Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire (Modern Library Paperbacks)

GEORGIANA, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE is a beautifully written biography. Amanda Foreman's style is so sure that it's more like reading a novel than nonfiction. In the end, one is as fascinated by the Duchess as her generation was. The book consists of four parts under which several chapters are given. Part One is called Debutante under which are the following: chapter 1 - Debutante: 1757-1774, chapter 2 - Fashion's Favourite: 1774-1776, chapter 3 - The Vortex of Dissipation: 1776-1778, chapter 4 - A Popular Patriot: 1778-1781, and chapter 5 - Introduction to Politics: 1780-1782. Part Two is called Politics and contains the following: chapter 6 - The Newcomer: 1782-1783, chapter 7 - An Unstable Condition: 1783, chapter 8 - A Birth and a Death: 1783-1784, chapter 9 - The Westminster Election: 1784, chapter 10 - The Opposition: 1784-1786, chapter 11 - Queen Bess: 1787, hapter 12 - Ménage à Trois: 1788, and chapter 13 - The Regency Crisis: 1788-1789. Part Three is called Exile and has the following: chapter 14 - The Approaching Storm: 1789-1790, chapter 15 - Exposure: 1790- 1791, chapter 16 - Exile: 1791-1793, chapter 17 - Return: 1794-1796, chapter 18 - Interlude: 1796, and chapter 19 - Isolation: 1796-1799. Part Four is the final part and is called Georgiana Redux. It consists of chapter 20 - Georgiana Redux: 1800-1801, chapter 21 - Peace: 1801-1802, chapter 22 - Power Struggles: 1802-1803, chapter 23 - The Doyenne of the Whig Party: 1803-1804, and chapter 24 -"The Ministry of All the Talents": 1804-1806. The biography also includes an introduction, A Note on Eighteenth-Century Politics, Chronology, Family Trees of Spencers and Cavendishes, an epilogue, Notes, Select Bibliography, Index, Reading Group Guide, and many picture, both b & w and in color.
This book will appeal to romance readers of Georgette Heyer, to readers of Georgian or Regency novels, to those interested in the 18th century and those interested in women's history.

Georgiana is a very interesting person and can easily be compared with Jacky Kennedy in terms of popularity in the society. She had a husband who was unfaithful. People at that time did not mind having affairs and gambling was a big business even if they did not have the money for losing. However learning about history and behaviors of that time was great.
Unfortunately the author spent to many pages on politics. A lot of political details were described and endless political discussions went on and on(most of them not necessary for a biography). If you skip them than it is fun to read this book. I expected more details on Georgiana. How did she overcome the problem of an unfaithful husband and the mistress living in the same house ...

I purchased this book to get some perspective of 18th c. England from an aristocrat's life. Amanda Foreman seems to have done extensive research on her subject. She presents the Duchess in such a way as to interest and entertain a 21st c. reader.

The story begins before Georgiana's debut, her marriage, everything else in between and finally to her death. As Lady Georgiana Spencer (great-great-great etc. aunt of the late Diana, Princess of Wales), she was born with birth, fortune and connections. She marries the Duke of Devonshire whose material advantages are even greater than hers. From an innocent bride (whose new husband already had a child by his 1st mistress) she becomes a popular figure in society due to her personality, sense of fashion and position. All the excesses of the partying peers are here:sex (adultery, lesbianism, what-have-you), alcohol and gambling. I felt for her in the beginning; virtually ignored by the Duke, she did her best to please everyone, her mother, her friends, the hangers-on and whoever came her way. I thought of her as pathetic when she gambled obsessively ($6 million dollars almost 300 years ago?), lied about it constantly and was in debt to the end. What I found repulsive was her reliance and friendship on a woman who was her husband's mistress, Lady Bess. The latter lived with them along with her children with the Duke, used the Devonshire's money and stayed on to marry the Duke himself. Jealous of Georgiana, she did all to promote and advance herself. Georgiana was passionate in her loyalties, but her energies and talents were wasted on people who used her. The strength of her loyalties made her spineless and malleable. I felt frustration for her because at every turn, when a decent relationship with her husband could be had (and he forgave her on several occasions) she would fall in love with someone else. She loved her children and this was her redeeming quality. If not for that, her life was a waste.

Lady Georgiana Spencer, who became an 18th century Duchess of Devonshire, was every bit as fascinating as her descendent, Diana Spencer, the future Princess of Wales, would turn out to be.

Georgiana set English society on its ear during her years as Duchess. She was a political activist in an era when the opinion of women neither was sought nor welcomed--and her influence was not inconsiderable--she had such a severe gambling problem that her losses all but bankrupted the (very rich) Duchy of Devonshire.

As always, Amanda Foreman's research is impeccable, and her writing style so lively that this biography is as gripping as good fiction. In Foreman's capable hands, The Duchess is made to be as fascinating as the most interesting modern woman.

I was really looking forward to this book. The reviews I had read of this book made Georgiana out to to be sexually risque and controversial. Either the author didn't go into enough detail, or the reviewers were reading between the lines. Actually, the real controversy comes in some of the well-blacked-out sections of Georgiana's correspondance. The letters written from and to Georgiana made me long for a return to letter writing in this computer age we live in. Georgiana definitely was an interesting individual. She had a friendship with Marie Antoinette before the French Revolution (rumored to be lesbian in nature). A color, Devonshire brown, was created by Georgiana. I also fell in love with Georgiana's wardrobe. Georgiana seems to be a Scarlett O'Hara of world history. However, I was very disappointed at the lack of editorial work on the novel. I've never read a book before that I wanted to send back to the author with corrections (especially for comma problems). I skimmed the last part of the book because it became rather dry and boring.