The King's Mistress: The True and Scandalous Story of the Woman Who Stole the Heart of George I

by Claudia Gold

King's The True and Scandalous Story of the Woman Who Stole the Heart of George I

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, 17th Century

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2012

Reviews

[Sharon Robards · Rating 3 out of 5]

It can sometimes be hard to rate non-fiction works read purely for research purposes. Firstly, I’m not a historian, but I did find this book a little frustrating at times when certain assertions were made, which contradicted other biographies or notes I’ve read on the subject of Georg Ludwig’s earlier life and relationship with his wife Sophia Dorothea and his family. Some of these papers are listed in the bibliography section of this work.

Although I concede the biography is about Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg, Georg Ludwig (King George I) mistress, there were often no footnotes that pinpointed evidence that certain assertions were true regarding the years prior to Ehrengard being presented at the Hanoverian court. I was especially interested in the years leading up to and the beginning of Ehrengard’s relationship with Georg Ludwig and never read beyond George’s relationship breakdown with his wife, Sophia Dorothea.

One example is it is stated that Klara Elizabeth von Meysenburg’s younger sister, Maria Catharina, was Georg Ludwig’s mistress briefly until she married Johann von dem Bussche, a Hanoverian army officer, when it is asserted in other biographys regarding the Hanoverians that Johann von dem Bussche was actually the tutor of Georg’s younger brother. There was another Johann von dem Bussche who was a minister for the Hanoverians and did feature in the divorce of Georg Ludwig and Sophia Dorothea’s divorce.

Ultimately, there were many times I wanted to be able to reference sources. Although there is an extensive bibliography section, I think this work would have been much more useful to researchers if it had of had many more notes and references to support the narrative and guide researches to the sources in the bibliography.

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting work on the relationship between George I and his mistress, Melusine von Schulenburg, and the succession of George to the throne of Great Britain in 1714. I only knew faint snippets of the story, and found the story of George's disgraced and discarded wife, Sophia Dorothea to be the stuff of tragedy. All sorts of interesting details about royal life at the time, the way illegitimate children were handled, and the shadowy world of the mistress. Four stars overall, and recommended.

For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Claudi...

[Anne Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kings Mistress By Claudia Gold

4.45 out of 5 a very good book full of information.

I do not usually read factual books, I have read one or two but I really enjoyed this one.

A complete history of the live of King George 1 mistress and her influence over the private life and political life of the Hanoverians and English of this period.

I got a little tangled with the different subjects taking the time period back again going over information again. But I really enjoyed the book and found the life and the stories of each person very interesting.

[Infosifter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a casual reader trying to pick up A bit of knowledge about the Georgian era, so I can't gauge the accuracy of statements made in the book. However, I found this interesting and informative and would recommend it on that level.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absorbing biography of George I and his mistress/wife?? Melusine and this particular First Georgian period.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had never heard of Melusine, and you don't really learn that much about her from this book, but it is still a fascinating and scandalous read that I really enjoyed and would recommend/.

[Michaela Hembling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hardly knew anything about this period in time and I found this book rather tricky to follow in parts, largely due to the similar names. I had to force myself to reach the end.

[Nishalini Rajasekar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a historical non-fiction of King George I, Britain's first Georgian King and his mistress, Melusine (later known as Duchess of Kendal) who exerted influence on political decisions during his time in power.

This book was absolutely informative as the author has also described the political structure as well as the role of women in the 1700s but the tone used was rather monotonous and boring. I felt that I was reading another plain history textbook where a more interesting tone would have made a difference.

Additionally, I found the chapter on the South Sea Bubble that gripped England in 1720 very remarkable where Robert Walpole played a crucial role as a savior from the financial ruin, saving England as well as the monarchy. The bubble in 1700s was apparently the largest stock market crash due to the fact that the South Sea Company was trading in futures, everything indefinable and nothing tangible and purely betting on finding gold and establishing trade in the New World (I would assume America). I believe this makes me wonder whether we have learnt any lesson at all from this event because the past has clearly repeated in recent times where greed has led to major financial collapses-Global Financial Crisis & European Sovereign Debt Crisis.

Overall, a good book to read if you are into historical events as the author has clearly done immense of research to illustrate the events in a very sequential manner.

[SewingandCaring · Rating 2 out of 5]

. It's a gigantic wall of text. The author just seems to let it pour out of her head and you find odd parts where one whole chapter is summed up in a paragraph a few chapters before it. I really wanted to like this book and it could have been great but it absolutely desperately needed a editor who could make sense of it all and put it in some sort of order. It is also utterly humourless, would have been a 3 but for that.

[Catherine Boardman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read,learnt lots about George I but very little about his Mistress.