saville has disappeared from his cot. He is soon found gruesomely murdered and his body dumped in the outside privy. The local police arrive and begin a somewhat haphazard investigation. They decline to ask any questions of the family in the belief that people of their class would be too genteel to be involved in murder. Later Detective Inspector Jonathan Whicher arrives from London. He soon suspects one of the Kent daughters but she is released by the court and Whicher generally castigated by all for his error.

Kate Summerscale has succeeded in writing a non-fiction book that reads like a modern detective story. Her research is obviously meticulous and she brings to life all the main characters as well as the social history of the time. Her references to Wilkie Collins, Dickens and Henry James all help to place Whicher at the heart of the developing interest in detective fiction. Even those who already know the story of the Road House murder will find this a page-turner.

But at the end we are still left with an enigma. Constance Kent - was she mad, bad or abused? We will probably never know the whole truth.



Padding out the story, 10 Oct 2008
Oh dear, what on earth were the judges thinking when they gave this book the Samuel Johnson Prize? It is a page-turner, I grant you, which is no doubt why it won the prize, and it's cleverly conceived, written in the style of a country-house murder, the genre it explores. But there have been many books on the Constance Kent case, perhaps the most famous murder in the Victorian era, and Summerscale has nothing new to say. Worse, the book is padded out with social history, elementary details that could have come directly from any one of countless history books on the shelves of Waterstones. In short, the book is not nearly as good as its many plaudits in the press and book prize judges think.

I absolutely disagree, 07 Oct 2008
This is the worst book I've read for a long time. "Pacey" is not the word - in fact I have trouble staying awake. The Author frequently digresses from the main plot (which, all told would take up less than a quarter of the book) to examine in detail things like excerpts from 3 different newspaper articles saying more or less the same thing, quotes from Sigmund Freud, Whichers' previous cases (which although interesting rarely add anything to the progression of the story), and anything else which could possibly hinder the sloppy storytelling.

Then we have the fact that the story teller sees fit to remind us at every opportunity of previous stated clues - something she doubtless decided the story needed with all the frequent asides. The book honestly reads like an academic work like a thesis rather than the story it claims.

Well researched? Yes. Well written? Action packed? Pacey? Indeed not. I would avoid this book, and I feel slightly angry that I was tricked by the back cover into thinking it was something it wasn't, and buying it.

The Emperor's New Clothes, 06 Oct 2008
I have to say that this book, although much touted, is not the wonder the reviewers in the UK media have made it out to be. Most of them know nothing about true crime and they have seized on this book as though it were the Holy Grail. It's dull and plodding, and suggestive of segments that I have read elsewhere. There are many books about the Constance Kent case ("Cruelly Murdered", "Saint - with Red Hands?" are two that instantly come to mind) which are a lot more informative than this book and as for Mr Whicher and Constance Kent , Dickens' letters to friends about this case is the best place for the media information of the time and a great novelist's take on the case - not this mind-numbing piece of self importance.

history of a murder, 03 Oct 2008
Simply brilliant book. The fascinating storylines, quality of research and the craftmanship with which they were woven together has made this one of the best books I've read this year. This book will please both popular history buffs and crime fiction afficnados. Will definately be on the lookout for Kate Summerscales next book.

Excellent book, 27 Sep 2008
I took this book on holiday with me and I feel a week by the pool is a perfect way to enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed the pace of this work. I felt it gave just the right amount of detail without dwelling on unimportant facts.

For me it was constantly enthralling. As a 23 year-old I certainly learnt a great deal. The detail is far greater than the BBC series that accompanied the book. My only doubt is whether had I lived through the times discussed I would have found it a little lightweight.

History at its best, 26 Sep 2008
I found this book a real pleasure to read. It is a penetrating and scholarly account of Britain's post-war history. It is brilliantly researched and beautifully written - the author has a good eye for the amusing bon mot - yet it deals in a balanced and sensible way with the key developments and personalities of the post-war era. If a better book has been published in the past year, then I have not come across it.

A future school textbook - and useful now., 29 Aug 2008
This book was updated for its paperback release and having read it carefully I suspect that many of the errors referred to by other reviewers were removed at that point. Having lived out of Britain for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, I found that I had much to learn from the pages - several large gaps in my knowledge were filled in.

I found it difficult to detect any signs of bias, and Andrew Marr's easy writing style made it a pleasure to read. This is almost as far removed from the dry history textbook that I wrestled with as a young student as it is possible to be. For anyone wanting a crash course on British modern history, this could not be bettered. Well researched and referenced, this deserves to become a standard.

I learnt all I should have at school, 26 Aug 2008
If I hadn't been taught some trendy (in the 1970's) History O Level course I may have learned some modern history and have subsequently been on catch up since!

This is the most readable book I have read covering the post war period and having seen the TV programme the writers voice is audible. It's a must read for a holiday (preferably with understanding people who don't want to talk very much as being interrupted reading won't go down too well)

A Superficial History of Modern Britain. , 12 Aug 2008
Andrew Marr's book is, if not a totally one-way glass facade, then certainly a pretty smeared window upon society that is clearly influenced by the naive, PC stupidity of those many refer to as the 'chattering classes'. Shallow and childlike. The professional intelligentsia, and their private armchair and public media imitators, will surely love it.

