Insatiable Earl: A Life of John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich

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. (Jan.)