The Georgians in 100 Facts

Mike Rendell

• Publisher: Amberley Publishing
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781445647814
• Edition: 0
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: History

The Georgian era is known for its lavish fashions and sumptuous food, as well as being a time of great social and political change. It saw the birth of the Industrial Revolution, the abolition of the slave trade and the expansion of the British Empire throughout the world. It is also an era greatly associated with the Arts – prolific writers and artists such as Shelley, Wordsworth, Austen and Turner changed the British cultural landscape. History is not just about kings and queens, or battles lost and won, it is also about the way ordinary people lived and changed the world around them. Mike Rendell covers some of the weird and wonderful facts about the era, as well as debunking some of the myths, in easy-to-read, bite-size sections. Find out about the vicar who discovered aspirin and the man who made his fortune from a toothbrush, alongside the personal lives of the monarchy.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Introduction
• 1. George I Elevated Both the Maypole and the Elephant to the Peerage
• 2. Each King George Fell Out with His Son, Big Time
• 3. 1715 Was ‘Mar’d’ by Rebellion
• 4. The South Sea Bubble Led to Guy’s Hospital, but Newton Lost a Mint
• 5. Jenkins Lost an Ear and All Hell Broke Loose in Parliament
• 6. Reading the Riot Act Really Did Happen after 1715
• 7. The Grand Tour Brought Italy to Our Doorstep
• 8. Gin Was Sold by the Barrow – and Drunk by the Pint
• 9. The People Who Worked on Beaver Pelts Really Did Become ‘as Mad as a Hatter’
• 10. William Kent Was Considered to Be a Better Garden Designer than Architect
• 11. The Georgians Just Loved Joining Clubs
• 12. A Vicar Discovered Aspirin 2,000 Years after the Greeks Forgot It
• 13. Men Were Peacocks – from Macaronis to Dandies and Exquisites
• 14. The Georgians Drank an Awful Lot of Hot Drinks
• 15. Handel Gave Us Zadok, Water Music and Messiah
• 16. The Beggar’s Opera Made John Rich Gay and John Gay Rich
• 17. The Waters of Bath May Have Tasted Foul, but There Were Thousands of Takers
• 18. Mr Bramah Not Only Invented the Flush Toilet but a Lock to Go with It
• 19. Mr Addis Made Both a Toothbrush and a Fortune
• 20. Commodore Anson Hijacked a Ship and Brought Home a Fortune
• 21. If the Pox Didn’t Kill You, the Cure Definitely Would
• 22. The ’45 Rebellion Caused the Nine of Diamonds to Be Known as ‘the Curse of Scotland’
• 23. The ’45 Rebellion Led to the Ordnance Survey
• 24. The ’45 Rebellion Also Helped Improve Our Roads
• 25. At 282 Days, 1751 Was the Shortest Year on Record
• 26. The Seven Years War Didn’t Last Seven Years
• 27. Clive Was Amazed at His Own Moderation
• 28. The State Lottery Existed Long Before Camelot
• 29. The Lunar Society Had Lunarticks as Members
• 30. Print Shops Helped Turn the Famous into Celebrities
• 31. Cosmetics Were to Die For
• 32. John Wesley Agreed to Disagree
• 33. James Cook Never Lived to Enjoy Valentine’s Day
• 34. Coal Was King When George Was on the Throne
• 35. The East India Company Was a Superpower in Its Own Right
• 36. Laudanum Addicts Gave Way to Cokeheads
• 37. George III May Not Have Been Mad to Start with, but He Was by the End
• 38. The Chippendales Were Considered Wooden, but Polished
• 39. One Man Can Claim to Have Been the Father of Civil Engineering
• 40. Josiah Wedgwood Was Definitely Not Potty
• 41. Sir Joshua Reynolds Loved Painting Whores