A great disappointment, 12 Aug 2008
Although 'Georgiana' is competently written and well-researched, I am frankly amazed that it has achieved such massive success and popularity since its first publication ten years ago. As other reviewers have pointed out, it perhaps fulfills a useful purpose in putting women back in the 'front-line' of the eighteenth-century political scene but, speaking for myself, I found the exhaustive discussion of the ups-and-downs of the Whigs and Tories tedious in the extreme and an almost total turn-off. This was doubly disappointing, since the rave reviews had led me to expect so much more.

Strangely enough, the most engaging part of the book was the introduction, in which the author writes with real verve and enthusiasm of how she was first 'introduced' to the duchess and how her sympathy and interest grew to such an extent that a full-length biography seemed to be the natural and inevitable conclusion. Would that this enthusiasm had percolated through to the rest of her work which I found to be both turgid and dull. Comparisons have already been drawn to the infinitely warmer, livelier and more approachable biographies of Flora Fraser, Claire Tomalin and Stella Tillyard. Being very familar with the writing of all these authors, and a great fan to boot, I am left to wonder why THIS work should be so celebrated, so well-regarded - and, sad to say, so completely over-hyped.

Engaging, 07 May 2008
I have given this review 5 stars because I think the book is well researched and an engaging read. It easily moves through the early life of the duchess (who originates in the Spencer family) and her movement through 'the ton'. The author clearly highlights the role of a women in the regency type period - feminism was unheard of and yet here we have a woman influencing politics and refusing to be constrained by her gender. The only negative comment I can make (and this is not a reflection on the book at all) is that I am not sure that I would like Georgiana very much and whilst I have sympathy for her loveless marriage, I find it hard to find empathy for a woman who lived in to such excess when many women of the era would have been grateful for a fragment of the fortune she had.

A brilliant read, but a bit over political, 03 May 2007
I found this book absorbing from the minute I picked it up. Amanda Foreman managed to mix the political elaments with the more social side of her life, to keep it interesting and to keep our attention. Even though I had been warned that it was heavily political, I still found it managable. However, as the book came towards the end, I felt that maybe Amanda Foreman was being pressed by her publishers to get it finished or maybe she was restricted to a limited word count. It seemed to become very rushed, brushing over elements in her life that I felt should have been covered, such as 'Little G's' wedding, both daughters' period of being debutante's and her sister Harriet's affairs, which saw her baring more illegitimate children, instead of only focusing on her political attributes. Maybe it was simply due to the fact that there are little surviving sources, but the fact that the last chapters are only appromimatly 10 pages long stays alot! Overall, It's a good read and I do recommend it, but be prepared to read alot about 18th Century politics.

An exhaustively researched yet highly accessible book, 09 Jan 2005
I found this absolutely compelling; I simply couldn't put it down. I found the politcal angle paticularly absorbing; the extra juice was just an added bonus! I also loved how Foreman points the reader to the ironies which pepper Georgina's life.It's really got me hooked on 18thc social and political history. I'm lucky enough to have a history degree, but this book is so accessible you don't need one; Foreman just guides through giving you all extra info without sounding patronising. This has to be the best researched biography I've read... if only my academic reading was as fun.

a well-crafted, sympathetic and vivid portrayal, 21 Dec 2001
Clearly well-researched, this biography of one of the eighteenth century's most enigmatic figures conveys vividly the tumultous world of eighteenth century politics alongside that of Georgiana's private life. A pioneer in women's involvement in politics, her role as a campaigner and society hostess placed her in the centre of the Whig party throughout its years of opposition; prominent men instinctively sought her advice. As well as highlighting G's pivotal political role, Foreman succeeds in capturing the moral ambiguity of the age in the private dilemmas her heroine faces: a hopeless addiction to gaming, her husband's mistress being her best friend, forcing to choose between her lover and her children etc. Although from an age difficult to empathise with, Foreman never the less makes G and her world instantly accessible. An Interesting and insightful read.

A Delight, 20 Sep 2008
This book is a delight, a gem. The original illustrations take the diaries beyond the mundane, and Thomas Livingstone's gentle humour enlivens the often dreary weather and seemingly constant worries over Agnes health. Zeplins, Chimneys, the wash house, news from the front, the ironing, the cost of coal..... all of life is here. You will love it!

Glasgow's WWI Kiss, 19 Sep 2008
Well, what a find, I am normally an avid veiwer of the Antiques Roadshow but must have missed the autumn 2007 episode at alnwick castle which featured the original MSS of these diaries, these are, I think unique, part facsimilie MSS part typeset, the diaries are illustrated throughout by Thomas Cairns Livingstone, a well to do Glasweigian shipping clerk, the diaries span the best part of 30 years, but here we have the best bits, the Great War years, plus a few entries for 1933, depression era (how spookily apt for today) I am a collector of WWI Diaries, I like seeing the great war from all angles, but I have never come across one like these, and i don't think there will be another set like these published, I can rave on about how superb they are, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, I am sure you will agree, it will be the best money you've ever spent, open the pages of Thomas Cairns livingstone's diaries and let him talk to you himself and be transported back to Post Edwardian Glasgow

Simply Outstanding!, 11 Aug 2008
Banksy's Wall and Piece is simply an amazing collection of his graffiti art all across the UK and the world. His unique style has won him international acclaim to fame. His artwork is not just vandalism but sends out a political statement which is bold and isn't afraid to mention things we would otherwise keep quiet. I first heard Banksy on a news website when he created another piece of work and then visited his website banksy.com, and since then fallen in love with his work. The other day I came across the book in a store and really enjoyed his collection of work. This is a must have book for any of those interested not just in art, but also those who have been shaped by the news in recent years.

