Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 941
EAN: 9780006550167
Edition: New edition
ISBN: 0006550169
Label: Flamingo
Manufacturer: Flamingo
Number Of Pages: 496
Publication Date: June 07, 1999
Publisher: Flamingo
Studio: Flamingo

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Georgiana Spencer was, in a sense, an 18th-century "It Girl". She came from one of England's richest and most landed families, and married into another. She was, beautiful, sensitive and extravagant. Acquainted fairly young with Charles James Fox, her move from parties to Parties led her to become the intimate of ministers and princes, and she canvassed assiduously for the Whig cause, most famously in the Westminster election of 1784. By turns she was caricatured and fawned on by the press, and she provided the inspiration for Lady Teazle in Sheridan's School For Scandal. But, luckily for her biographer, she also had weaknesses that were to taint her life. As gin gripped the masses, so gambling enthralled the aristocracy. By 1784 Georgiana owed "many, many, many thousands", and the creditors she acquired dogged her until her death, but the sterility of her marriage meant that she never came close to disclosing the magnitude of her debts. Amanda Foreman describes astutely the mess that was personal relationships for the aristocratic subculture (Georgiana and the Duke engaged for many years in a ménage à trois with Lady Elizabeth Fraser, who inveigled her way into his bed and her heart). She is, by her own admission, a little in love with her subject, which can lead to occasional lapses of perspective, but generally it adds zest to a narrative built on, rather than burdened by, scholarship, that is at once accessible and learned. An impressive debut, in every sense. --David Vincent




Rating: - A great disappointment
Although 'Georgiana' is competently written and well-researched, I am frankly amazed that it has achieved such massive success and popularity since its first publication ten years ago. As other reviewers have pointed out, it perhaps fulfills a useful purpose in putting women back in the 'front-line' of the eighteenth-century political scene but, speaking for myself, I found the exhaustive discussion of the ups-and-downs of the Whigs and Tories tedious in the extreme and an almost total turn-off. ... Read More

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Rating: - Engaging
I have given this review 5 stars because I think the book is well researched and an engaging read. It easily moves through the early life of the duchess (who originates in the Spencer family) and her movement through 'the ton'. The author clearly highlights the role of a women in the regency type period - feminism was unheard of and yet here we have a woman influencing politics and refusing to be constrained by her gender. The only negative comment I can make (and this is not a reflection on the ... Read More

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Rating: - A brilliant read, but a bit over political
I found this book absorbing from the minute I picked it up. Amanda Foreman managed to mix the political elaments with the more social side of her life, to keep it interesting and to keep our attention. Even though I had been warned that it was heavily political, I still found it managable. However, as the book came towards the end, I felt that maybe Amanda Foreman was being pressed by her publishers to get it finished or maybe she was restricted to a limited word count. It seemed to become very rushed, ... Read More

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Rating: - An exhaustively researched yet highly accessible book
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 ... Read More

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Rating: - a well-crafted, sympathetic and vivid portrayal
Clearly well-researched, this biography of one of the eighteenth century's most enigmatic figures conveys vividly the tumultous world of eighteenth century politics alongside that of Georgiana's private life. A pioneer in women's involvement in politics, her role as a campaigner and society hostess placed her in the centre of the Whig party throughout its years of opposition; prominent men instinctively sought her advice. As well as highlighting G's pivotal political role, Foreman succeeds in capturing the ... Read More

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