I confess, though this book has extraordinary detail and research about Georgiana's political activities, I found her personal life far more fascinating. The Book of the Duchess translated and retold in modern English prose, 2016, by Richard Scott-Robinson

The Duchess (film) - Wikipedia The Duchess (film) - Wikipedia

Overwhelming (if disputed) evidence suggests that Chaucer wrote the poem to commemorate the death of Blanche of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt. The evidence includes handwritten notes from Elizabethan antiquary John Stow indicating that the poem was written at John of Gaunt's request. There are repeated instances of the word "White", which is almost certainly a play on "Blanche". In addition, at the end of the poem there are references to a "long castel", suggesting the house of Lancaster (line 1,318) and a "ryche hil" as John of Gaunt was earl of Richmond (mond=hill) (line 1,319) and the narrator swears by St. John, which is the name of John of Gaunt's saint. [3] Plot summary [ edit ] Georgiana finds comfort in Bess's friendship during her time of giving birth to Eliza. Georgiana and William come to terms with one another and, along with Bess, continue their lives together. A witty and engaging life of Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston and Countess of Bristol, who was tried for bigamy in 1776, which for all her subject’s scandal-ridden life is ultimately sympathetic.' Georgiana made Devonshire House, the couple’s London home, the centre of activities for Britain’s fashionable opposition party. The Whigs were great landowners who contested the power of the crown (which at that time sat rather uneasily on the head of the increasingly insane George III) and who supported the American War of Independence. George III and his prime minister William Pitt were furious that Georgiana had tempted the vain, idle Prince of Wales into her inner circle, thereby enabling her later to save the fragile Whig coalition government from collapsing:But - Georgiana's only son never married or had children, despite many mistresses. He was as unlike his father as a son could be - he fought slavery, rebuilt the houses and villages of the poor on his lands, and took a great interest in fruit production: the bananas you buy from the supermarket were named after him, Cavendish. This work may be freely reproduced, stored and transmitted, electronically or otherwise, for any non-commercial purpose. Conditions and Exceptions apply. Fans of Bridgerton (so, basically, everyone) will adore former Tatler editor Catherine Ostler’s deliciously evocative biography of Georgian anti-heroine Elizabeth Chudleigh, whose real-life antics make the Ton seem positively tame by comparison. Mystery: Wednesday feels G uses this in a letter to her mother but I can't find any modern definition or reference.

The Duchess (2008) - Plot - IMDb The Duchess (2008) - Plot - IMDb

Georgiana became an important hostess, advisor and campaigner for the Whigs. She was the queen of the haute ton, an eighteenth century IT girl and so much more. She was involved with the who's who of the late 1770s. Among her friends were the King and Queen of France. The political influence of women wouldn't be seen again until the 20th century " The accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 had a further dampening effect on women’s participation in public life"An exhaustive survey of late 18th century British politics and the manners of an uninhibited aristocracy. Surely people who were brought to this book by the movie will be disappointed; however, that is the case in about 98.5% of books made into movies. But for those interested in context and a wealth of detail, this book is a much more satisfying achievement. In 1791, Georgiana was banished to the Continent for two years, where she gave birth to Charles Grey’s daughter, Eliza. Bess accompanied her, and chose to stay with Georgiana for several months, rather than return to the Duke, who insisted that the child (interestingly, an ancestor of the Duchess of York) was handed over to Grey’s parents, who brought her up. Book of the duchesse. In The complete works of Geoffrey Chaucer (1937), [1] pp. 83–96. Edited from numerous manuscripts by the Rev. Walter William Skeat (1835–1912). [2] This was a book, that I would like to have loved, but ultimately, it did not cut the mustard, pass the port, or lead in the quadrille. nanny for her. Evidently, she has no one else to turn to and with her bag of money hidden she goes off to live the life of a servant. Now she has never been around children but has to become the nanny to four children 4 1/2 years and younger. Not to worry though, Angelique excels at whatever

