As featured in: Recommended Reading

Cambridgeshire Country Life Magazine

All Things Georgian: Tales from the Long Eighteenth Century is full of all the drama, scandal, and gossip that I love about the long eighteenth-century. We meet a whole host of colourful characters in this superb book by Joanne Major and Sarah Murden, which is based on the author’s popular blog. It is roughly set out in chronological order of the Georgian Era. The book is packed with over 100 colour images of paintings and illustrations (many full page) which really help immerse you in the time period.

The fascinating tales in this book feature people from all walks of life and a lot of important topics are highlighted, such as: mental health, how women were treated in comparison to men, and how those that were perceived differently from the rest of society were put on exhibition. Tales include Sarah Wallen - a bonesetter, Sir Joseph Banks the lothario, the story of Lady Wilbrahammon - who managed to fool people into believing she was a gentlewoman and duped them into giving her money. We also briefly journey over to Versailles, to visit the ill-fated Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Other stories I particularly enjoyed were The Norwich Nymph: A Female Jockey, and the tragic story of Caroline Crachami: The Sicilian Fairy. I hadn’t previously heard of a lot of the tales in this book, which was refreshing. It was lovely to learn about new people from one of my favourite eras. Each story is relatively short, which makes it the perfect book to dip in and out of. I enjoyed reading them at the end of each day!

I can imagine that if you weren’t already enthralled by the 18th century, you certainly would be after reading this book! A lot of these people and their stories may otherwise have been lost to history and forgotten forever if Joanne and Sarah hadn’t included them in All Things Georgian: Tales from the Long Eighteenth Century. This book was an absolute joy to read and it would make an excellent Christmas gift. Pen and Sword books are always beautiful and of excellent quality.

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Lifelong History Lover

The authors have brought the Georgian era of change to life with these amazing happenings and entertaining characters. As many family historians are able to trace their ancestry back to the middle of the 18th century, as well as an entertaining read, this book will go a long way towards providing an informed historic background in which their ancestors lived.

Essex Family Historian, December 2020

"All in all it is a well-written, beautifully presented group of vignettes about Georgian society but one that left me wanting a little bit more."

Review by

Family and Community Historical Research Society

This book is written by the authors of the popular blog ‘All Things Georgian’ and takes the reader on a romp through the long eighteenth-century in a collection of 25 short vignettes. Topics covered are rich and varied, from an annual sculling race to the French court at Versailles. In roughly chronological order, and covering the reign of the four Georges, 1714-1830, the stories are brought to life by over 100 stunning colour illustrations. A delightful book to dip into!

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Julian Stockwin Blog

It is a very entertaining read, and gives some idea of the society that was able to fight a series of near constant wars, peaking with the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

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History of War

The co-authors, who have three biographies already under their belts, are talented at making history accessible to all and this compendium of colourful tales in no different. It includes a timeline of relevant events and family trees of the entirely real characters involved, from the legendary right down to the long-forgotten celebrities of the day. Fun and informative.

Family Tree, October 2019– reviewed by Karen Clare

Oof, it's much more mad, plighty, and expositionary than I thought it might be with its individual, colorful stories (and many portraits, landscapes, and caricatures) of crazy firsts, public exhibitions, grand tragedy, advancements in science, but most of all, larger-than-life personalities who shine bright with fame and/or notoriety before fading into legends.

GoodReads, Kristine

Featured in 'The best of this month's Hertfordshire-linked books and book news'

Hertfordshire Life, September 2019

This book covers well-known and lesser-told tales from the long 18th century, a period I am fascinated by. It was a time of increasing education, literacy and newspapers to record events for the newly literate to read. And there were, oh, so many scandals to read about.

This book is highly illustrated with photographs of images from the time. The writing is easy to read and has enough depth to get you hooked on Georgian history, or give you a few other roads to head down if you’re already interested in the period.

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Rosemarie Cawkwell, Blogger

An interesting look into the events and achievements of the Georgian era.

I really like how this book was made up of short stories and beautiful images, it really made it all the more informative, especially on the women of the era with some of their accomplishments.

I think there’s just enough information to keep you intrigued but not so much that you feel bombarded with it which is always a winning combination for non-fiction books!