• 42. ‘Snuffy Charlotte’ Helped Promote Brightly Coloured Hankies
• 43. Banknotes Were a Licence to Print Money
• 44. Bristol Blue Was Not West Country Pornography
• 45. With William Pitt It Really Was a Case of ‘Like Father, Like Son’
• 46. Charles Fox Was a Politician Who Gambled, Lost a Fortune, but Won Love
• 47. If Priestley Had His Way We Would All Be Breathing Dephlogisticated Air
• 48. The Poor Prayed ‘Give Us Our Daily Bread’ – but Many Went Without
• 49. Excessive Sugar Consumption Gave Dentists a Busy Time
• 50. Modern Horse Racing Traditions Started with the Georgians
• 51. Shoelaces Made Metal Workers Redundant
• 52. Manufacturers of Tinder Boxes and Flintlocks Hated Mr Walker
• 53. To Be Frank, It Was Never an Entire Necessity to Have an Envelope
• 54. ‘Capability’ Brown Destroyed More Gardens than Anyone Else Before or Since
• 55. ‘Get Off My Land!’ – the Enclosure Acts Drove the Rural Poor into Towns
• 56. Not All of His Inventions Involved Hot Air – James Watt Also Invented a Portable Copier
• 57. Paul May Have Been Revered by One George (Washington) but Never by Another (George III)
• 58. Mr Churchman Made Exceedingly Good Chocolate
• 59. Australia Was Never a Holiday Destination
• 60. Smugglers Loved War with France
• 61. Counterfeiting Coins Was Deadly
• 62. Global Cooling, Not Warming, Was a Hot Topic
• 63. Jethro Tull Never Played the Flute
• 64. Jane Austen Remained Anonymous Throughout Her Lifetime
• 65. Ketchup Was Never Red
• 66. Philip Astley Never Ran Away to Join the Circus
• 67. One Man Links Both ‘Rule Britannia!’ and ‘God Save the King!’
• 68. Carlton House Was a Palace Fit for a Prince, but Not for a King
• 69. Pope Joan Was Extremely Popular
• 70. The Prince of Wales Caused a Tartan Mania
• 71. Bridges Didn’t Last Forever
• 72. There Were Various Attempts to Assassinate George III
• 73. James Cox Had a Museum That Everyone Wanted to See
• 74. One Man Doubled the Size of the Solar System
• 75. Everyone Looked to the Skies in 1784 – and Many Had Their Pockets Picked
• 76. Everyone Had Their Favourite Hobby in 1819
• 77. Dr Johnson Had the Last Word in Lexicography
• 78. Matthew Boulton Made a Mint – the Royal Mint
• 79. Buckingham Palace Was the Queen’s House
• 80. Mary Wollstonecraft Was the Mother of Frankenstein
• 81. Hannah More Showed That Women Counted – and Could Read Too, If Schooled
• 82. Admission to Almack’s Was the True Mark of Social Status
• 83. The Lord Mayor’s Carriage Has Not Needed an MOT or a Road Licence in 250 Years
• 84. Merlin Invented the Roller Skate, but Not the Brake for It
• 85. Thomas Clarkson Was the True Father of Abolition
• 86. All That Glittered Was Not Necessarily Gold, or Silver
• 87. A Small Fishing Village Called Brighthelmstone Became Fashionable Brighton
• 88. It Was No Fun Being an Animal
• 89. There Were Two Brunels, and One of Them Was Georgian
• 90. Edward Jenner, Smallpox Pioneer, Was an Authority on the Cuckoo
• 91. Nelson Was a Legend in His Own Lifetime
• 92. Nelson Wanted the Nation to Look After Emma, but after Trafalgar, It Didn’t
• 93. War with France Meant Income Tax and High Inflation
• 94. Napoleonic War Medals Were Awarded Rather Late
• 95. Gas Lighting Enabled Factory Staff to Work Shifts
• 96. You Couldn’t Have Had an Industrial Revolution Without Mr Maudslay’s Nuts and Bolts to Hold It Together
• 97. The Queen Was Barred at Bayonet Point from Entering the Abbey
• 98. Only the Rich Got Divorced
• 99. Dr Buchan’s Work Meant That Anyone Could Recognise a Buboe
• 100. We Nearly Had Queen Charlotte and Not Queen Victoria