Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire (Modern Library Paperbacks)

AMAZING read! I have never been interested in History of any sort before and afte reading a bit about her on Wikipedia I couldn't wait to learn more! She is fascinating, flaws and all! This book gave a wonderful outline of the time period, the rulers in charge and the goverment, but loaded with interesting facts and how her life had impacted so much of that time period. It proved to me that times were not too different back then as they are now with sex, drugs, affairs, addictions and celebrity obsession. I couldn't put this book down and after finishing it you'll want to look for book on her fascinating friends and aquaintences as well! It's a must buy even for the uninterested in history, couldn't tell you the dates of the civil war type of person

This is a wonderful biography. I was somehow worried it would be boring. However, the author manages to narrate Georgiana's life and times in such a way that I could not put it down, and read it in less than three weeks' time.

There are already may good comments, so I will only add something that the book does not mention. The case is that a portrait of the Duchess had also a interesing story to be told. In the XIX century Adam Worth, a real-life Moriarty, stole Gainsborough's portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire - and later returned it. It is mentioned in "The Napoleon of crime" by Ben Macintyre. I remember that Macintyre quotes a XVIII century sailor who said somethink like "I could lit my pipe with the starks from her eyes".

Other excellent biographies of women in the middle of their age's politics (in fact, a couple of much maligned queens) worth reading are "Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God" by Jonathan Clements and "Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman" by Stephen Zweig.

Georgiana had a fascinating life complete with adventure, intrigue, heartbreak, vast wealth and opportunity and of course, great beauty. In short, she makes for a great subject. But this book is also well-written and researched. I read if on a beach vacation and once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. It was fun, plus very informative.

I bought this book after seeing the movie. The book is so much more in depth and captures the spirit of an amazing woman. Georgiana was a woman ahead of her time in many areas however her political prowess is to admired. In the true spirit of all women her life was a tapestry of joy, pain, sacrifice and success. Ms. Foreman's biography is written in a knowledgeable and thorough manner but it reads like a story. Her style of writing kept me engaged and captivated.

Based on all the glowing reviews, I was expecting a fascinating read. But this book was anything but exciting. I found it really hard to get into the story. About halfway through, I finally gave up and just skimmed the rest of the book. This reads more like a history book than a biography. The author goes into a lot of detail, but she fails to get into Georgiana's head. I'm giving this 3 stars because the author did an incredible amount of research. But it's too bad her writing style is so dull. At the end, I couldn't understand why this book was written or why Georgiana was supposedly such an intriguing person. Hopefully, the movie does a better job of making Georgiana seem like a real person.