To be honest, I am not a massive fan of art, or graffiti either but this is totally different! 5 STARS well deserved!

Colourful, vibrant, real, hopeful!, 24 May 2008
Persecuted in our fast and modern ways we thought the happiness will emerge eventually out of the individualistic work and the enhanced personal security. But instead of happiness we became fearful of the person next to us in such a way we caused depression.

We thought of a million ways to overcome the walls of our communication. Then Banksy, simply and quietly, used the language the humans always knew: "art". Using the freedom we always envy: "our walls". Exposing the obvious where political correctness or personal gain make us go silent: "graffiti".

Enjoy the book.

Banksy - a great summary of his work, 12 May 2008
The book summarizes his work pretty good. The new book (Banksy's Bristol - Home sweet home) does contain a lot of background stories - but this book just contains much more images and niece pieces of art.

Definitely a must-have, if you are interested in (stencil) graffiti.

There's Another Banksy, 25 Apr 2008
I have this book and absoluetly love it, it exaplains why he did it, how he did it and some of his experieces and anecdotes. The book is excellent to be able to see decent street art, but then I came across the person Bansky is inspired by. He is fairly unknown here in the UK but HE is BANKSY'S idol, he is called Blek Le Rat and he too has a book out, he is a 56 year old frenchman who has been doing the things Banksy has been doing for years longer, you can buy his book off amazon. I would say buy Banksy's book to see the British side of street art, but buy Blek Le Rat if you want to see the true inspiration behind Banksy's work.

brilliantly cool!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this book because im into graffiti, hip hop culture and art. Im doing a degree at the moment and thought it would be helpful, and im glad i did because not only is it funny and unique there is also a really clever message behind it all. If your considering buying it for influence with uni work or anthing like that then i seriously recommend it, if your just curious then its a really cool book to have.

Absolutely engrossing, 11 Oct 2008
This is a retelling of the Road House murder of 1860. The Kents - an outwardly conventional and respectable middle class family - are horrified to discover that three year old Saville has disappeared from his cot. He is soon found gruesomely murdered and his body dumped in the outside privy. The local police arrive and begin a somewhat haphazard investigation. They decline to ask any questions of the family in the belief that people of their class would be too genteel to be involved in murder. Later Detective Inspector Jonathan Whicher arrives from London. He soon suspects one of the Kent daughters but she is released by the court and Whicher generally castigated by all for his error.

Kate Summerscale has succeeded in writing a non-fiction book that reads like a modern detective story. Her research is obviously meticulous and she brings to life all the main characters as well as the social history of the time. Her references to Wilkie Collins, Dickens and Henry James all help to place Whicher at the heart of the developing interest in detective fiction. Even those who already know the story of the Road House murder will find this a page-turner.

But at the end we are still left with an enigma. Constance Kent - was she mad, bad or abused? We will probably never know the whole truth.



Padding out the story, 10 Oct 2008
Oh dear, what on earth were the judges thinking when they gave this book the Samuel Johnson Prize? It is a page-turner, I grant you, which is no doubt why it won the prize, and it's cleverly conceived, written in the style of a country-house murder, the genre it explores. But there have been many books on the Constance Kent case, perhaps the most famous murder in the Victorian era, and Summerscale has nothing new to say. Worse, the book is padded out with social history, elementary details that could have come directly from any one of countless history books on the shelves of Waterstones. In short, the book is not nearly as good as its many plaudits in the press and book prize judges think.

I absolutely disagree, 07 Oct 2008
This is the worst book I've read for a long time. "Pacey" is not the word - in fact I have trouble staying awake. The Author frequently digresses from the main plot (which, all told would take up less than a quarter of the book) to examine in detail things like excerpts from 3 different newspaper articles saying more or less the same thing, quotes from Sigmund Freud, Whichers' previous cases (which although interesting rarely add anything to the progression of the story), and anything else which could possibly hinder the sloppy storytelling.

Then we have the fact that the story teller sees fit to remind us at every opportunity of previous stated clues - something she doubtless decided the story needed with all the frequent asides. The book honestly reads like an academic work like a thesis rather than the story it claims.

Well researched? Yes. Well written? Action packed? Pacey? Indeed not. I would avoid this book, and I feel slightly angry that I was tricked by the back cover into thinking it was something it wasn't, and buying it.

The Emperor's New Clothes, 06 Oct 2008
I have to say that this book, although much touted, is not the wonder the reviewers in the UK media have made it out to be. Most of them know nothing about true crime and they have seized on this book as though it were the Holy Grail. It's dull and plodding, and suggestive of segments that I have read elsewhere. There are many books about the Constance Kent case ("Cruelly Murdered", "Saint - with Red Hands?" are two that instantly come to mind) which are a lot more informative than this book and as for Mr Whicher and Constance Kent , Dickens' letters to friends about this case is the best place for the media information of the time and a great novelist's take on the case - not this mind-numbing piece of self importance.

history of a murder, 03 Oct 2008
Simply brilliant book. The fascinating storylines, quality of research and the craftmanship with which they were woven together has made this one of the best books I've read this year. This book will please both popular history buffs and crime fiction afficnados. Will definately be on the lookout for Kate Summerscales next book.

