Enfilade

From Pickering & Chatto:

Michael Kassler, Lorna Clark, Alain Kerhervé, and Peter Sabor, eds., Memoirs of the Court of George III, 4 vols., (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2015), c.1600 pages, ISBN: 978-1848934696, £350 / $625.

George III was one of the longest reigning British monarchs, ruling over most of the English-speaking world from 1760 to 1820. Despite his longevity, George’s reign was one of turmoil. Britain lost its colonies in the War of American Independence and the European political system changed dramatically in the wake of the French Revolution. Closer to home, problems with the King’s health led to a constitutional crisis. Charlotte Papendiek’s memoirs cover the first thirty years of George III’s reign, while Mary Delany’s letters provide a vivid portrait of her years at Windsor. Lucy Kennedy was another long-serving member of court whose previously unpublished diary provides a great deal of new detail about the King’s illness. Finally, the Queen herself provides further insights in the only two extant volumes of her diaries, published here for the first time.

The edition will be invaluable to scholars of Georgian England as well as those researching the French and American Revolutions and the history and politics of the Regency period more widely. It will complement the ongoing project, The Court Journals and Letters of Frances Burney (OUP).

• All texts are first-hand accounts from those close to George III and relate information on important events, including the American and French Revolutions and the King’s ‘madness’
• Two volumes are editions of previously unpublished manuscripts
• All the texts are rare and Queen Charlotte’s diaries are newly transcribed from the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle
• Editorial apparatus includes a general introduction, volume introductions, headnotes, footnotes and indexes to the texts

General Editor: Michael Kassler, Independent scholar
Volume Editor: Lorna J Clark, Carleton University
Volume Editor: Alain Kerhervé, University of Western Brittany
Consultant Editor: Peter Sabor, McGill University

Volume 1
The Memoirs of Charlotte Papendiek (1765–1840): Court, Musical and Artistic Life in the Time of King George III
Mrs Papendiek’s Memoirs record events at court from 1761—when the future Queen Charlotte came to England to marry King George—until 1792. The Papendieks knew many musicians, including John Christian Bach (son of Johann Sebastian), William Herschel (who became an astronomer) and Haydn. The memoirs also record meetings with artists of the day, such as Thomas Lawrence and Thomas Gainsborough. They are a unique resource, recording significant information about living conditions, dress, education and Anglo-German relations.

Volume 2
Mary Delany (1700–1788) and the Court of George III
Though she failed to become a handmaiden to Queen Anne, Mary Delany went on to become a figure at Court, eventually lodging at Windsor. This new edition of her correspondence during her years at Windsor presents previously unpublished letters as well as applying modern standards of editorial principles to her correspondence. The letters show the daily rituals of living at Court, document the first social steps of Fanny Burney and Mary Georgina Port, and supply new information on the family life of the royal family – including material on the assassination attempt against George III by Margaret Nicholson.

Volume 3
The Diary of Lucy Kennedy (1793–1816)
Lucy Kennedy (c.1731–1826), had an insider’s view of life in Windsor castle and of members of the Royal Family for fifty-three years. Her diary, preserved in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, has never before been published. In it she writes a moving account of the death of Princess Amelia which precipitated the final illness of George III and the Regency. Her observations of his symptoms are relevant for modern-day diagnoses of his malady.

Volume 4
The Diary of Queen Charlotte, 1789 and 1794
Queen Charlotte kept a diary in which she recorded her daily activities as well as those of George III and other members of the royal family. Only her volumes for 1789 and 1794 survive, in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. Her 1789 diary shows how the king’s illness and recovery impacted upon their lives. Both diary volumes provide hitherto unpublished information about court life and the royal family.