Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire [Paperback]

This is a review of the original hardback edition of 1998. Whilst on a visit to Chatsworth during the time of the release of the movie `The Duchess' I had purchased a new paperback edition with a picture of Keira Knightley on the cover without giving it too much scrutiny. I later discovered that it came with no plates. I then tracked down a very cheap new copy of the hardback edition, and I am pleased to do so. It comes with fifty-seven plates (many in colour) as well as the Spencer and Cavendish family trees as endpapers.

It should not surprise readers that the biography of the duchess as set out in Amanda Foreman's book is a lot more complicated than the life portrayed on the screen. It was more involved, with more players, and Amanda Foreman certainly has much more sympathy for the duke. But Foreman warns us in her introduction that "biographers are notorious for falling in love with their subjects."

And I am always weary of biographies such as this where the first seventeen years of the life is covered in just eighteen pages, and even these eighteen pages also cover the lives of her parents and grandparents. These are the years that form a person's character, but there are only a few references to this aspect. However, I cannot deny that the chapter is nevertheless extremely well-written. I was surprised, however, to find a number of errors in this first chapter. For example, William Cavendish was not Bess of Hardwick's eldest son; it was to Henry Cavendish that Chatsworth was left after Bess's death. And Hardwick House (sic) is not in Yorkshire.

Odd errors appear in the remainder of the text too: Roxborough Downs in Devon is `Roborough Downs'. The Duke of Portland is referred to as the Earl of Portland on the family tree. And we are told that she is buried in the family vault of St Stephen's in Derby! People seeking her grave there will be very disappointed! And how can the author say that "no painter ever captured a true likeness of Georgiana during her life"? How does she know? Some unanswered questions arise too. Why was Lord John Cavendish, who appears as older than his brother William in the printed family tree, not the duke? And what is it about the Cavendish family? We find them "telling the Duke he was a fool to support his wife any longer", for example. Who exactly? And why did they have such power over the Duke? Was he not his own man?

The remaining twenty-three chapters feature at most a period of three years, and many chapters do not even stretch more than a year of Georgiana's relatively short life. Such details allows for plenty of scope to explore her family life and her relationships both inside and outside respectable circles. But Amanda Foreman also includes a number of diversions into the wider social life of the times, such as the use of chamber pots during dinners and the competitions held for the tallest headdresses in London society, where "the only way to ride in a carriage was to sit on the floor."

But Georgiana's arrival into London society also "coincided with the flowering of the English press." And it is this even wider political element that Amanda Foreman addresses so well. Because of Georgiana's active involvement in the politics of the period, we learn much about such events as the Westminster election of 1784 and the Regency crisis of 1788-89: whilst in Paris, "Georgiana's experience of the London mob meant that at first she regarded the sporadic rioting [on the very eve of the Revolution] around her more as a nuisance than a danger." Foreman describes her as "a female pioneer in electoral politics ... It would be another hundred years before women once more ventured boldly into street politics ..." Foreman is surely right when she says, "The propensity of women's historians to ignore high politics, and of political historians to ignore women, has resulted in a profound misunderstanding of one of the most sexually integrated periods of British history."

Georgiana's end comes suddenly, barely a month after the success of her beloved Whig party when she was dubbed by her sometime foe the Duchess of Gordon as "the head of the administration."

There are thirty pages of notes, a ten-page select bibliography, and a twelve-page index (which could be better).

I found this absolutely compelling; I simply couldn't put it down. I found the politcal angle paticularly absorbing; the extra juice was just an added bonus! I also loved how Foreman points the reader to the ironies which pepper Georgina's life.It's really got me hooked on 18thc social and political history. I'm lucky enough to have a history degree, but this book is so accessible you don't need one; Foreman just guides through giving you all extra info without sounding patronising. This has to be the best researched biography I've read... if only my academic reading was as fun.

Amanda Foreman - Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire

This book reflects the life of Georgiana, the duchess of Devonshire. Lady Georgiana Spencer married the Duke of Devonshire in a very young age, and by that she became the duchess of Devonshire. The story takes place in the aristocratic Britain during the 18th century. Georgiana was one of the first women in the history who was active in the politics, she was involved in the Whig party. She was also the woman in that era that created new trends both in fashion and by getting women to get involved in politics, which usually were dedicated to the men. The press loved her and she was more than often mentioned on the front pages of the newspapers. She was the ideal social hostess and admired and envied by many of her acquaintance. However, her personal life was not as successful as her public life. Her husband, the duke, was ignorant and preferred other women to her. Even though their marriage was cold, she did not give up the thought of love. Georgiana had a close relationship to her mother, though her mother was often criticising her and judging her for not being a good enough wife.
Even though she most of the times was surrounded by people, she seemed extremely lonely. This was probably one of the reasons why she had bad habits of drinking, doing drugs and gambling.

I enjoyed this book though I did not realise that it was a historical biography before I started it. I am not that fond of history so I believe that is why I sometimes had difficulties to understand this book. I did like it anyway because of the way the author, Amanda Foreman, has written it. She does not only focus on the historical parts, she makes the reading interesting in her descriptions of the characters. It does not only describe the life of Georgiana, it also describes the social environment in which she was living. Not having studied this part of the British history before, it made me have a good insight in it. It describes Britain during this century both politically, socially and the women's situation. Amanda Foreman describes Georgiana in a way that made me feel compassion for her. She was incredibly intelligent and seemed to have a heart of gold, she wanted to see the good in the people that crossed her way. She describes each character well and I could easily see the 18th century British aristocrats in front of me. Though, I do believe it was too much focus on the political history and the book contains many characters which sometimes made it hard to get a hold on each one of them. All the different letters sent between different persons was sometimes confusing. The language is to a certain extent old fashioned and sometimes hard to understand. I would without doubt recommend this book and especially to those interested in the British 18th century history and politics.