The Unruly Queen

To be honest, I wouldn't select Caroline of Brunswick to be my best friend. Still, the literal trial she faced from an adulterous husband who had the gall to accuse her of adultery after making her life miserable for over twenty years has enough sexist undertones to make me furious. Caroline and her husband George IV of Great Britain (perhaps better known as the Prince Regent) are both frustrating figures. Temperamentally unsuited to each other, the couple managed to not get along in a rather spectacular fashion. This biography of Queen Caroline chronicles the struggles of that unhappy marriage against the background of Europe during the Napoleonic wars. The era is fascinating and Caroline's story is but one of many interesting tales to show more emerge from the early nineteenth century. If you're intrigued as I am about this period, this is definitely a good book to read. show less

Biography of the consort of George IV, who, like her husband, had a rather troubled and turbulent life. The biography is generally, though not exclusively, sympathetic to Caroline, and quite justifiably rakes George IV over the coals for his selfishness and greed. Somewhat surprisingly, George III comes off sympathetically as well. Overall, not one of the royal family's better interludes.

Read for the December 2016 theme of the Reading Through Time Group as a Regency Era book.

This is a book which I probably would never have bought except that I saw it in excellent condition for $5 while browsing at a used book store a couple of years or more ago. What attracted me at the time was the author, the daughter of Antonia Fraser and sister of the Brontëan Rebecca Fraser.

What I found particularly interesting is the portrayal of Henry Brougham, at the time of Queen Caroline a member of the House of Commons but who would eventually become Lord Chancellor in the Whig government of Earl Gray. Flora Fraser's depiction of Brougham (he was one of Queen Caroline's lead legal counsel) is much less favorable than Antonia Fraser's show more depiction of him in Perilous Question: Reform or Revolution? Britain on the Brink, 1832, where Brougham acts as a leading proponent of the (electoral) Reform Act of 1832. The contrast is appropriate, though, as Flora Fraser notes Brougham's brilliance as a proponent of electoral reform as well as abolitionism while stressing his opportunistic conduct as a lawyer.

My interest in Brougham was stimulated by reading Harriet Martineau's Autobiography, specifically, the first volume, in which Martineau name-drops Brougham on several occasions. show less

I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I didn't get on with this. Tells of Queen Caroline, who was both hard done by and not terribly sympathetic. I can't say I found this a great read, but that's probably the subject rather than the writing.

Really well researched book. The total might be a bit overwhelming!

2979 The Unruly Queen: The Life of Queen Caroline, by Flora Fraser (read 11 May 1997) The author is the daughter of the famed author Antonia Fraser and this book is the biography of Caroline, wife of King George IV. She was born 17 May 1768 in Brunswick and died 7 Aug 1821 at Brandenburg House, Southwark, England. Some parts of the book drug, since there is an awful lot of material and Caroline's life for quite awhile was not very interesting. But the closing chapters are very good, and tell well the amazing story of the trial--still fresh in my mind from reading on 14 July 1973 Roger Fulford's The Trial of Queen Caroline. This book turned out to be well worth reading despite its sometimes exhausting detail.