Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire in Our Shared Shelf

Nov 04, 2008 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Shelves: england, nonfiction, history, 18thcentury

What a meaty, thorough book. At times I found the level of detail overwhelming, but there were also some very interesting bits about women in politics. Georgiana seemed like a vivacious, restless, generous, somewhat naive, character.

I found the descriptions of Georgiana's relationships and lifestyle to be somewhat galling. I won't spoil the book, but her choice of best friend seemed more like a life-long albatross than an ally.

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Sep 01, 2008 Alana rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, 2008_09_september

I know, I know... I picked this up on a whim once I heard about the new movie coming out. Not exactly the best reason for reading a biography. The movie The Duchess is loosely based on this biography of Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. I knew the movie wouldn't necessarily be faithful to the biography, and so, I wanted to read the bio first and have all the facts.
What I found was a delightful biography about a complex and interesting woman who was incredibly influential during her time. Whe ...more

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Apr 09, 2009 Anne rated it liked it

Shelves: borrowed, non-fiction

I enjoyed this book, but found myself out of my depth in the political discussions. The number of people involved and the complexity of the British political system at the end of the eighteenth century was a little more than I could follow well.

Georgiana herself was a fascinating character, and if I had more background in eighteenth century politics I would have enjoyed the book more.

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