Product Description

Charles Greville (1794-1865) made his first occasional diary entries in 1814, but the diary only became a regular habit in the mid-1820s, continuing with occasional breaks, about which he is self-reproachful, through the reigns of George IV, William IV and Victoria. Finally, in 1860, after shaking his head over the worrying triumphs of Garibaldi, he closed it, once and for all. The grandson of a duke, Greville looked with a level and scornful eye upon royalty. George was 'the most worthless dog that ever lived'; William 'the silliest old gentleman in his own dominions, but what can be expected of a man with a head like a pineapple?' The diaries roused Queen Victoria - 'an odd woman' - from the lethargy of her widowhood. She spoke of Greville's 'indiscretion, indelicacy, ingratitude toward friends, betrayal of confidence and shameful disloyalty'. Greville's circle included Talleyrand, Wellington, Macaulay, Sydney Smith, Princess Lieven, Lord Grey, Melbourne, Guizot and Disraeli, as well as 'jockeys, bookmakers and blackguards'. As Clerk of the Privy Council, Greville works for a compromise on the Reform Bill. He witnesses Covent Garden theatre burning down. His closest friend, Lord De Ros, is caught cardsharping. Visiting Balmoral, he finds Albert and Victoria living 'not merely like small gentlefolks, but like very small gentlefolks'. When cholera comes, he writes laconically of 'Mrs Smith, young and beautiful, taken ill while dressing for Church and dead by nightfall.' Not a chatterbox, Charles Greville brilliantly assembles everyone else's chatter. This is the intelligent voice of another age, an uneasy aristocrat catching history on the turn and looking dubiously at the future.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #504401 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
" 'The arrival of this book is a good deed in a naughty world...Pearce is to be congratulated for bringing growly, sardonic Greville back into the hubbub he retired from.' - Andrew Marr, Daily Telegraph. 'Edward Pearce has released Greville from the prison of dusty research libraries, giving new life to a literary treasure.' - Iain Sproat, Scotland on Sunday. 'A thoroughly good idea.' - D. J. Taylor, Independent. 'Edward Pearce has done a good job of reducing 40-odd years of diary entries to a manageable size.' - Kathryn Hughes, Guardian"

Sam Phipps, Herald, 15 January 2005
‘Pearce has done a fine job in producing this single-volume edition’

DJ Taylor, Independent, 14th January 2005
‘Edward Pearce's recension of the original seven volumes into a handsome 'best of' is a thoroughly good idea’

Customer Reviews

An intelligent, amusing man's view of a fascinating age!
This book works on so many levels!

On the one hand its subject matter spans about five decades of the nineteenth century - decades which saw events of political and social significance (we hear of Royal scandals, political intrigue and popular revolts). Between the 1820s and 1860 a huge amount went on which changed British society dramatically: the industrial Revolution really took off, government became increasingly the province of the people, the popular press gained greater freedom, and education, industry, public health etc was better regulated. In Greville we have a man who describes what he sees as all this takes place, and as a civil servant he is well placed to give informed insights into the world around him.

At the same time, Charles Greville really allows his personality to come out in his writing. And this guy is funny. Not only that, but he was an aristocratic government worker, and knew a lot of the celebrities of the day. What we end up with are a number of unabashed, witty, cynical, and sometimes down right rude, comments on the events and people of his day. He says exactly what he thinks (George IV is a "cowardly, selfish, unfeeling dog" and William IV "a buffoon") and gives us gloves-off descriptions of celebrities such as the Duke of Wellington, Palmerston, and Queen Victoria. The diaries are packed with scandal, politics, views of nineteenth century life, and amusing anecdotes and gossip (such as the Bishop caught in a compromising position with a soldier - "if his breeches had not been down...").

Whether you read Greville's diaries with the aim of finding out about the mid-nineteenth century, or if you just want something juicy to read, this book is immensely satisfying. It describes an amazing period of history, and it does so in an infinately entertaining manner.

Brilliant
The editor makes many comparisons to Pepys in his introduction, whilst one can see his point of view, it is fair to point out that Pepys and Greville were two men worlds apart in almost everything, from their backgrounds to the job that they used to do, Pepys had more contact with the common man, whereas Greville did not, Greville was privvy to and recorded information on the private and public lives of politicians and aristocrats of the time, whereas Pepys may have been but seldom record it, nevertheless this is a brilliant one volume abridgement of grevilles diary and brings him back into the literary fold after many years away, Edward Pearce deserves much credit for the work he has done, this diary is a clear winner and will take pride of place in my book cabinet