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The Courtiers

Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court at Kensington Palace
by Lucy Worsley
The Courtiers: Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court at Kensington Palace. Walker. Aug. 2010. c.432p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8027-1987-4. $30. HIST
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In 1725, England's George I commissioned court painter William King to decorate the grand staircase of Kensington Palace. The resulting trompe l'oeil mural included 45 portraits of royal servants from clerks to maids of honor. Worsley (chief curator, Historic Royal Palaces; Cavalier: A Tale of Chivalry, Passion, and Great Houses) focuses on some of the portrayed figures as she tells the story of court life from 1714 to 1760, in the time of the battling father and son, George I and George II, German-speaking rulers brought to England with the demise of the Stuarts. Among those whose lives are followed: George II's mistress Henrietta Howard, who served as woman of the bedchamber to his tolerant wife, Queen Caroline; the beautiful maid of honor Molly Lepell, who ran off with resident court cynic John Hervey; a "wild boy" kept as a pet by the king; and George I's Turkish valets Mustapha and Mohammed.
VERDICT In contrast to Worsley's brilliantly organized, meticulously researched Cavalier, this book does not flow well; it is rambling and unfocused, a gossipy account of Hanoverian court life suitable for reading perhaps by some royal watchers but not likely to satisfy those most interested in the era.
Reviewed by Stewart Desmond, New York , Aug 01, 2010
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