The Regency Years

Starred review from February 18, 2019
In this delightful history, literary scholar Morrison argues that England’s Regency period (1811–1820) was “perhaps the most extraordinary decade in all of British history,” and “marked the appearance of the modern world.” In support of this position, Morrison surveys the brief epoch from a variety of perspectives, asserting that it was characterized by many of the contradictions of the Prince Regent’s own personality. English society’s criminal underworld exploited vast economic and political inequities; many others, from the Luddites who smashed the machines that took their jobs, to the radical poet Percy Shelley, attempted to redress them. Pleasure-seekers savored new opportunities for shopping, dancing, gambling, drinking, and sports, and Lord Byron became both a revered literary artist and the icon of the nascent celebrity culture. As the libertinism of the 18th century gave way to the puritanism of the Victorian era, some English men and women experimented with new types of sexual identities, despite the social censure and even capital punishment they risked. At the decade’s end, England was a very different place than it had been at its beginning, and Morrison’s lively and engaging study not only illuminates these many and rapid changes, but convincingly argues that “its many legacies are still all around us.”

March 1, 2019
A lively new chronicle brings crisp focus to a significant decade in British history and culture.Morrison (Queen's National Scholar/Queen's Univ., Kingston, Ontario; The English Opium Eater: A Biography of Thomas De Quincey, 2010) declares that there has not been a study on the Regency in three decades, which is extraordinary given that it is a wildly popular era of study, a time when the quintessential elements of modern Britishness emerged. The short period between 1811 and 1820, when an incapacitated George III ceded to his son, the prince of Wales, brought enormous political turmoil: triumph over Napoleon at Waterloo, Irish famine, roiling Scottish politics, and the War of 1812 across the Atlantic. It also witnessed rich innovations in culture, such as the efflorescence of novelists Jane Austen and Walter Scott; the revolutionary work of poets John Keats, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge; and the radical movements against the industrial inequities of Regency society. Morrison proceeds thematically, launching first into the country's poor systems of crime and punishment, as exemplified by the so-called "Bloody Code," which meted out the death penalty for more than 200 major and minor crimes, even to children. The author explores the era's expanding displays of sexual expression within stringent boundaries ("prudery brigades" would triumph during the later Victorian era) as well as underscoring the era's many sexual anxieties, some of which were symbolized in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Morrison also looks at the period's fresh inventions, technologies, and ideas to improve the human condition--e.g., the miner's safety lamp, a prototype for the computer, and the work of the first prison reformer (Elizabeth Fry) and environmental activist (John Clare). During this time, England continued to expand the empire, and internal unrest and economic despair prompted tens of thousands of citizens of Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales to flee to Canada and the United States.Morrison expertly encapsulates the brief, radical trends and movements of this era of "intense sociability."

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April 1, 2019

The Regency Period in Britain (1811-20) represented a brief period of nine years during which King George III was considered unfit to rule because of his mental illness, and his son, George IV, ruled as Prince Regent in his place. Despite its short length, the Regency impacted style and culture, owing to the rise of literary figures and influence of overseas wars. Morrison (The Regency Years) explores British culture, and the empire's larger influence as it's power extended through trade to other areas of the world. Of note, Morrison pays special attention to how the character and interests of the Prince Regent himself influenced these areas. Known for his affairs and with a large appetite and girth, as well as his love of theater and other cultural pursuits, the Prince Regent was loved by the nobles and lampooned by most everyone else. The author shows how his balance of cultural interests paired with a lack of interest in ruling made him such a polarizing figure. VERDICT An intriguing discussion on the finer and more fascinating aspects of the Regency period that will appeal to history buffs, particularly those curious about European and British history.--Stacy Shaw, Denver

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2019
In this ambitious survey, literature scholar Morrison (The English Opium-Eater, 2010) highlights the patterns linking the Regency period with our own time, presenting the era of country dances and Luddites, gin lanes and the War of 1812 as the germ of our "desiring, democratic, secular, opportunistic society." He casts his net widely among economic, social, cultural, and political topics, describing how, then as now, the events of the day inspired widespread concern and debate about concentration of political power and the complex impacts of economic change. He also identifies other patterns in Regency society that echo our own. Understandings of sexuality, sexual expression, and relationships were evolving, including the presence of recognizably modern gay and lesbian identities. Pioneers of civil disobedience foreshadowed the nonviolent resistance of the twentieth century, and aided by new printing technologies, celebrity culture was beginning to emerge. With such touchstones, Morrison gathers a broad range of topics into a strong, cohesive, and fast-moving narrative. An excellent introduction for readers new to the period and a fresh take for Regency enthusiasts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)