This biography of Georgiana Cavendish reveals the important role she played in the social and political circle of Whigs in 17th-century England. It shows her to ...
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This biography of Georgiana Cavendish reveals the important role she played in the social and political circle of Whigs in 17th-century England. It shows her to be a woman of high influence but also one caught up in scandalous behavior in her household.
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Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!
Description: Very good. Dust Cover Missing. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
Description: Good. 1999-Hardcover---Used-Good. Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available.
Description: Good. 1999-Hardcover-Cover shows minor shelf wear. ---Used-Good-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available.
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Fine to very good. Faint edgewear. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 455 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade.
Description: Very Good in Very Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. One-inch tear along upper left of front edge, creases on spine, bumps and shelf wear.
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Description: Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 0375502947. Price on DJ is $29.95. Light rubbing on dust jacket. Fairly heavy.; 1.75 x 9.5 x 6.5 Inches; 457 pages; From DJ: "The winner of Britain's prestigious Whitbread Prize and a bestseller there for months, this wonderfully readable biography offers a rich, rollicking picture of late-eighteenth-century British aristocracy and the intimate story of a woman who for a time was its undisputed leader. 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, at the age of seventeen, Georgiana achieved immediate celebrity by marrying one of England's richest and most influential aristocrats, the Duke of Devonshire. Launched into a world of wealth and power, she quickly became the queen of fashionable society, adored by the Prince of Wales, a dear friend of Marie-Antoinette, and leader of the most important salon of her time. Not content with the role of society hostess, she used her connections to enter politics, eventually becoming more influential than most of the men who held office. Her good works and social exploits made her loved by the multitudes, but Georgiana's public success, like Diana's, concealed a personal life that was fraught with suffering. The Duke of Devonshire was unimpressed by his wife's legendary charms, preferring instead those of her closest friend, a woman with whom Georgiana herself was rumored to be on intimate terms. For over twenty years, the three lived together in a jealous and uneasy ménage à trois, during which time both women bore the Duke's children--as well as those of other men. Foreman's descriptions of Georgiana's uncontrollable gambling, all-night drinking, drug taking, and love affairs with the leading politicians of the day give us fascinating insight into the lives of the British aristocracy in the era of the madness of King George III, the American and French revolutions, and the defeat of Napoleon. A gifted young historian whom critics are already...
Description: Very Good-Used in Very Good jacket. / 0375502947. Dj has some shelf wear. Book is clean and tight. Ships with confirming email. 100% money back guarantee.
"Sex, intrigue and adultery in the world of high politics and huge wealth in late eighteenth-century England. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, was one of the most flamboyant and influential women of the eighteenth century. The great-great-great-great aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, she was variously a compulsive gambler, a political savante and operator of the highest order, a drug addict, an adulteress and the darling of the common people. This authoritative, utterly absorbing book presents a mesmerizing picture of a fascinating world of political and sexual intrigues, grand houses, huge parties, glamour and great wealth -- always on the edge of being squandered by the excesses and scandals of individuals.
This is an extremely well written biography of a quite extraordinary woman. I have to admit - having read some wonderful historical and other biographies this year - this won't be amoung my favourites, I think that was because I didn't actually like any of the people in it. However the research and detail is first class, and I learned a lot about Gerogiana and 18th century upper class life through reading it. I was amazed at just how political she was - apparently a not unusual thing for aristocratic women in the 18th century - she was very influential and popular, and was in part responsible for some important political deals. Her love of her children comes across strongly, and that is the one thing that makes her a little sympathetic, in all other arfeas of her private life she was a disater. Running up huge debts - then lying about them, having affairs and worst of all allowing the dreadful Lady Elizabeth Foster the place she enjoyed with her family. All in all it was an amzing life, and Amanda Foreman has done an excellent job in bringing her to life."
"As a historian, I very much appreciate the amount of research and the talent it took to write this book, which began as Amanda Foreman's PhD dissertation at Oxford. While Foreman tries to convince the reader of Georgiana's special spark, as it is, as well as her innovation and uniqueness in her time (the late Georgian period in London), I couldn't quite buy it. Again, perhaps it is the academic in me, trained to look through the argument to the facts of the issues. I didn't find Georgiana to be particularly likable, a good role model, or even extremely entertaining. She was mildly interesting. I just didn't buy Foreman's conclusions that she was a precursor to all women who became in politics from that time forward, or that she was courageous, or extremely intelligent, or even a great mother. I read this right before taking a trip to London, though, and if you're interested in the history of the city or the history of the nobility in England, you'll probably enjoy this book. Just be aware that it is written much like a dissertation, meaning that Foreman strings together episodes from Georgiana's life supported by snippets of letters and newspaper articles."
"I originally read about the existence of this book in an article in Vogue magazine, shortly before the movie The Duchess was released. This biography provided the basis for the screen play for the movie. I found the movie to be 'eh' but this book provides a multi-layered and well researched account of Georgina's life. Unlike some biographies Foreman gives us the good, the bad, the ugly, and the redemptive aspects of G's life. That being said - there is a lot of information to wade through and I think that is why I gave the book three stars rather than four. There were parts of the book which I had to force myself to slog through.
Georgina, the Duchess of Devonshire, through Foreman's telling, becomes a woman who is not only the trend setter of her day in both fashion and entertaining but is a first rate politician who understands the working of party politics before 'party politics' as we understand it today existed. She campaigned for her chosen candidates and helped to affect change in the government - all this in a time when women's places in society were generally in more of a private domain.
We also experience G's foibles, follies, and tragedies in such a way that she is a character who exacts sympathy rather than pity or contempt. I believe this is due to Foreman's writing and choice to present much of the information in G's own words (letters, diaries, etc).
Overall I enjoyed this biography and definitely recommend it to anyone who saw the movie as that was a sad and pitiful attempt to tell the story of a woman who, really, defied definition and the pigeon holing many women in history usually endure."
"I strongly recommend reading this right after coming off of a novel about a serial killer that murders people by breaking their bones. That makes his biography of -- as my friend Claire put it -- "really bad people doing bad things to each other" seem really not so terrible.
That said, it's a well researched biography with some very interesting facts thrown in.
There are only a couple issues I had with it: one -- Georgiana is known for her devotion to her children and an involvement with them that was unusual at the time. Though we get small snippets of reading about her breast feed and party plan, up until the moment she has to make the choice of her children or her lover, the author barely ever mentions them. In fact, the author mentions her first 2 children being born, and then basically spends 2 or 3 chapters focusing 100% on her political campaigning, during which the children are never mentioned.
Two: Grey was supposed to be the great love of her life, with a passionate affair, but we're really shown none of that. A few letters mentioning him, then being told he had come out to visit Georgiana and her sister while they were abroad for Harriet's health, and then BAM -- Georgiana's pregnant with his baby.
Ultimately, the book was not able to give the emotional impact on many of the tragic things (and the happy things, such as finally bearing a son) in Georgiana's life that she and those around her must have felt at these events."
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