Exclusive interview with author Mike Rendell about his new book about sex life in Georgian England
Review by Gabrielle Pantera
“It was the obscene amount of publicity given to the Kardashians,” says In Bed with the Georgians author Mike Rendell. “It got me thinking about how, 250 years ago, the courtesans dressed up like fashion icons. Whereas now the fashion icons seem to dress, well, like streetwalkers. But what intrigued me is how this gets reported in the press…and how it was reported in the Georgian era. Courtesans occupied a sort of parallel universe, incredibly famous, admired, and arbiters of taste and style…and yet of course not allowed in polite households. The caricaturists of the time, especially people like James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson, had a field day. It was all very open and above board.”
In Bed with the Georgians explores the sex lives of people living in Georgian England, that is, from 1714 to 1830. There were madams, brothels, courtesans, kept women, a demi-monde, houses of pleasure and streetwalkers. The English sex scene was hot, before the backlash of the prudish Victorians that followed.
Rendall, who’s a member of the British Library, says most of his research was done online. “many of the 18th-century books which comment on prevailing prostitution are available online. These include the early kiss-and-tell memoirs. I also use the online facilities offered by museums and galleries in the United States, including the ever-helpful Lewis Walpole Library at Yale University, and places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Library of Congress, which bought a huge collection of 18th-century prints off the Royal Family shortly after the First World War.”
In Bed offers details about different areas of London, each with its own scandalous beauties. It describes how they dressed, with illustrations. It covers how courtesans became famous and for which of their aristocrat or royal lovers. A glossary describes the world of the London sex trade at the time. If you’re a writer, the letters from the time, newspapers, caricaturists, and details on royal and aristocratic scandals, would be great to use to write about the times.
While writing the book, Rendall mentioned on his blog the high cost of obtaining permission to use high definition museum prints for a book cover. “A total stranger in Montreal contacted me and asked if I would like the original of the print I was thinking of using…and sent it to me free of charge. As he put it, he had acquired it in a job lot with a Gainsborough, and had no use for it. Nevertheless it is incredibly generous, and much appreciated.”
Rendall’s first book was The Journal of a Georgian Gentleman, based on the diaries journals and memorabilia belonging to his ancestor who was born in 1729. “I have virtually every bit of paper he ever wrote, as well as his chairs, his cutlery, even his bed-warming pan,” says Rendall. “I wrote up his story. It is what got me interested in the entire period of 18th-century history. It is an era I love. I am just so fortunate to have trunkloads of papers from my ancestors which are an endless source of interest and delight.”
Rendall also wrote a book about Phillip Astley, who started the very first circus, what became a hugely popular form of entertainment in the Georgian and Victorian period. Rendall has published books on Bristol Blue Glass, and on 18th Century paper-cuts. He’s written illustrated introductions to the Regency and Georgian periods.
Rendall who worked in an office for 30 years as a lawyer, says he loves the freedom that goes with being a historian. He doesn’t have an agent. He approached Pen & Sword because he knew the editor. “I came up with a synopsis and title and submitted it. They said, fine, go off and do it.”
Rendall is currently writing the book Petticoat Pioneers, about women who defied male prejudice and legal restraints to succeed in a man’s world. Pen & Sword will be publishing in 2018.
Rendall lives in the southwest of England and spends several months of each year in Spain. He was born in Bristol in 1947.
In Bed with the Georgians by Mike Rendell. Kindle or print. 176 pages. Publisher: Pen and Sword History. Publication date January 31, 2017. Sold by Amazon Digital Services LLC. Language English. ASIN: B01N9Q48J3 $14.95