Excellent book, 27 Sep 2008
I took this book on holiday with me and I feel a week by the pool is a perfect way to enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed the pace of this work. I felt it gave just the right amount of detail without dwelling on unimportant facts.

For me it was constantly enthralling. As a 23 year-old I certainly learnt a great deal. The detail is far greater than the BBC series that accompanied the book. My only doubt is whether had I lived through the times discussed I would have found it a little lightweight.

History at its best, 26 Sep 2008
I found this book a real pleasure to read. It is a penetrating and scholarly account of Britain's post-war history. It is brilliantly researched and beautifully written - the author has a good eye for the amusing bon mot - yet it deals in a balanced and sensible way with the key developments and personalities of the post-war era. If a better book has been published in the past year, then I have not come across it.

A future school textbook - and useful now., 29 Aug 2008
This book was updated for its paperback release and having read it carefully I suspect that many of the errors referred to by other reviewers were removed at that point. Having lived out of Britain for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, I found that I had much to learn from the pages - several large gaps in my knowledge were filled in.

I found it difficult to detect any signs of bias, and Andrew Marr's easy writing style made it a pleasure to read. This is almost as far removed from the dry history textbook that I wrestled with as a young student as it is possible to be. For anyone wanting a crash course on British modern history, this could not be bettered. Well researched and referenced, this deserves to become a standard.

I learnt all I should have at school, 26 Aug 2008
If I hadn't been taught some trendy (in the 1970's) History O Level course I may have learned some modern history and have subsequently been on catch up since!

This is the most readable book I have read covering the post war period and having seen the TV programme the writers voice is audible. It's a must read for a holiday (preferably with understanding people who don't want to talk very much as being interrupted reading won't go down too well)

A Superficial History of Modern Britain. , 12 Aug 2008
Andrew Marr's book is, if not a totally one-way glass facade, then certainly a pretty smeared window upon society that is clearly influenced by the naive, PC stupidity of those many refer to as the 'chattering classes'. Shallow and childlike. The professional intelligentsia, and their private armchair and public media imitators, will surely love it.

A great disappointment, 12 Aug 2008
Although 'Georgiana' is competently written and well-researched, I am frankly amazed that it has achieved such massive success and popularity since its first publication ten years ago. As other reviewers have pointed out, it perhaps fulfills a useful purpose in putting women back in the 'front-line' of the eighteenth-century political scene but, speaking for myself, I found the exhaustive discussion of the ups-and-downs of the Whigs and Tories tedious in the extreme and an almost total turn-off. This was doubly disappointing, since the rave reviews had led me to expect so much more.

Strangely enough, the most engaging part of the book was the introduction, in which the author writes with real verve and enthusiasm of how she was first 'introduced' to the duchess and how her sympathy and interest grew to such an extent that a full-length biography seemed to be the natural and inevitable conclusion. Would that this enthusiasm had percolated through to the rest of her work which I found to be both turgid and dull. Comparisons have already been drawn to the infinitely warmer, livelier and more approachable biographies of Flora Fraser, Claire Tomalin and Stella Tillyard. Being very familar with the writing of all these authors, and a great fan to boot, I am left to wonder why THIS work should be so celebrated, so well-regarded - and, sad to say, so completely over-hyped.

Engaging, 07 May 2008
I have given this review 5 stars because I think the book is well researched and an engaging read. It easily moves through the early life of the duchess (who originates in the Spencer family) and her movement through 'the ton'. The author clearly highlights the role of a women in the regency type period - feminism was unheard of and yet here we have a woman influencing politics and refusing to be constrained by her gender. The only negative comment I can make (and this is not a reflection on the book at all) is that I am not sure that I would like Georgiana very much and whilst I have sympathy for her loveless marriage, I find it hard to find empathy for a woman who lived in to such excess when many women of the era would have been grateful for a fragment of the fortune she had.

A brilliant read, but a bit over political, 03 May 2007
I found this book absorbing from the minute I picked it up. Amanda Foreman managed to mix the political elaments with the more social side of her life, to keep it interesting and to keep our attention. Even though I had been warned that it was heavily political, I still found it managable. However, as the book came towards the end, I felt that maybe Amanda Foreman was being pressed by her publishers to get it finished or maybe she was restricted to a limited word count. It seemed to become very rushed, brushing over elements in her life that I felt should have been covered, such as 'Little G's' wedding, both daughters' period of being debutante's and her sister Harriet's affairs, which saw her baring more illegitimate children, instead of only focusing on her political attributes. Maybe it was simply due to the fact that there are little surviving sources, but the fact that the last chapters are only appromimatly 10 pages long stays alot! Overall, It's a good read and I do recommend it, but be prepared to read alot about 18th Century politics.

