Synopses & Reviews
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 Englands richest and most influential aristocrats. She became the queen of fashionable society and founder of the most important political salon of her time. But Georgianas 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.
Synopsis
Winner of Britain's prestigious Whitbread Prize, Foreman's bestselling work--soon to be a major motion picture starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes--is a penetrating, marvelously written account of Lady Georgiana Spencer. Two 8-page b&w photo inserts.
Synopsis
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK -
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE 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.
Praise for The Duchess
"Georgiana bursts from the pages of Amanda Foreman's dazzling biography like the force of nature she undoubtedly was-passionate, political, addicted to gambling, and drunk on life. This is a stunning book about an astonishing woman."-Simon Schama
"Biography at its best . . . seamlessly merges a life and its times, capturing not just an individual but an age."-The New York Times Book Review
"Riveting . . . marvelously diverting."-The New Yorker
Synopsis
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 Englands richest and most influential aristocrats. She became the queen of fashionable society and founder of the most important political salon of her time. But Georgianas 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.
About the Author
Amanda Foreman, born in London in 1968, was educated at Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, and Oxford University, where she received a Ph.D. in history. A freelance journalist and until recently a researcher at Oxford, she has, since the immensely successful publication of Georgiana in the United Kingdom, made numerous television and radio appearances there, including the presentation of a Channel 4 documentary on the life of her subject. The Duchess (originally published as Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire) is her first book. She lives in New York City and London.