Gorgeous Georgians covers English history from 1714 until Queen Victoria's ascension in 1837 (Yes, the reign of King William IV is being counted.) As usual with the Horrible Histories books, this one is funny with funny illustrations.

I've seen the Georgian Makeover verses 1, 2, 4, 5-7, & 10 (with some differences in wording) sung on a video from the British TV show. It was interesting to read verses 3, 8, & 9 in this book. I don't blame the singer for skipping the third one. Ew.
As for the men's fashions, I knew some of it from the amusing romance novels of Georgette Heyer. (If you've ever wondered about why Yankee Doodle called the feather he stuck in his cap 'macaroni,' you'll be able to infer it from this section.)

This book also taught me something about the pat-a-cake rhyme in the section on Georgian cooking. It includes a recipe for strawberry fritters, which I didn't try.

Daniel Defoe's seven classes of English inhabitants was pretty sad if one wasn't a member of classes three through one. The life of children and women of the period wasn't so great, either. The early Prime Ministers didn't sound so great, particularly Lord North.

If you enjoy reading about true crime, there's a section on that which includes highwaymen. We get the generally accepted story for Dick Turpin, Rob Roy MacGregor, and Blackbeard before the less pleasant truth. There's also information about pirates in general, and punishments during the Georgian period.

There's a section on bodysnatchers. The one on Georgian doctors and Georgian cures made me glad not to be living then. (I confess that I did not guess which one among ten cures listed was a fake. It sounded just as weird as the others, except for the one I knew was true.) Poor King George III underwent some pretty nasty attempts to cure his insanity.

I'd just as soon skip all of the Georgian games mentioned except the jingling match, which seems pretty harmless. The Georgian slang quiz I failed miserably.

The section on revolutions of the period introduced me to a heroine I'd never read about before: Jemima Nicholas of Wales. How she and some other women terrified some drunk French soldiers into surrendering was good reading! I knew about Luddites, of course, but not that the Ned Ludd from whom they got the name wasn't one of them. The Peterloo Massacre was very sad, especially that poor baby.

The last two sections before the index are a test and a quiz. I didn't do well with either, but I enjoyed reading them anyway.

Yes, I recommend this book as a painless way to learn about aspects of history usually ignored. ( )

Horrible Histories are automatic 4s. Love them! ( )

READ IN ENGLISH

I've always been a great fan of the BBC historical sketch show Horrible Histories. So, when I found these books in a London book-store, I was really excited and my sister and I bought about 8 books *oops*.

I don't want to read them all in a row, because then I will run out far too soon. So, this is my fourth HH book since August.

I really liked it, and on the way even learned some things about those Gorgeous Georgians. ( )

Making history interesting for children can be a challenge...focusing on the more horrible side is one way to get them reading and history. This book focuses on the harder side of the Georgian era in England. If you're 10, I suppose this book is alright although I have to admit, I don't think I'd let my kid read it. For one thing, there is misinformation - at one point, where the author discusses how false teeth were made with human teeth, he adds that George Washington had wooden teeth. While I agree that myth has been around for many years, it is, in fact, false. Washington's many sets of false teeth were made from a combination of hippo ivory, real teeth, and metal fasteners. At another point, while discussing King George III's trouble with the American colonists, the author makes a remark about how the Americans wanted to be "free to kill Native Americans and steal their land..." followed by idiotic comments about hamburgers and cowboys. I would point out that it was British citizens who killed Native Americans and stole their land. All in all, I wasn't a fan. ( )

Refreshingly not politically correct. Loved the comic strips which rendered perfectly well on my Kindle. I was most interested in the Scottish history (e.g. Jacobite Rebellion) and the personal hygiene and fashion of the period. Had I still been a child I'm sure I'd have given this 5 stars. The only one I read and enjoyed back then was [b:The Vile Victorians|120816|The Vile Victorians|Terry Deary|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171830561s/120816.jpg|116331]. ( )