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GoodReads, Kayleigh

Edited and abridged article from the authors as featured by

Newcastle Journal, 5th June 2019

Article: 'Pair pen book on Georgians' as featured by

Mansfield Chad (print), Dispatch (Hucknall) - words by Richard Silverwood

Edited and abridged article from the authors: 'Yorkshire History: The Dramatic Life of Jonathan Martin, tanner' as featured by

On: Yorkshire magazine

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NOTE: set cursor to 47:52

BBC Radio Leicester with presenter Dave Andrews, 28th July 2019

Producing these stories has so obviously required extensive and painstaking research from the authors, which will be appreciated by genealogists, and it is refreshing to see so much interest in our female ancestors.

WDYTYA? Magazine, August 2019 - reviewed by reader Gill Grocott

Major and Murden have created a well-structured and well-researched book that makes for highly pleasurable reading. The volume will appeal to both those familiar with this era, who are bound to find something new and intriguing amongst this rich collection, and more broadly, those interested in social-cultural history and women’s studies.

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Women's Studies Group 1558 – 1837

What a brilliant romp through the Georgian world, this is a fun, easy to read book all about an era that in itself could be construed as fun a lot of the time. The writing is clear, entertaining and knowledgeable, there is a real fun, energetic and carefree feel to this which a lot of that is down to the fact that Sarah and Joanne are hugely passionate about this era, so much so that you literally fall into the Georgia era through the pages, add in the beautiful colour pictures that run through the book and you have a real feast for the senses.

I love how this is written, it is made up of a selection of short stories; so it’s not bombarding you with page after page of facts and figures, but gives you a short story and history lesson of each chapters particular subject, which personally I do prefer this way of reading nonfiction it, keeps it light and fun and will keep you reading.... Over all this is a fabulous read, highly recommended, no matter what you read, if you love your history then you will all find something in the book to love.

Chicks, Rogues and Scandals

I recommend this book to anybody interested in the Georgian era, even if the interest is only in passing. The illustrations are an added bonus, and the stories are so varied that most readers will find topics to their liking that will merit further research. This is not a book that will solve the doubts of people wanting to learn everything there is about the Georgian period, but it is a great appetizer, and will provide hours of entertainment and plenty of material for conversation. Don’t forget to check the authors’ other books if you are interested in the subject.

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Author Translator, Olga Nunez Miret

As featured in

Jane Austen`s Regency World , July/August 2019

Sarah Murden and Joanne Major have done a wonderful job of recreating the Georgian world. The language is beautiful, the stories both exciting and entertaining; and scattered with just the right amount of famous and infamous people to make the reader go ‘ooh!’. The two authors are so in sync that it is impossible to discern which story is told by one of the writers and which by the other.

All Things Georgian: Tales from the long Eighteenth Century by Joanne Major and Sarah Murden is a wonderful little treasure trove of stories and facts, brought to life in beautiful prose and accompanied by glorious images. It would be a stunning addition to any library – it even smells special!

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History The Interesting Bits, Sharon Bennett Connolly

This is a splendid collection of vignettes of Georgian life, superbly illustrated and full of flavoursome nuggets of social history.

Jane Austen's Regency World, July/August 2019 - reviewed by Joceline Bury

Undoubtedly this volume will appeal to those with an interest of any kind in the lifestyles of the Eighteenth Century’s rich and famous. Social historians might also find it useful, while readers with an interest in the art and architecture of the era may also find it worthy of their perusal.

Keith Rimmer, NZ Crown Mines

This is a good-size hardback (16.5 x 24cm), well produced, with over 100 stunning full-colour illustrations, many of them full-page. I particularly loved the depiction of a fleet of oxen moving the above-mentioned windmill to its new home, William Herschel’s telescopes, and the many caricatures and portraits. As on the blog, the writing style is jaunty and fun, at times a little arch in an 18th-century style. It’s a flowing, easy and enjoyable read, and would make a fantastic gift for lovers of popular history or an entry point into the Georgian world.

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Naomi Clifford

I highly recommend this book which deals with stories rather than history. If you want to understand how people and especially (because the book focuses largely on women of that era) women of the Georgian period lived, this is a great starting point.

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Old Barbed Wire Blog

Article: 'Author to return to her Mansfield roots with new book' as featured by

Mansfield Chad, 10th April 2019