An exhaustively researched yet highly accessible book, 09 Jan 2005
I found this absolutely compelling; I simply couldn't put it down. I found the politcal angle paticularly absorbing; the extra juice was just an added bonus! I also loved how Foreman points the reader to the ironies which pepper Georgina's life.It's really got me hooked on 18thc social and political history. I'm lucky enough to have a history degree, but this book is so accessible you don't need one; Foreman just guides through giving you all extra info without sounding patronising. This has to be the best researched biography I've read... if only my academic reading was as fun.

a well-crafted, sympathetic and vivid portrayal, 21 Dec 2001
Clearly well-researched, this biography of one of the eighteenth century's most enigmatic figures conveys vividly the tumultous world of eighteenth century politics alongside that of Georgiana's private life. A pioneer in women's involvement in politics, her role as a campaigner and society hostess placed her in the centre of the Whig party throughout its years of opposition; prominent men instinctively sought her advice. As well as highlighting G's pivotal political role, Foreman succeeds in capturing the moral ambiguity of the age in the private dilemmas her heroine faces: a hopeless addiction to gaming, her husband's mistress being her best friend, forcing to choose between her lover and her children etc. Although from an age difficult to empathise with, Foreman never the less makes G and her world instantly accessible. An Interesting and insightful read.

A Delight, 20 Sep 2008
This book is a delight, a gem. The original illustrations take the diaries beyond the mundane, and Thomas Livingstone's gentle humour enlivens the often dreary weather and seemingly constant worries over Agnes health. Zeplins, Chimneys, the wash house, news from the front, the ironing, the cost of coal..... all of life is here. You will love it!

Glasgow's WWI Kiss, 19 Sep 2008
Well, what a find, I am normally an avid veiwer of the Antiques Roadshow but must have missed the autumn 2007 episode at alnwick castle which featured the original MSS of these diaries, these are, I think unique, part facsimilie MSS part typeset, the diaries are illustrated throughout by Thomas Cairns Livingstone, a well to do Glasweigian shipping clerk, the diaries span the best part of 30 years, but here we have the best bits, the Great War years, plus a few entries for 1933, depression era (how spookily apt for today) I am a collector of WWI Diaries, I like seeing the great war from all angles, but I have never come across one like these, and i don't think there will be another set like these published, I can rave on about how superb they are, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, I am sure you will agree, it will be the best money you've ever spent, open the pages of Thomas Cairns livingstone's diaries and let him talk to you himself and be transported back to Post Edwardian Glasgow

Simply Outstanding!, 11 Aug 2008
Banksy's Wall and Piece is simply an amazing collection of his graffiti art all across the UK and the world. His unique style has won him international acclaim to fame. His artwork is not just vandalism but sends out a political statement which is bold and isn't afraid to mention things we would otherwise keep quiet. I first heard Banksy on a news website when he created another piece of work and then visited his website banksy.com, and since then fallen in love with his work. The other day I came across the book in a store and really enjoyed his collection of work. This is a must have book for any of those interested not just in art, but also those who have been shaped by the news in recent years.

To be honest, I am not a massive fan of art, or graffiti either but this is totally different! 5 STARS well deserved!

Colourful, vibrant, real, hopeful!, 24 May 2008
Persecuted in our fast and modern ways we thought the happiness will emerge eventually out of the individualistic work and the enhanced personal security. But instead of happiness we became fearful of the person next to us in such a way we caused depression.

We thought of a million ways to overcome the walls of our communication. Then Banksy, simply and quietly, used the language the humans always knew: "art". Using the freedom we always envy: "our walls". Exposing the obvious where political correctness or personal gain make us go silent: "graffiti".

Enjoy the book.

Banksy - a great summary of his work, 12 May 2008
The book summarizes his work pretty good. The new book (Banksy's Bristol - Home sweet home) does contain a lot of background stories - but this book just contains much more images and niece pieces of art.

Definitely a must-have, if you are interested in (stencil) graffiti.

There's Another Banksy, 25 Apr 2008
I have this book and absoluetly love it, it exaplains why he did it, how he did it and some of his experieces and anecdotes. The book is excellent to be able to see decent street art, but then I came across the person Bansky is inspired by. He is fairly unknown here in the UK but HE is BANKSY'S idol, he is called Blek Le Rat and he too has a book out, he is a 56 year old frenchman who has been doing the things Banksy has been doing for years longer, you can buy his book off amazon. I would say buy Banksy's book to see the British side of street art, but buy Blek Le Rat if you want to see the true inspiration behind Banksy's work.

brilliantly cool!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this book because im into graffiti, hip hop culture and art. Im doing a degree at the moment and thought it would be helpful, and im glad i did because not only is it funny and unique there is also a really clever message behind it all. If your considering buying it for influence with uni work or anthing like that then i seriously recommend it, if your just curious then its a really cool book to have.

Delightful book, 07 Sep 2008
This more than just a description of a museum. This is also a journey into the history of the natural sciences and a part biography as well. Well illustarted, Richard Fortey describes an institution that is trying hard (and succeeding if the new Darwin Centre is any guide)to move with the times, make science accesible to the public, yet has more going on behind the scenes than we could ever give credit.

Anyone who lives in or visits London should pay more than one visit to this marvelous place, and thanks to this book they will be well briefed as to what goes and has gone on there.

