Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
A Review on the biography by Amanda Foreman
For starters, I am baffled by how many people mistake this book for a novel. I have read so many reviews that say it was too historical, too dry for a novel, and that they didn’t get a chance to get into the characters because the story read like a research paper. These people are ridiculous, because it’s a biography and because it was the most fascinating ‘research paper’ I’ve ever read.
I was amazed at how many people Georgiana managed to charm in her life. When you read about all her flaws and mishaps, you expect the world to hate her. I expect that I would have hated her. She constantly gambled, lost all her money, and was continuously lying to everyone around her. She seems silly and a bit hairbrained. But when it comes down to it, everyone that knew her loved her. She set trends, led a political party to greatness, and was a best friend to her children. (Despite the few years she neglected them to go have another child from another man, even her children thought her to be the best mother in the world.)
Prior to this biography, I had no idea that she was a great ancestor to the infamous Princess Di. I also found it refreshing to read a biography on royalty that was non-Tudor related. I highly recommend the book, and the movie made after it starring Keira Knightley, although after reading the biography I find the movie a bit deceptive on the character of the Duke.
Abuse, Affairs, and Amateurs | Anakalian Whims said,
March 8, 2015 at 9:11 pm
[…] I saw it on the shelf as I was running history and thought, this looks interesting, and I loved Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. I thought this one would be similar. And it was. But it […]