- Audio Cassette
- Publisher: ISIS Audio Books; Unabridged edition (Mar 1 2000)
- ISBN-10: 0753106914
- ISBN-13: 978-0753106914
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Georgiana Spencer was, in a sense, an 18th-century It Girl. She came from one of England's richest and most landed families (the late Princess Diana was a Spencer too) and married into another. She was beautiful, sensitive, and extravagant--drugs, drink, high-profile love affairs, and even gambling counted among her favorite leisure-time activities. Nonetheless, she quickly moved from a world dominated by social parties to one focused on political parties. The duchess was an intimate of ministers and princes, and she canvassed assiduously for the Whig cause, most famously in the Westminster election of 1784. By turns she was caricatured and fawned on by the press, and she provided the inspiration for the character of Lady Teazle in Richard Sheridan's famous play The School for Scandal. But her weaknesses marked the last part of her life. By 1784, for one, Georgiana owed "many, many, many thousands," and her creditors dogged her until her death.
Biographer Amanda Foreman describes astutely the mess that surrounded the personal relationships of the aristocratic subculture (Georgiana and the duke engaged for many years in a ménage à trois with Lady Elizabeth Fraser, who inveigled her way into the duke's bed and the duchess's heart). Foreman is, by her own admission, a little in love with her subject, which can lead to occasional lapses of perspective, but generally it adds zest to a narrative built on, rather than burdened by, scholarship, that is at once accessible and learned. An impressive debut, in every sense. --David Vincent, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
HShe was the most prominent British woman of her day. Whatever she wore became instantly fashionable, and her parties were the ones to attend. Royals, aristocrats and politicians sought her opinion, for she was as influential as she was beautiful. Princess Diana? No, her great-great-great-great-aunt, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806). A bestseller in the U.K. and the winner of the 1999 Whitbread Prize for Best Biography, Foreman's debut is captivating not just because of Georgiana--whose insecurity, demented love life and gambling addiction made her personal life even more dismal than Diana's--but also because Foreman's portrayal of high society in late-18th-century Britain and France is so remarkably vivid. Foreman gives readers the aristocracy fighting for control over Parliament, King George slowly losing his mind, his love-struck son ill-prepared to take the throne, and more bed-hopping than on a TV soap opera. Georgiana, who bore an out-of-wedlock child with politician Charles Grey, knew that her best friend was her husband's mistress, but that was the least of her problems. Prone to drinking, drug-taking and eating disorders, she also racked up gambling debts equal to $6 million in today's dollars. Foreman's combination of exhaustive research and storytelling skill make Georgiana's story at once lurid, sensational and touching. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Duchess of Charm,
By
This review is from: Georgiana Duchess Of Devonshire (Paperback)
I am writing a book about my wife's family history and the Duchess and her lover Earl Grey have to be included.Earl Grey was related to my wife's great great grandfathers brother through marraige so I really enjoyed the book which arrived in great shape and quickly considering it was sent from the UK. It is well written and for me includes valuble information.A big thank you to the seller.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent coverage of a frustrating woman,
By
This review is from: Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire (Modern Library Paperbacks) (Paperback)
Amanda Foreman brings extensive research and detailed period knowledge to "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire," but does not let her research or knowledge interfere with her compelling story-telling ability. With admirable aplomb, she details upper-class British existence in the second half of the 18th Century, giving social context to the intrigues, political alliances, patronage, extramarital dalliances, and daily routines that comprised Georgiana's life.Unfortunately, for modern readers, Georgiana might prove to be a distasteful character. Unfaithful to her husband (who was equally unfaithful to her), she was willing to allow his mistress easy access, even encouragement, to him. At the same time, to avoid confrontation, she was willing to pretend illness for days at a time. A friend of Marie Antoinette, Georgiana shared her fear of, and dependence on a strong mother. An able canvasser for her husband and other politicians, she had the intelligence and instinct to have served in public office better than they. Georgiana's addiction to the gaming tables and constantly increasing debt to everyone from her friends and gambling partners to professional loan sharks are a prevalent, and unpleasant theme throughout her adult life and most of this book. Were she living in 20th Century America, one could imagine her checking joining a self-help group, or perhaps checking into rehab. After chapters of this addiction, which as Ms. Foreman clearly illustrates was common in Georgiana's class and period, the reader might be forgiven for wanting to take Georgiana by the shoulder's and attempt to shake some sense into her. The sense of impending doom becomes, at times, an impediment to enjoying Ms. Foreman's well-crafted book. That discomfort is, however, not nearly as much a criticism of Ms. Foreman as it is a compliment to her ability to help the reader empathize with her subject. As an added bonus, there is a centersection of color pictures, some of which depict the luxury in which Georgiana lived. A fascinating history of a complex woman living in extraordinary times.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Georgiana,
This review is from: Georgiana Duchess Of Devonshire (Paperback)
Excellent book. I had recently seen the DVD of "The Duchess" with Kiera Knightly and Ralph Fienes. In the "extra" stuff there was an interview with the author of the book. Which made me want to read the book. It was very worthwhile. The movie reflected her actual life.
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