The Insatiable Earl: A Life of John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich 1718-1792 - Hardcover

Rodger, N. A. M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393035875 ISBN 13: 9780393035872

Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc, 1994

Synopsis

Here is a book that is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of England's navy and of the eighteenth century in general. Its thorough scholarship does not in the least impede, but rather facilitates, its readability. It is masterly without being didactic.
No historical figure of eighteenth-century England has been more grossly misrepresented than the inventor of our favorite fast food. The stereotype is well known: an unscrupulous man of pleasure whose mistress, a courtesan, was murdered on the steps of the Admiralty, inside which her lover was carelessly mismanaging the War of American Independence.
It is refreshing to read a biography that explodes this long-accepted view. Martha Ray was not a courtesan but rather the Joan Sutherland of her day, whose rendering of "I know that my Redeemer liveth" was admired by the most discriminating critics. It was, appropriately, outside Covent Garden after attending a performance (not outside the Admiralty) that she was murdered by an unhinged admirer; she had lived for many years with and had borne children to John, fourth Earl of Sandwich. As to his mismanagement of naval affairs, Nicholas Rodger, the outstanding historian of the eighteenth-century navy, demonstrates in this brilliant and extremely readable book that as First Lord of the Admiralty he was in a class by himself.
This was by no means his only distinction. As a diplomat he displayed extraordinary powers and won from foreign statesmen the admiration and trust that his own countrymen then and subsequently have largely denied him. As a parliamentary manager of the constituencies that he was in a position to influence, he shared an energy, skill and wonderful tact in handling all sorts and conditions of men - qualities that were acknowledged and praised by his most unrelenting denigrators. As a young man he had been an adventurous traveler with a title to a place in the history of Greek epigraphy. His lifelong passion for music, especially in championing and reviving the then-unfashionable oratorios of Handel, has given him, in the present biographer's opinion, his nearest connection to the life of our own time.
For it is the special pleasure of this absorbing book that though it is written by one of England's foremost naval historians, it is not in the least restricted to the dockyards and the quarterdecks of the Georgian navy. The political analysis is subtle, original, and well argued. The intellectual and artistic background is part of a strikingly new view of the tall, lounging figure that surveys us from Gainsborough's great portrait now in the Maritime Museum. Above all, the human quality of a man whose domestic life was blighted by the madness of a dearly loved wife is brought before us.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Brilliantly written account of the 18th-century nobleman was a key player in British naval strategy during the War of Independence--and who invented our favorite fast food. The fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-92) is usually written off as the archetypal wicked aristocrat: a self-seeker who neglected his country's interest in the pursuit of the pleasures of the bedroom and the gaming table. Here, British naval historian Rodger- -drawing on a wide range of sources, including Sandwich's own letters and papers--attempts to go beyond this caricature by viewing his subject in the context of the realities of 18th-century party politics and naval warfare. His Sandwich emerges as an ambitious man with many interests and talents but little wealth--a man who consequently was distrusted by his own class and failed to achieve full scope for his powers. His beloved wife went insane, and the mistress he subsequently took was murdered. As First Sea Lord, Sandwich began a fundamental reform of the fleet, making use of seasoned timber and the latest technique of sheathing ships' bottoms with copper to improved speed--but the American Revolution interrupted these plans. Rodger argues that Sandwich's strategy in that war made sense in terms of contemporary presuppositions and the limitations of a Britain under attack from France and Spain: The 13 colonies were lost but Quebec and the West Indies were retained and, above all, the homeland was saved from invasion. Today, Sandwich is best remembered for his part in the revival and continued popularity of Handel's music--and for sandwiches. A pleasure to read--and offering new depth and insights into the political and social values of a critical epoch. (Illustrations) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

In this meticulously researched scholarly biography, Rodger ( The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy ) presents an interesting reassessment of the Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792). Britain's First Lord of the Admiralty from 1748-1751 and again from 1771-1782, Sandwich was unfairly maligned as an inept administrator who was responsible for Britain's naval defeats during the American Revolution, according to Rodger. He argues that Sandwich deserves credit for naval reform and for saving Canada, India and the West Indies as British colonies. The author also discounts Sandwich's reputation as immoral and as a gambler. Devoted to his wife until she became mentally ill, Sandwich then lived with his mistress, a singer, for 17 years until she was murdered by a crazed admirer. Lacking a family fortune, Sandwich was beset by financial worries, but gambled no more than any other 18th-century lord. We also learn that the action for which he is best known--putting meat between two pieces of bread--was likely to have taken place at his desk, not at the gaming table. Illustrations.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0393035875
• ISBN 13: 9780393035872
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480