Courtiers Av Lucy Worsley

<p><b>An eye-opening portrait of an enthralling group of royal servants, <i>Courtiers </i>throws new light on the dramatic life of George II and Queen Caroline and their court at Kensington Palace.<br></b><i><br>In the eighteenth century, the palace''s most elegant assembly room was in fact a bloody battlefield. This was a world of skulduggery, politicking, wigs and beauty-spots, where fans whistled open like flick-knives...</i><br><br>Ambitious and talented people flocked to court of George II and Queen Caroline in search of power and prestige, but Kensington Palace was also a gilded cage. Successful courtiers needed level heads and cold hearts; their secrets were never safe. Among them, a Vice Chamberlain with many vices, a Maid of Honour with a secret marriage, a pushy painter, an alcoholic equerry, a Wild Boy, a penniless poet, a dwarf comedian, two mysterious turbaned Turks and any number of discarded royal mistresses.<br><br><i>''The kind of captivating history I most enjoy: full of unexpected stories. It makes one look at Kensington Palace in a completely new light.'' - </i>Lady Antonia Fraser</p>