THE KING WHO LOST AMERICA: A Portrait of the Life and Times of George III

by Alan Lloyd ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1971

Priggish, petulant and parsimonious, George III was not one of England's more glamorous kings. Amidst the elegant epicureanism of the late 18th century, he was a personal disaster and and his obstinate, dull-witted sanctimoniousness contributed in no small degree to the onset of the American Revolution. Such is the theme of Lloyd's spirited biography of the monarch who preferred (and was) ""homely and modest mediocrity."" To make up for dreary George, Lloyd lavishes his attention on various gay blade Whig sycophants and ministers, from Bute to Fox, on the fiery blackguard John Wilkes and on the King's innumerable brothers, sisters, and children (there were 15) all of whom wined, dined, gambled, hunted and bedded down with lusty exuberance. Lloyd, (The Spanish Centuries '68; Franco '69) treats George's succession of ill-starred Ministries from Bute to Grenville to Rockingham and Lord North with ""from bad to worse"" nonchalance and scant attention to economic and constitutional issues but manages to convey the vainglorious, self-seeking jobbery of the age with fidelity. No original research is evident but the French Wars, Irish Rebellions, the Gordon Riots and the nascent industrialism of the age are at least mentioned. Serious scholars will stick to Sir Lewis Namier but those wishing a light and pungent overview of the ""weak and inglorious reign"" of the King who lost America and went mad should find this rewarding despite the intrinsic limitations of the most boorish Hanoverian of them all.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION