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Beau Brummell The Ultimate Man of Style Ian Kelly 9780743270892 Books

Download As PDF : Beau Brummell The Ultimate Man of Style Ian Kelly 9780743270892 Books

Beau Brummell The Ultimate Man of Style Ian Kelly 9780743270892 Books

The life of George Brummell, is truly amazing in its scope. He begins as a commoner but with high connections as his father was Secretary to Prime minister Lord North. In fact he seems to have been born at 10 Downing street. The book carefully documents his rise through Eaton, a short pause in Oxford and then a place in the Prince Regent's Light Dragoons, where he soon became a Captain. Even more important, he became close friends with the Prince, even standing up as best man for the Prince's royal wedding. When he comes into his inheritance, he resigns from the Dragoons and goes on to London to become the arbitrator of good taste, manners, cleanliness and men's fashion. His wit and style is without compare, a precursor to Oscar Wilde. And then he crashes downwards. This is a story of extremes. A person worth reading about if you're interested in Regency England. As he sank I could only shed a few tears to see such an ending to such a unique man. Beau Brummell a Gentleman.

My only regret is that there were no photos in the kindle version of this book. In the appendix there was a section on tying the Regency neck cloths yet there were no pictures to illustrate the difference between them. There was a whole appendix giving credit to the location and owners of various paintings and illustrations, yet none were to be found.


Tags : Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style [Ian Kelly] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Traces the life and ongoing influence of the late-eighteenth-century style figure, discussing his pivotal role in the careers of period celebrities,Ian Kelly,Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style,Free Press,0743270894,Europe - Great Britain - General,Dandies;Great Britain;Biography.,Great Britain;Court and courtiers;Biography.,1778-1840,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,Biography & Autobiography General,Biography & Autobiography Historical,Biography Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,Brummell, Beau,,Court and courtiers,Dandies,Great Britain,Great Britain - History - 19th Century,Historical - General,History Europe Great Britain General,History Modern 18th Century,Modern - 18th Century,Social Stratification

Beau Brummell The Ultimate Man of Style Ian Kelly 9780743270892 Books Reviews

Excellent reading for fans of 19th century literature. Fascinating look at the man behind the name and the culture in which in lived. Reading about real people of the 19th century makes reading the literature of this era even more meaningful and enjoyable.
I did enjoy this, A great telling a bit horrific, the Beau's downfall. So really sad when the king cuts him.
A must have for any writer of the Regency era. Informative and entertaining, this book is loaded with interesting facts about the period.
Restraint and excess in the same man. A fascinating picture of Georgian life. The first modern style celebrity. A great read.
This was a good book. Well written and well researched, with a somewhat haunting story. Worth a read and a re-read.
First Do not be thrown off by the apparent length of this biography. Nearly 100 pages are citations and indexes. In my edition, the actual biography clocked in at 312 pages.

This is probably the most complete biography of Beau Brummell -- the first celebrity famous for being famous and for dressing really really well. Of course, Brummell was more than that - he actually created modern dress for men, ruled the British social scene for a few short years, and his wit was as sharp as his dress sense.

The format of the biography is somewhat unusual. The beginning and end of Brummell's life are written basically chronologically, but the years during the height of Brummell's popularity in London, instead of being split into years, are split into Morning, Afternoon, and Evening. Basically, these chapters break down how Brummell would have spent his typical mornings, afternoons, and evenings during those years, punctuated with specific and often amusing anecdotes. This is a clever way getting insight into Brummell's life without being stuck reading list after list of Brummell's debts and shopping sprees in chronological order.

I felt that the beginning (Brummell's childhood and military years) started slowly, the middle (Brummell's ton years) became interesting, and the ending (Brummell's exile) remained intriguing, if incredibly tragic. I also felt that Ian Kelly worked hard to present the possibilities of the more enigmatic aspects of Brummell's life (such as his sexuality) without jumping to conclusions or taking too much stock in too little evidence.

The only thing I felt was missing -- and I've had a hard time finding it anywhere else -- is a clear delineation of what clothing was like before and after Beau Brummell. Paintings of typical male clothing from two time periods would have been helpful. It's hard to appreciate the impact Beau had on fashion when one can't visualize it.
When I buy a book of this nature i'm expecting to learn something new about the historical subject but most of the conjectures Ian Kelly makes are pretty obvious for anyone who's been fascinated with Brummel's life. I found myself reading anecdotes I had already read on blogs, and that was disappointing because no doubt the author had a world of information in the form of books and journals i'll never be able to read in libraries i'll never get to visit and yet he rehashed stories anyone could find online? I was hoping at the very least for some different witticisms from the Beau! This book could've done with some livening up in the form of pictures, particularly to show the slight alterations of fashion he espoused as a youth to the more byronic/brummelian look he preferred by the 1815's. Tbh, it seemed that the book didnt have enough information on its subject; Brummel was mysteriously elusive in the media of his day (no portraits exist and there aren't even that many caricatures of him!!! Did the man exist?). He only craved the attention of the aristocracy I guess. Still, other biographies exist where there's not a wealth of information about the person so the author livens things up by painting a colorful cast of supporting characters and making vivid the age they lived in. This book was largely introspective but its subject was a ghost! I finished the book pleased with Kelly's writing but not an ounce smarter about who Beau Brummel was than when I started it. I give it three stars for being ok.
The life of George Brummell, is truly amazing in its scope. He begins as a commoner but with high connections as his father was Secretary to Prime minister Lord North. In fact he seems to have been born at 10 Downing street. The book carefully documents his rise through Eaton, a short pause in Oxford and then a place in the Prince Regent's Light Dragoons, where he soon became a Captain. Even more important, he became close friends with the Prince, even standing up as best man for the Prince's royal wedding. When he comes into his inheritance, he resigns from the Dragoons and goes on to London to become the arbitrator of good taste, manners, cleanliness and men's fashion. His wit and style is without compare, a precursor to Oscar Wilde. And then he crashes downwards. This is a story of extremes. A person worth reading about if you're interested in Regency England. As he sank I could only shed a few tears to see such an ending to such a unique man. Beau Brummell a Gentleman.

My only regret is that there were no photos in the kindle version of this book. In the appendix there was a section on tying the Regency neck cloths yet there were no pictures to illustrate the difference between them. There was a whole appendix giving credit to the location and owners of various paintings and illustrations, yet none were to be found.