The Duchess — SAM LLEWELLYN The Duchess — SAM LLEWELLYN

But, while I've enjoyed much of the endeavors of more recent female scholars (what I get hold of, which I know is a minescule portion of What's Out There), the separate spheres concept made me increasingly impatient. The implication is that what women did was as important as men, it just wasn't leading governments, or considered important. Okay, sure, I'm with you. But the concept itself sort of hangs there, forcing an artificial view on readers just as the old style of history did, in which women weren't mentioned much at all, unless they were queens or famous courtesans. The idea being that women carried on separate lives largely invisible to men. When one reads letters of both men and women of the 1700s, just for example, one discovers just how much influences was going both ways, despite the forms. There’s a lot of political manuevering in this book, but because Georgiana and her family and friends wrote so many letters, it’s mostly about her personal life and relationships. In that sense, she seems like a prototypical celebrity: enormously popular, in the papers all the time, even sought-after for branding products, but in her personal life, she was insecure, a people-pleaser, struggled to say “no,” was addicted to gambling, hid her debts, and had a poor marriage, in which both parties had extramarital children. Still a solid read, especially concerning the political sphere, but this time I was focusing on the personalities, and what slipped by on a first reading caught me this time: how much Amanda Foreman really dislikes Elizabeth Foster, or Bess. It seems a straightforward biography, stylishly written, except that Foreman slides in so many reminders of Bess's jealousy and secret disliked of Georgiana--without proof. Where are the footnotes proving that? All the more remarkable since Bess undoubtedly doctored Georgiana's papers after her death, to remove all signs of her perfidy--and that included rewriting her own diaries, to present herself in the light of a heroine. (Not the first to do that!) Bess probably was as manipulative and two-faced as depicted here. Her actions would seem to point that way. But I want primary evidence of anyone's inner thoughts. Especially someone who was apparently so very good at masking. Although by modern standards, this story may seem scandalous, there is no evidence that Georgiana, Bess and the Duke of Devonshire were not all perfectly happy with their arrangement. Historians say that at that time, men accepted the fact that married women had romantic relationships with other women, as this allowed them to find comfort without harming the essential fabric of society. Georgiana’s relationship with Bess, seems to have been a romantic, and possibly a physical or sexual one, too. This was nothing new for Georgiana.But she accumulated huge debts, unbeknown to her husband. A friend, the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan advised: “paying only encourages them”. So she told endless lies, making light of her debts to both her friends and her bankers, and even borrowing money from the Prince of Wales. Georgiana starts an affair with Charles Grey. William is outraged when Georgiana suggests that since he has Bess, she should be allowed Charles. William rapes Georgiana; a male child is the product. Bess encourages the affair between Georgiana and Charles after the birth of Georgiana's son. Soon, the whole of London society learns of Georgiana's affair. William threatens to end Charles's political career and forbid Georgiana from seeing her children again if she does not end the relationship. After initially refusing, Georgiana ends her relationship with Grey but tells William that she is pregnant with Charles' child. She is sent to the countryside where she gives birth to her daughter with Grey, Eliza Courtney, who is given to the Grey family to raise as Charles' niece.

The Duchess Countess | Book by Catherine Ostler | Official The Duchess Countess | Book by Catherine Ostler | Official

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. Fascinating. Magnificent. Sensitively told. Complex, capricious, beautiful and boldly ambitious, Elizabeth Chudleigh was also one of the most reviled women in Georgian England. In resurrecting her tale, Catherine Ostler allows the Duchess of Kingston to emerge from the prejudices of the past like a resplendent phoenix.’ Excellent... Ostler has undertaken impressive international archival research and always follows the money meticulously. The book’s spritely, wry tone is a pleasure to read throughout. By the end, however, I was ... in awe of Catherine Ostler’s thoughtful portraiture, both of Elizabeth Chudleigh and her century.' As she grows a little more mature she discovers twin passions - fashion and politics, which being a woman, she can only comment on, not vote or act herself. Combining those into a glittering salon for the wealthy, well-connected and appreciative gives her a measure of fulfillment. Not just fulfillment but solace too as her cold husband adds disdain to his list of unlovely qualities when she produces two daughters and no sons. In time she does have a son, this gains her a monetary reward from the Duke, as if she needed it.Foster, Michael. "On Dating the Duchess: The Personal and Social Context of Book of the Duchess." Review of English Studies 59 (Fall 2008): 185–196. Having seen the movie before reading, I was expecting the same seedy love affair between the unhappily wed but wildly popular Georgiana Spencer, great aunt to the late Princess Diana and Whig Party up-and-comer Charles Gray. As in her real life, the affair was hardly a chapter’s worth of material Jessica, Salter (24 August 2008). "Keira Knightley angry at Diana comparison". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 13 June 2020. In a way, this biography is a tale of decadence and excess, and this was the slant taken when rewriting it as a script, for the film “The Duchess”. The film hypes it up, creating scenes of great palladian houses, public celebrity and female flamboyance. The camera lovingly dwells on the rustling pastel silks, gorgeous gowns with glittering flashes of diamonds, plate, carriages, and lavish dinners. There is a constant entourage of footmen and servants, wild parties, love and sexual intrigue—and just a nod to party politics.