Absolutely engrossing, 11 Oct 2008
This is a retelling of the Road House murder of 1860. The Kents - an outwardly conventional and respectable middle class family - are horrified to discover that three year old Saville has disappeared from his cot. He is soon found gruesomely murdered and his body dumped in the outside privy. The local police arrive and begin a somewhat haphazard investigation. They decline to ask any questions of the family in the belief that people of their class would be too genteel to be involved in murder. Later Detective Inspector Jonathan Whicher arrives from London. He soon suspects one of the Kent daughters but she is released by the court and Whicher generally castigated by all for his error.

Kate Summerscale has succeeded in writing a non-fiction book that reads like a modern detective story. Her research is obviously meticulous and she brings to life all the main characters as well as the social history of the time. Her references to Wilkie Collins, Dickens and Henry James all help to place Whicher at the heart of the developing interest in detective fiction. Even those who already know the story of the Road House murder will find this a page-turner.

But at the end we are still left with an enigma. Constance Kent - was she mad, bad or abused? We will probably never know the whole truth.



Padding out the story, 10 Oct 2008
Oh dear, what on earth were the judges thinking when they gave this book the Samuel Johnson Prize? It is a page-turner, I grant you, which is no doubt why it won the prize, and it's cleverly conceived, written in the style of a country-house murder, the genre it explores. But there have been many books on the Constance Kent case, perhaps the most famous murder in the Victorian era, and Summerscale has nothing new to say. Worse, the book is padded out with social history, elementary details that could have come directly from any one of countless history books on the shelves of Waterstones. In short, the book is not nearly as good as its many plaudits in the press and book prize judges think.

I absolutely disagree, 07 Oct 2008
This is the worst book I've read for a long time. "Pacey" is not the word - in fact I have trouble staying awake. The Author frequently digresses from the main plot (which, all told would take up less than a quarter of the book) to examine in detail things like excerpts from 3 different newspaper articles saying more or less the same thing, quotes from Sigmund Freud, Whichers' previous cases (which although interesting rarely add anything to the progression of the story), and anything else which could possibly hinder the sloppy storytelling.

Then we have the fact that the story teller sees fit to remind us at every opportunity of previous stated clues - something she doubtless decided the story needed with all the frequent asides. The book honestly reads like an academic work like a thesis rather than the story it claims.

Well researched? Yes. Well written? Action packed? Pacey? Indeed not. I would avoid this book, and I feel slightly angry that I was tricked by the back cover into thinking it was something it wasn't, and buying it.

The Emperor's New Clothes, 06 Oct 2008
I have to say that this book, although much touted, is not the wonder the reviewers in the UK media have made it out to be. Most of them know nothing about true crime and they have seized on this book as though it were the Holy Grail. It's dull and plodding, and suggestive of segments that I have read elsewhere. There are many books about the Constance Kent case ("Cruelly Murdered", "Saint - with Red Hands?" are two that instantly come to mind) which are a lot more informative than this book and as for Mr Whicher and Constance Kent , Dickens' letters to friends about this case is the best place for the media information of the time and a great novelist's take on the case - not this mind-numbing piece of self importance.

history of a murder, 03 Oct 2008
Simply brilliant book. The fascinating storylines, quality of research and the craftmanship with which they were woven together has made this one of the best books I've read this year. This book will please both popular history buffs and crime fiction afficnados. Will definately be on the lookout for Kate Summerscales next book.

Excellent book, 27 Sep 2008
I took this book on holiday with me and I feel a week by the pool is a perfect way to enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed the pace of this work. I felt it gave just the right amount of detail without dwelling on unimportant facts.

For me it was constantly enthralling. As a 23 year-old I certainly learnt a great deal. The detail is far greater than the BBC series that accompanied the book. My only doubt is whether had I lived through the times discussed I would have found it a little lightweight.

History at its best, 26 Sep 2008
I found this book a real pleasure to read. It is a penetrating and scholarly account of Britain's post-war history. It is brilliantly researched and beautifully written - the author has a good eye for the amusing bon mot - yet it deals in a balanced and sensible way with the key developments and personalities of the post-war era. If a better book has been published in the past year, then I have not come across it.

A future school textbook - and useful now., 29 Aug 2008
This book was updated for its paperback release and having read it carefully I suspect that many of the errors referred to by other reviewers were removed at that point. Having lived out of Britain for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, I found that I had much to learn from the pages - several large gaps in my knowledge were filled in.

I found it difficult to detect any signs of bias, and Andrew Marr's easy writing style made it a pleasure to read. This is almost as far removed from the dry history textbook that I wrestled with as a young student as it is possible to be. For anyone wanting a crash course on British modern history, this could not be bettered. Well researched and referenced, this deserves to become a standard.

I learnt all I should have at school, 26 Aug 2008
If I hadn't been taught some trendy (in the 1970's) History O Level course I may have learned some modern history and have subsequently been on catch up since!

This is the most readable book I have read covering the post war period and having seen the TV programme the writers voice is audible. It's a must read for a holiday (preferably with understanding people who don't want to talk very much as being interrupted reading won't go down too well)

A Superficial History of Modern Britain. , 12 Aug 2008
Andrew Marr's book is, if not a totally one-way glass facade, then certainly a pretty smeared window upon society that is clearly influenced by the naive, PC stupidity of those many refer to as the 'chattering classes'. Shallow and childlike. The professional intelligentsia, and their private armchair and public media imitators, will surely love it.

