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Review
'Superlative . . . a thoughtful, absorbing and hugely diverting book. Besides an astute biography, we get a panorama of the times. Lushly illustrated, carefully researched and intelligently argued, this biography will entertain and enlighten.'
(George Walden, Daily Mail )'A magnificent, fantastic read: all the wonders of that incomparable age touched on with mastery.' (Stephen Fry )
'Finely written and beautifully illustrated.'
(Frances Wilson, Literary Review )'Lush, funny, exhaustively researched and beautifully written. Profound . . . The reader will want neither the book, nor the intriguing life it recreates, to come to an end.'
(Herald )'Splendid . . . What makes this book much more than just a relaxed, racy biography is the way its author brings to life not just the man but also the time in which he lived.'
(The Sunday Times )'Hugely readable'
(James Dellingpole, The Times )'Ian Kelly captures the sadness and frustration that lay behind the glamour; his book is elegant and scrupulously researched, with an admirable feeling for the age . . . sensitively narrated.'
(Spectator )'A wonderful melange of social history and biography. Vibrant, witty and fact-packed . . . something of a tour-de-force.'
(Claire Harman, Sunday Telegraph )'Beautifully illustrated . . . destroys the myths. This is the only book you need to read if you want to know the whole truth about Brummell.'
(Telegraph )'Ian Kelly's magisterial, utterly gripping life of George 'Beau' Brummell is parable for modern times . . . a vivid evocation of Georgian London.'
(Philip Hoare, Independent )'Exhaustive. Every detail of Brummell's career has been exhaustively researched with the skill of a professional historian.'
(Scotsman )'Kelly tells Brummell's tale chronologically and with empathy, in prose well worthy of his aesthetic subject: "Opalescent in its small perfection." Beautifully formed and dressed, this is biography at its best.'
(The Times )Daily Telegraph, 15th October 2005
This is the only book you need to read if you want to know the whole truth about Brummell.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
With this biography of Beau Brummell, Ian Kelly has achieved that rarest of things - a biography which is unputdownable. In Kelly's hands, the story of Beau Brummell - son of a civil servant in Lord North's regime, a boy of humble origins who made briefly made good before ending his days ravaged by syphilis in a French lunatic assylum - is more readable than any novel I've read in the last few months. The rise and fall of Beau Brummell is described with wit, charm and verve - in short, with all the trademarks of the Beau himself. Beyond this, Kelly has produced an in-depth description of one of the most fascinating ages in our history - the tail end of the 18th Century and the lavish excesses of the Regency period.
Parallels between Brummell and any one of our current celebrities, who are famous merely for dressing nicely and going to parties, are subtly drawn but inescapable. Of course, Brummell had more class in his fingernail than Paris Hilton, say, could even dream of achieving, and the style of dressing that he pioneered will surely outlive any of our modern starlets with their gigantic sunglasses and tiny chihauhaus. But for a cautionary lesson in the transitory nature of fame, our 21st Century It girls and boys could do worse than look to poor Beau Brummell.
Be that as it may, this book is a must read for anyone with even the slightest interest in fame, fashion or British social history. You won't be disappointed.
Parallels between Brummell and any one of our current celebrities, who are famous merely for dressing nicely and going to parties, are subtly drawn but inescapable. Of course, Brummell had more class in his fingernail than Paris Hilton, say, could even dream of achieving, and the style of dressing that he pioneered will surely outlive any of our modern starlets with their gigantic sunglasses and tiny chihauhaus. But for a cautionary lesson in the transitory nature of fame, our 21st Century It girls and boys could do worse than look to poor Beau Brummell.
Be that as it may, this book is a must read for anyone with even the slightest interest in fame, fashion or British social history. You won't be disappointed.
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Beau Brummell by Ian King should be required reading for any interested in the Regency or the ton. King shines a brilliant light on the period from the masculine perspective. His thorough and painstaking research illuminates the life and times of one of the most influential men of the period. It is a treasure trove of detail, and insight into not only Brummell, but also the men and women who surrounded him.
If you enjoy Georgette Heyer or indeed Regency romance, you will find this book fascinating.
If you enjoy Georgette Heyer or indeed Regency romance, you will find this book fascinating.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was telling a friend about reading this fascinating book on this fascinating person. He did not know who Beau Brummell was, and when he asked me, I found myself a bit stunned. Who was he, for a person living in Finland in the year 2006? What did he achieve, something that was lasting and meaningful? I stuttered something about his having been the leading arbiter of fashions in Regency London and a close friend of the Prince Regent, and that he had had massive influence on men's clothing and is the ultimate reason to why men still wear white shirts and why black is the colour of choice for men's evening-wear. I could see my friend wasn't satisfied.
After reading this book through I might have been able to answer more fully. Beau Brummell was a singular character who had great consequence in the highest circles of the British society in the Regency period without having a noble birth or high connections to recommend him. This he achieved, as far as I understand it, solely on the weight of his personality. To be sure, he had quite a lot of money, to begin with; but then, so had many others. His father was not a nobleman but a political careerist who amassed himself a fortune for his children to inherit; his grandfather was a valet. Brummell had received his education at Eton, which was certainly a help; it was also most providential that he came (as a younger son, too) into a part of his father's money as a young adult when he was just finding out what he wanted to do. He wanted to see, and to be seen.
