Annals of the Reign of George III: Volume Two - Softcover

George III was born in 1738, and came to the throne in 1760, marrying his wife Charlotte in 1761 and producing with her no fewer than fifteen children. George was afflicted with porphyria, a painful disease which disrupted his reign as early as 1765, and following further attacks of "madness," went on to debilitate him in the last years of his reign. George III died blind, deaf, and mad at Windsor Castle in 1820. One of the longest reigns in British history, George's rule coincided with some of the most important events in world history, namely the American and French Revolutions and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This magisterial work by John Aiken, a contemporary biographer of the highest caliber, catalogues in fascinating detail the major events of this most remarkable reign. The first volume covers events up to the great British victory over Napoleon at Waterloo. This second volume covers the latter part of the Regency and King George's declining years.

John Aikin (1747-1822) received his early education in Warrington Academy and then proceeded to Edinburgh where he studied medicine. In 1780 he earned an M.D. from Leiden University. In 1784 he set up his medical practice in Great Yarmouth, but devoted his spare time to literature. However, his first literary productions, two pamphlets supporting the Protestant dissenters, did not match the political and religious values of his orthodox patients, and it was necessary for him to move his practice to London in 1792. Here he practised until forced to retire by a stroke in 1798. Following this he devoted himself to various literary works which included 'Biographical Memoirs of Medicine in Great Britain', 'Lives of John Seldon and Archbishop Usher' and 'Evenings at Home'.