Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency is a set mini biographies during the Regency Era (1810-20) of women. There is also a short explanation of what each chapter is about, before diving into the biographies. Some of the women I knew of or heard of, others I didn't. It was quite interesting to read about them and the effect that each of them had had on those ten years.
The book is broken up into eight chapters that include the women who ran the social circle of the era, the royals, the famous mistress (who were more than that), artistic women, scientific women, queer women, black women, and Jewish women. At the end of each chapter there is a recommended reading/viewing after each section, which is nice. There are also pictures, which my copy of the arc is missing some.
Most of the women that I heard of were of course the famous mistress and the royal women. I had also heard of Mary Seacole, Anne Lister, and Mary Anning. I loved learning about women like Anne Mee, Jane Marcet, Anne Damer, and Judith Montefiore, who all had something to contribute even as the patriarchy tried to shut them. I also learned that there was another Mary Berry who was a writer of the time.
I enjoyed the book, since most of what I know about the Regency is from movies or books. These biographies brought the era to life in a new way and showed that women have always had an impact on society.
ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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