In a way, Beau Brummell was in the beginning of his fame much like Jane Austen's Emma: handsome, clever, and rich. Blessed with a lively intelligence, with a way with words and lots of humour, with good looks, an unwavering self-esteem and as unwavering a belief in his own abilities, and an unerring eye for style, he was certain to catch everybody's eye, including that of the Prince of Wales. He did not imitate anybody, he created a style for himself that others started to imitate. His primary goal was not to be publicly accepted by the unintelligent hordes, but somehow he became the person by whom you had to be accepted if you wanted to be accepted at all. Everybody thought he was infallible when fashion and style were concerned, and the fundamental reason for this must have been that he believed in his own infallibility so strongly himself and never questioned his own taste.
Ian Kelly describes this fascinating person most interestingly, and whenever possible, he lets Brummell himself and his friends speak. What is totally absorbing in this book is the minute analysis of the life-style and attitudes of the people in Brummell's circles. For a dedicated georgetteheyerologist like myself this is a fount of riches, and I respect Georgette Heyer's knowledge of detail now even more than before. Every author of Regency period romances should read Kelly's book, at least, so as to avoid many most embarrassing errors when they try to invest their work with period "facts".
And to all this I must add that Ian Kelly writes with a most readable flow. As inane as it may sound, it was really hard to put this book down before having finished it, and I was lucky to have been on a vacation when reading it, so I could read it as long as I liked. Thank you, Ian Kelly, for this pleasure.
After reading this book through I might have been able to answer more fully. Beau Brummell was a singular character who had great consequence in the highest circles of the British society in the Regency period without having a noble birth or high connections to recommend him. This he achieved, as far as I understand it, solely on the weight of his personality. To be sure, he had quite a lot of money, to begin with; but then, so had many others. His father was not a nobleman but a political careerist who amassed himself a fortune for his children to inherit; his grandfather was a valet. Brummell had received his education at Eton, which was certainly a help; it was also most providential that he came (as a younger son, too) into a part of his father's money as a young adult when he was just finding out what he wanted to do. He wanted to see, and to be seen.
In a way, Beau Brummell was in the beginning of his fame much like Jane Austen's Emma: handsome, clever, and rich. Blessed with a lively intelligence, with a way with words and lots of humour, with good looks, an unwavering self-esteem and as unwavering a belief in his own abilities, and an unerring eye for style, he was certain to catch everybody's eye, including that of the Prince of Wales. He did not imitate anybody, he created a style for himself that others started to imitate. His primary goal was not to be publicly accepted by the unintelligent hordes, but somehow he became the person by whom you had to be accepted if you wanted to be accepted at all. Everybody thought he was infallible when fashion and style were concerned, and the fundamental reason for this must have been that he believed in his own infallibility so strongly himself and never questioned his own taste.
Ian Kelly describes this fascinating person most interestingly, and whenever possible, he lets Brummell himself and his friends speak. What is totally absorbing in this book is the minute analysis of the life-style and attitudes of the people in Brummell's circles. For a dedicated georgetteheyerologist like myself this is a fount of riches, and I respect Georgette Heyer's knowledge of detail now even more than before. Every author of Regency period romances should read Kelly's book, at least, so as to avoid many most embarrassing errors when they try to invest their work with period "facts".
And to all this I must add that Ian Kelly writes with a most readable flow. As inane as it may sound, it was really hard to put this book down before having finished it, and I was lucky to have been on a vacation when reading it, so I could read it as long as I liked. Thank you, Ian Kelly, for this pleasure.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Effortless Absorption of History
I'm sorry I didn't get to Ian Kelly's book on Brummel as soon as it came out - it immediately enhanced my lifelong enjoyment and appreciation of Georgette Heyer. Read more
Published 3 months ago by JudithSansom
Useful Resource
This is a really eye opening view into the times of the Regency period. Although the book is about Beau Brummell, the insight into the way society worked, Brummell's place in it... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Riven
An Insight into Brummells World
The book is not only a biography of the life of a man who could be called the first celebratly, but is also filled with insights into the world he inhabited. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Becky
An utter original
This is a fantastic biography of a figure I was only vaguely aware of. You would think that Brummell would be a one-hit wonder from the cliched references to him that occur in... Read more
Published 15 months ago by SAP
Unsurpassable
Immensely readable
Ian Kelly has done what few biographers have the talent for, brought to life a notoriously idle snob and his period. Read more
Ian Kelly has done what few biographers have the talent for, brought to life a notoriously idle snob and his period. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Victor Atkins
Leap of faith
Very interesting details about Brummell and Georgian/Regency London. Parallels with modern celebrity culture quite striking. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Gordon
Beloved Dandy
Crammed full of interesting information and detail of a London era unlike any other. This fascinating man's life is built up in context with London and the standards of the time... Read more
Published on 11 May 2010 by K. Wright
Totally Absorbing!
I am only a quarter the way through but I can say already that this is one of the best biographies I have read. Read more
Published on 31 May 2009 by Mrs. J. L. Porter
A dandiacal masterpiece
A great book and a fantastic read suitable for those who know nothing about George Bryan "Beau" Brummell, or for those who have an interest in the enthralling life of the ultimate... Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2008 by M. Mallia
'The' book on Brummell
Brummell, as far as I can tell, didn't do a days work in his life, gambled his inheritence, borrowed from friends and fled to France when his debts caught him up. Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2006 by C. M. CHOWN
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