A great disappointment, 12 Aug 2008
Although 'Georgiana' is competently written and well-researched, I am frankly amazed that it has achieved such massive success and popularity since its first publication ten years ago. As other reviewers have pointed out, it perhaps fulfills a useful purpose in putting women back in the 'front-line' of the eighteenth-century political scene but, speaking for myself, I found the exhaustive discussion of the ups-and-downs of the Whigs and Tories tedious in the extreme and an almost total turn-off. This was doubly disappointing, since the rave reviews had led me to expect so much more.

Strangely enough, the most engaging part of the book was the introduction, in which the author writes with real verve and enthusiasm of how she was first 'introduced' to the duchess and how her sympathy and interest grew to such an extent that a full-length biography seemed to be the natural and inevitable conclusion. Would that this enthusiasm had percolated through to the rest of her work which I found to be both turgid and dull. Comparisons have already been drawn to the infinitely warmer, livelier and more approachable biographies of Flora Fraser, Claire Tomalin and Stella Tillyard. Being very familar with the writing of all these authors, and a great fan to boot, I am left to wonder why THIS work should be so celebrated, so well-regarded - and, sad to say, so completely over-hyped.

Engaging, 07 May 2008
I have given this review 5 stars because I think the book is well researched and an engaging read. It easily moves through the early life of the duchess (who originates in the Spencer family) and her movement through 'the ton'. The author clearly highlights the role of a women in the regency type period - feminism was unheard of and yet here we have a woman influencing politics and refusing to be constrained by her gender. The only negative comment I can make (and this is not a reflection on the book at all) is that I am not sure that I would like Georgiana very much and whilst I have sympathy for her loveless marriage, I find it hard to find empathy for a woman who lived in to such excess when many women of the era would have been grateful for a fragment of the fortune she had.

A brilliant read, but a bit over political, 03 May 2007
I found this book absorbing from the minute I picked it up. Amanda Foreman managed to mix the political elaments with the more social side of her life, to keep it interesting and to keep our attention. Even though I had been warned that it was heavily political, I still found it managable. However, as the book came towards the end, I felt that maybe Amanda Foreman was being pressed by her publishers to get it finished or maybe she was restricted to a limited word count. It seemed to become very rushed, brushing over elements in her life that I felt should have been covered, such as 'Little G's' wedding, both daughters' period of being debutante's and her sister Harriet's affairs, which saw her baring more illegitimate children, instead of only focusing on her political attributes. Maybe it was simply due to the fact that there are little surviving sources, but the fact that the last chapters are only appromimatly 10 pages long stays alot! Overall, It's a good read and I do recommend it, but be prepared to read alot about 18th Century politics.

An exhaustively researched yet highly accessible book, 09 Jan 2005
I found this absolutely compelling; I simply couldn't put it down. I found the politcal angle paticularly absorbing; the extra juice was just an added bonus! I also loved how Foreman points the reader to the ironies which pepper Georgina's life.It's really got me hooked on 18thc social and political history. I'm lucky enough to have a history degree, but this book is so accessible you don't need one; Foreman just guides through giving you all extra info without sounding patronising. This has to be the best researched biography I've read... if only my academic reading was as fun.

a well-crafted, sympathetic and vivid portrayal, 21 Dec 2001
Clearly well-researched, this biography of one of the eighteenth century's most enigmatic figures conveys vividly the tumultous world of eighteenth century politics alongside that of Georgiana's private life. A pioneer in women's involvement in politics, her role as a campaigner and society hostess placed her in the centre of the Whig party throughout its years of opposition; prominent men instinctively sought her advice. As well as highlighting G's pivotal political role, Foreman succeeds in capturing the moral ambiguity of the age in the private dilemmas her heroine faces: a hopeless addiction to gaming, her husband's mistress being her best friend, forcing to choose between her lover and her children etc. Although from an age difficult to empathise with, Foreman never the less makes G and her world instantly accessible. An Interesting and insightful read.

A Delight, 20 Sep 2008
This book is a delight, a gem. The original illustrations take the diaries beyond the mundane, and Thomas Livingstone's gentle humour enlivens the often dreary weather and seemingly constant worries over Agnes health. Zeplins, Chimneys, the wash house, news from the front, the ironing, the cost of coal..... all of life is here. You will love it!

Glasgow's WWI Kiss, 19 Sep 2008
Well, what a find, I am normally an avid veiwer of the Antiques Roadshow but must have missed the autumn 2007 episode at alnwick castle which featured the original MSS of these diaries, these are, I think unique, part facsimilie MSS part typeset, the diaries are illustrated throughout by Thomas Cairns Livingstone, a well to do Glasweigian shipping clerk, the diaries span the best part of 30 years, but here we have the best bits, the Great War years, plus a few entries for 1933, depression era (how spookily apt for today) I am a collector of WWI Diaries, I like seeing the great war from all angles, but I have never come across one like these, and i don't think there will be another set like these published, I can rave on about how superb they are, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, I am sure you will agree, it will be the best money you've ever spent, open the pages of Thomas Cairns livingstone's diaries and let him talk to you himself and be transported back to Post Edwardian Glasgow

Simply Outstanding!, 11 Aug 2008
Banksy's Wall and Piece is simply an amazing collection of his graffiti art all across the UK and the world. His unique style has won him international acclaim to fame. His artwork is not just vandalism but sends out a political statement which is bold and isn't afraid to mention things we would otherwise keep quiet. I first heard Banksy on a news website when he created another piece of work and then visited his website banksy.com, and since then fallen in love with his work. The other day I came across the book in a store and really enjoyed his collection of work. This is a must have book for any of those interested not just in art, but also those who have been shaped by the news in recent years.

