English Court Life. From Henry VII to George II. by DUTTON, RALPH

London: B.T. Batsford, 1963. 232 pp, 9" H. B&w illustrations. "The atmosphere of a Court is enclosed and artificial. The monarch has in the past enjoyed a wide degree of power without a corresponding sense of obligation or responsibility; and for the courtiers, whose position depended on their agreeableness, flattery has always been at a premium just as frankness has been inhibited. How do men and women react in circumstances where normal standards of behaviour are inapplicable? This is the question which, by implication, Ralph Dutton answers in this book. Since his survey covers the three centuries from Henry VII to George VII it is natural that, in so many different courts and under the reign of so various a series of kings and queens, Court Life should appear in most of its possible forms. But in the moral forcing house of the Court a constant element, from 1485 to 1760, has been the tendency for personal virtues and defects of character to become exaggerated to an extent seldom met… Read More

B. T. Batsford Ltd.. Collectible - Very Good. First edition copy. Collectible - Very Good. Very Good dust jacket. (courts and courtiers, kings and rulers)

B T Batsford , 1963 . Hardback. . 8vo maroon cloth in dustwrapper. The picture on this listing page is of the actual book for sale. VG hardback (light edgewear, corners lightly bumped, endpapers foxed), in VG dustwrapper (light edgewear).