Farmer George, Volume 2

Lewis MelvilleProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 459K words
Chapters: 46

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Farmer George, Volume 2 by Lewis MelvilleAuthor: Melville, Lewis, 1874-1932,Language: English, Class: DA: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Great Britain, Ireland, Central Europe, Release Date: Jul 2, 2012

Editor's review

Farmer George, Volume 2 is the second half of Lewis Melville's biography of George III, a work of British history. Continuing the narrative from the previous volume, it focuses on the political and court life of George III's later reign and is useful for understanding how constitutional monarchy, cabinet politics, and the role of the crown operated in Britain from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. Melville's writing is distinguished by its extensive use of historical sources and follows a traditional biographical approach: rich in detail but slow in pace. This volume is suitable as supplementary reading for special topics in modern British history, especially for readers who have already read Volume 1 or who already have a basic framework for the George III era and wish to sort out personal relationships and the sequence of events. Because it is a public-domain e-book, the text is readily available and easy to search and excerpt. It is advisable to read it alongside a chronology and other modern scholarship to compensate for the limitations of perspective that may come from its early date of composition.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Enthusiasts of modern British history who want to learn about the political and court details of George III's later reign
Readers who have finished Volume 1 and wish to continue the biographical narrative
Undergraduates studying constitutional monarchy and cabinet politics, using it as source-based supplementary reading
Readers accustomed to traditional English biography who can accept a slower narrative pace

Not a good fit for

Beginning readers seeking a quick overview of George III's life
Researchers who prefer modern analytical frameworks and critical historical perspectives
Readers lacking basic background on eighteenth-century British political figures and events

Reading tips

Read Volume 1 first or consult a chronology of George III's life before starting this volume, to avoid confusion over personal relationships
Organize a timeline of cabinet changes and key events as you read, to make it easier to compare with the political background
Read alongside a modern work of British history, and note the early biography's tendencies in selecting historical sources
Use the e-book's search function to locate names and events, reading by topic rather than page by page

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I read Volume 2 without having read Volume 1?

Yes, but it is advisable first to gain a basic understanding of the early part of George III's reign and its main political figures. Volume 2 continues the narrative of the previous volume, and many figures and events carry over; without background, it is easy to struggle with cabinet changes and court relationships. If time is limited, consult a chronology or read an overview of George III's life before starting this volume.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to British history?

Not very. This book is the second half of a traditional biography and assumes that readers already have a basic understanding of late eighteenth-century British politics; the narrative focuses on historical detail and lacks systematic background explanation. Beginning readers are better off starting with general histories and then using this book as supplementary reading on a special topic to deepen their understanding of court and cabinet operations in the George III era.

What limitations should I keep in mind while reading?

This book was written relatively early, and its biographical approach and selection of sources reflect the perspective of its time; its judgments of figures may not be sufficiently critical. It is advisable to read it alongside modern scholarship, to distinguish factual narrative from the author's judgments, and to use a chronology to verify the order of events, so as not to treat tendentious descriptions in the biography as settled conclusions.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Lewis Melville Author · English · 1874–1932

Lewis Melville (1874–1932) was a British biographer born in London as Lewis Saul Benjamin. He began his career as an actor before turning to writing, and is best known for his studies of Thackeray and his editions of Thackeray's works. Melville excelled at portraying figures through letters, diaries, and everyday detail. His two-volume Farmer George describes the private life of George III, and his other works include Life and Letters of John Gay and Some Eccentrics & a Woman, dealing with figures such as John Gay, Nell Gwyn, and Beau Brummell. Four of his works are held in this collection; classification information is unavailable, and public sources are limited. His writing focuses on British historical figures and literary anecdote, in a plain style grounded in documentary research, offering readable insight into eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English social life.