To be honest, I am not a massive fan of art, or graffiti either but this is totally different! 5 STARS well deserved!

Colourful, vibrant, real, hopeful!, 24 May 2008
Persecuted in our fast and modern ways we thought the happiness will emerge eventually out of the individualistic work and the enhanced personal security. But instead of happiness we became fearful of the person next to us in such a way we caused depression.

We thought of a million ways to overcome the walls of our communication. Then Banksy, simply and quietly, used the language the humans always knew: "art". Using the freedom we always envy: "our walls". Exposing the obvious where political correctness or personal gain make us go silent: "graffiti".

Enjoy the book.

Banksy - a great summary of his work, 12 May 2008
The book summarizes his work pretty good. The new book (Banksy's Bristol - Home sweet home) does contain a lot of background stories - but this book just contains much more images and niece pieces of art.

Definitely a must-have, if you are interested in (stencil) graffiti.

There's Another Banksy, 25 Apr 2008
I have this book and absoluetly love it, it exaplains why he did it, how he did it and some of his experieces and anecdotes. The book is excellent to be able to see decent street art, but then I came across the person Bansky is inspired by. He is fairly unknown here in the UK but HE is BANKSY'S idol, he is called Blek Le Rat and he too has a book out, he is a 56 year old frenchman who has been doing the things Banksy has been doing for years longer, you can buy his book off amazon. I would say buy Banksy's book to see the British side of street art, but buy Blek Le Rat if you want to see the true inspiration behind Banksy's work.

brilliantly cool!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this book because im into graffiti, hip hop culture and art. Im doing a degree at the moment and thought it would be helpful, and im glad i did because not only is it funny and unique there is also a really clever message behind it all. If your considering buying it for influence with uni work or anthing like that then i seriously recommend it, if your just curious then its a really cool book to have.

Delightful book, 07 Sep 2008
This more than just a description of a museum. This is also a journey into the history of the natural sciences and a part biography as well. Well illustarted, Richard Fortey describes an institution that is trying hard (and succeeding if the new Darwin Centre is any guide)to move with the times, make science accesible to the public, yet has more going on behind the scenes than we could ever give credit.

Anyone who lives in or visits London should pay more than one visit to this marvelous place, and thanks to this book they will be well briefed as to what goes and has gone on there.

a book about Barthes and not about photography, 06 Jul 2008
To get a feeling for this book read the most negative coments from reviews of his "Mythologies" and you'll be on the right track. Incorrect assertions are presented as fact. Incorrect conclusions are built on those assertions. Language is used to obfuscate rather than elucidate meaning (if you don't know those words don't even try to read Barthes). Actually, language appears to be used more to say "I am clever." Clever people communicate clearly, monsieur!

Unbearable, and you won't learn a thing about photography, which he more or less rejects in his opening chapters in favour of contemplating his own navel



I'm sure it's very good if I could only understand it, 12 Jul 2007
This book was recommended to me by a philosopher friend who thought I might enjoy it as I'm about to embark on a photography course. I'm not a serious academic, but I'm not an idiot either and I have to admit I found this a pretty tough read. I understood the general meaning, but felt the language and structure of the book meant that I missed out on being able to really appreciate what seems like quite an exceptional piece of work with some fascinating alternate views. I'd do your research on Barthes before you buy this to determine whether you might or might not be comfortable with his style, otherwise, give it a go - might just take a couple of reads!

A Classic in the Theory of Photography., 19 Sep 2000
Barthes wrote this book out of urge to discover the real nature of Photography. In the first part of the book he establishes his own system to do that. This system is based on two "cathegories" that Photography contains, studium and punctum. In the second part he wants to come closer to eidos, the nature of Photography. Therefor he takes one of his photographies, showing his mother as a child. Out of his emotions by this photography he builds the theory, often comparing it with another art, Film and sometimes also with Theatre. The book can also be recomended to wider public, not only philosophers, because it is written in a simple, understandable way, but is still opening some major questions regarding its subject.

When the eminent novelist and biographer Peter Ackroyd finished writing London: The Biography, he almost immediately had a heart attack, such was the effort of his 800-page work about the "human body" that is this most fascinating of cities. And not just any human body either, but "envisaged in the form of a young man with his arms outstretched in a gesture of liberation... it embodies the energy and exaltation of a city continually beating in great waves of progress and of confidence."

Probably there is no one better placed than Ackroyd--the author of mammoth lives of Dickens and Blake, and novels such as Hawksmoor and Dan Leno and the Lime House Golem which set singular characters against the backdrop of a city constantly shifting in time--to write such a rich, sinewy account of "Infinite London".

Ackroyd's London is no mere chronology. Its chapters take on such varied themes as drinking, s