The sheer range of subjects and personalities covered is extraordinary, thanks to the Georgians’ passion for committing their thoughts to paper. It is doubtful that any other era could have produced such a torrent of words, by such a wide cross-section of society. But not only does James Hobson give us a truly fascinating insight into the lives of these witnesses to the events and personalities that made up the long 18th century, he points us
in the direction of the original documents, so
we can delve even deeper into these often extraordinary lives and hear those Georgian
voices for ourselves.

Joceline Bury, Jane Austen's Regency World

I have read a few of James Hobson’s books and he always writes in an informative but relaxed way which is easy to read and very enjoyable. Certainly, if you want a close up view of the Georgian Era, this would be an excellent book. Highly recommended.

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The History Fella

Hobson's writing style is riveting and flows beautifully, a treat for History and Nonfiction readers. Such fun to read writing from the era when the writers had no idea their records would be studied centuries later for what they contained...and didn't.

NetGalley, Brenda Carleton

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is an extremely well-written and easy to read book. It takes excerpts from the diaries of real people who lived during the Georgian era and shares direct excerpts from those diaries along with lucid and informative facts and details from those writings. It’s all put together smoothly, with interpretations and explanations of what the original writer might have meant as language and its meanings has changed over time. The book covers seventeen individuals, well-known and unknown to us today.

This book will inform, entertain, enlighten, and educate the reader. I enjoyed it very much. If you like history and learning about earlier times, then this may well be a book you will also enjoy.

NetGalley, Leeza Stetson

Really enjoyable and intelligent choice of voices, good to hear rural voices for a change. I would return to this when reading novels set on the Georgian era..

NetGalley, Vanessa Heron

'Voices of the Georgian Age' is a curated taster of what Georgian life was like. Using 17 character examples from all walks of life: aristocracy, criminals, artists, authors, working class, and poor, the book covers the gamut of livelihood. 'That they are human beings, with fundamentally the same emotions and core desires is obvious...It is the differences that tell us much more.'

What indeed becomes clear, is that the quirks and nuances of human nature have remained the same; albeit with triggers. We might judge people today on their clothes and the model of their car. 400 years ago, people were still classified by their attire and whether they owned a carriage, or could at least hire one. Then, as today, people were highly suspicious of strangers and scams. We might believe that the rise in social media has increased criminal activity but in reality, only the medium has changed; the behaviour was always just as rife. The biggest difference was the overt cruel behaviour and the harsh reality of life. Mostly for the poor to middle class but even the rich weren't exempt from illness, early death, beatings, and loveless marriage matches.

James Hobson has scoured a diverse range of primary sources and collated a plethora of voices to represent the age, within a concise book. Each chapter discusses a new person and is introduced with the context of their life and the pertinent focus for that chapter. It is inevitable that some characters might be more interesting to read about than others, and therefore the pace of the book varies accordingly. This book is a good read for history lovers who will enjoy a taste of what life was really like - aside from a version represented in a Jane Austen book (although she is, in fact, also represented in this book).

NetGalley, Christy Howl

This book acts as a lens to view the Georgian period, but unlike numerous other history books on this era, this one does so through snapshot biographies of seventeen people (men and women). There's enough information from each to provide context, while the reader will never feel that one person outlasts their welcome.

NetGalley, Spencer Wright

Such an interesting collection from many different perspectives. Carefully curated, this collection shines a light on the Georgian Age from many different people across different walks of life. A great addition to our understanding of the time.

NetGalley, Louise Gray