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Summary:
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK Now a major motion picture starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes
Lady Georgiana Spencer was the great-great-great-great-aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, and was nearly as famous in her day. In 1774 Georgiana achieved immediate celebrity by marrying William Cavendish, fifth duke of Devonshire, one of England’s richest and most influential aristocrats. She became the queen of fashionable society and founder of the most important political salon of her time. But Georgiana’s public success concealed an unhappy marriage, a gambling addiction, drinking, drug-taking, and rampant love affairs with the leading politicians of the day. With penetrating insight, Amanda Foreman reveals a fascinating woman whose struggle against her own weaknesses, whose great beauty and flamboyance, and whose determination to play a part in the affairs of the world make her a vibrant, astonishingly contemporary figure.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Very informative
Customer Rating:
I am a big fan of historical fiction so I decided to order this one. First let me state, this is not an easy read. This is a biography so it lacks some of the flair of Dians Gabaldon or Philippa Gregory. However, it gives an interesting perspective of the politics of 18th century England. It also makes the movie much more intriguing.
Too Academic
Customer Rating:
For Amanda Foreman's dissertation she researched the controversial late eighteenth-century political hostess Lady Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and the result is a 405-page tribute to Georgiana and her times.
The idea behind "The Duchess" is a publisher's dream. An ancestor of Princess Diana (both belonged to the fabled Spencer family, whose wealth and power preceded those of the current British monarchy) Georgiana was also intensely followed by the fledging British press, and she epitomized fashion. And like Diana Georgiana had marriage problems, and suffered from an eating disorder. Whereas Diana threw herself into humanitarian causes Georgiana threw herself into political issues as a political hostess and patron of the Whig party. Sexiest of all is how Georgiana became a lover and benefactor of her husband's mistress.
A publicist can have the easiest time conjuring one-liners to sell this book: "There were three people in her marriage" is what appears in the new paperback edition, and the new movie's line is something like "Before there was Diana there was the Duchess" or something equally mundane and hackneyed but for the legions of Diana fans out there absolutely eye-catching.
Unfortunately, while the idea is instant gold, the execution leaves much to be desired. Ms. Foreman, as a young and inexperienced writer, continually shifts from the macro of the volatile political times to the micro of Georgiana's affairs and gambling addiction without being able to reconcile these two worlds. This is odd because Georgiana's life was center stage for the age's political dramas -- a benefactor of the Whig party she was very close friends with the Whig leaders Charles Fox and Richard Sheridan. She also managed to find herself in France during the political tumult that eventually climaxed into the French Revolution. Yet somehow Ms. Foreman manages to disjoint Georgiana from the times.
There are perhaps two reasons for this. First, as an academic, Ms. Foreman is too focused on analyzing and deconstructing rather than simply just telling a good story. She feels compelled to explain to us the nuances and complexities of eighteenth-century British political culture when all we really care about is who Georgiana is sleeping with, and how.
That's forgivable for a young writer trained in academia -- but the second reason is not so forgivable. Ms. Foreman's political agenda in this biography is to redeem Georgiana's reputation, and make her out to be a far more thoughtful and compassionate person than she really was. We know that Princess Diana suffered from borderline personality disorder, and that as a manic depressive she sought control and order in her life by manipulating her weight and more sinisterly manipulating public opinion. She was masterful at public relations, and while we cannot fault her for using her mastery to elevate her status we can fault her for elevating her status by savaging that of others.
And the historical evidence -- that Georgiana had extra-marital affairs, that she was bisexual, that was a drug user, that she doted on her children without actually loving them, that she was a degenerate gambler, that she demanded publicity and attention -- suggested that Georgiana also suffered from depression. The publicists are right: Before there was Diana there was the Duchess.
And just as Diana's most ardent supporters insist she is a saint so Ms. Foreman tries to resurrect Georgiana's image as a saint with human flaws. And is so doing Diana's supporters and Ms. Foreman are most unkind and unfair. There is pity and there is adoration but what, I suspect, Diana and Georgiana most sought in their broken lives (because they are human, after all) was love, and love can only come from understanding.
And unfortunately Diana's supporters and Ms. Foreman make no effort to understand their tragic heroines.
A Lesson on English Politics History
Customer Rating:
First, please be clear this is not a novel. It's a History text book.
If you want to learn everything about English political campaigns during the adult life of The Dutchess, this is the book for you. But if you want to enjoy a well-written story about the lady herself, look elsewhere.
This books is a chronological report, spliced together from public and private documents, letters and newspaper articles. There are 34 pages of footnotes, a bibliography, an index, a chronology and a family tree to keep track of sources, references and who's who.
It really is a shame that someone has not used this vast historic record to write a real novel about the fascinating Dss of D. This is not it.
If you decide to buy/read this, you will be asking yourself "Is there a quiz at the end?"
Dutchess - History Book in Disguise
Customer Rating:
I love period pieces and readiing historical bios but this book's format is not initially what you may think. Be sure to browse through it before you buy because its more in a "history book format" rather than an entertaining read about a woman's life.
It does have much, much more detail than the movie, which only skimmed over what made the Dutchess a memorable woman in her day.
Its an okay book, but best to read before you go to bed to relax you as its slow and choppy pace the way its written.
Superb!
Customer Rating:
Georgina was a women beyond her time. She had an adventureous and emotionally sad go with relationships. The author brings her to life. Read the book before you see the movie. Much more vivid picture painted of her life by the author.
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