The release date for the English version of 'Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire' by
Amanda Foreman is Jan 2001. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
This incredibly accessible history, which was the recipient of Britain's esteemed Whitbread Prize and a bestseller for months, paints a vivid, humorous image of late eighteenth-century British nobility and the personal narrative of a lady who briefly held the title of unchallenged leader.
Diana, Princess of Wales's great-great-great-great-aunt, Lady Georgiana Spencer, was almost as well-known in her own right. At the age of seventeen, Georgiana became well-known right away when she wed the Duke of Devonshire, one of the wealthiest and most powerful lords in England, in 1774. She was thrust into a world of affluence and influence and swiftly rose to prominence as the head of the most significant salon of her day, the queen of fashionable society, and the Prince of Wales' favorite. She was also a close friend of Marie-Antoinette. She wasn't happy being a social hostess, so she leveraged her contacts to get into politics and finally outshined most of the men in positions of power.
Many people admired Georgiana for her good deeds and social accomplishments, but like Diana, her public success was masking a difficult personal life. The Duke of Devonshire was not charmed by the mythical charms of his bride; instead, he preferred those of her closest friend, a person Georgiana herself was said to be close to. The three of them had a jealous and uncomfortable ménage à trois for more than twenty years, during which both of the women gave birth to the Duke's children as well as those of other men.
Foreman's depictions of Georgiana's compulsive gambling, drinking until dawn, drug use, and liaisons with prominent politicians during that period offer us a fascinating look into the lives of the British nobility during King George III's insanity, the American and French revolutions, and Napoleon's downfall.
Critics have already compared Amanda Foreman, a gifted young historian, to Antonia Fraser. She writes vividly and insightfully about the fascinating Georgiana, a figure who is vibrant and remarkably contemporary due to her determination to participate in world affairs, her fight against her own weaknesses, and her great beauty and flamboyance.