An Elegant Madness: High Society In Regency England, by Venetia Murray

There is something striking about the way that the author frames the subject of this book. Taking a rather broad view of the Regency Era as extending from the first regency crisis to the death of George IV in 1830, just before the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832. Similarly, it is important to note that the author focuses on high society, the world of the ton (for those who are familiar with various fiction that involves this glittering and heavily immoral section of society), rather than the larger body of local elites who found themselves being patriotic and moral despite the corruption and violence of the age who nonetheless would not have had enough money to live a high life in London in season. The author, of course, even with narrowing the scope of the focus of the work to elites, has far too much material to work with, and so this book is highly selective in terms of what it covers, suiting the author’s interests more than the readers’, but even so this is a pretty good book.

A large part of the reason why is that the Regency is a compelling time of history, so even though this book is focused on the least interesting part of British society during the period (selfish and corrupt elites), there is still enough in this book that was really interesting to make it an enjoyable book. And I have to say, I was pleased that there was a lot to like, as it made this book a better one than it could have been even if it could have been a still better book. Books are not written for readers, though, they are written for writers, after which readers are sought or seek the book that springs from the creation. I have to think that this book springs from the desire to make a Bridgertonesque history that would capture the real history behind that series of novels and shows, and this book does the task very well. To be sure, the author has plenty of agendas to push and this book unsurprisingly pushes them, although it doesn’t make for a terrible book.

In terms of its contents, this book is about 300 pages long and divided into 13 chapters. The book begins with a list of illustrations, a preface, and acknowledgements. The author then discusses how it is that the elite society of Great Britain during the latter part of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century was such an impolite society (1). This is followed by a discussion of the bucks, beaus, and “pinks” (foppish sorts) of the ton (2). The author discusses the peak of the fashionable world, the places where elites would congregate and where it was necessary to be and thrive in if one wanted to have a great deal of high society influence (3). This discussion leads naturally into a talk about the cost of living, which was immensely high for those in high society, especially when compared with the comparative poverty of the populace as a whole (4). An entire chapter is spent on discussing the prosperity of London, which shaped the expenditures that elites made to lead London society (5). The author then discusses the subsidiary places where elites would congregate, from the Northern Meeting in Scotland to the seaside resorts like Brighton where elites also tended to congregate (6). The author touches on the subject of how mistresses tend to have it easier than wives (7), while also spending a chapter discussing the clubs and taverns that men tended to frequent during the period where it was easy to spend plenty of money in gambling and gluttony (8). This is followed by a discussion of the immense indulgence that occurred during the Regency period among elites (9), as well as the elites’ consistent and decadent pursuit of pleasure (10). There is a discussion of the charades and epigrams (shades of Emma) that were common in the way that elites enjoyed life in their country homes (11), as well as a discussion of the fashion, manners, and morals of the new Liberalism (12). The book ends with a discussion of Great Britain on the eve of reform (13), before closing with a selected bibliography, notes, and an index.