Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire [SIGNED]

Foreman, Amanda

Verlag: Random House, New York, 1998

Beschreibung

New condition brown boards with gold spine lettering contained in a new condition non price-clipped color illustrated dust jacket. Includes Acknowledgments; Introduction; A Note on Eighteenth-Century Politics; Chronology; List of Illustrations; Epilogue; Notes; Select Bibliography; Index; and About the Author. Illustrated with a section of black-and-white photographic plates, additional black-and-white photo illustrations, Spencer Family Tree illustrated front endpapers, Cavendish Family Tree illustrated rear endpapers, and a black-and-white frontispiece painting. Signed by the author on a Treasure Coast Literary Society bookplate affixed to the full title page. "The winner of Britain's prestigious Whitbread Prize and a bestseller there for months, this wonderfully readable biography offers a rich, rollicking picture of late-eighteenth-century British aristocracy and the intimate story of a woman who for a time was its undisputed leader. 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, at the age of seventeen, Georgiana achieved immediate celebrity by marrying one of England's richest and most influential aristocrats, the Duke of Devonshire. Launched into a world of wealth and power, she quickly became the queen of fashionable society, adored by the Price of Wales, a dear friend of Marie-Antoinette, and leader of the most important salon of her time. Not content with the role of society hostess, she used her connections to enter politics, eventually becoming more influential than most of the men who held office. Her good works and social exploits made her loved by the multitudes, but Georgiana's public success, like Diana's, concealed a personal life that was fraught with suffering. The Duke of Devonshire was unimpressed by his wife's legendary charms, preferring instead those of her closest friend, a woman with whom Georgiana herself was rumored to be on intimate terms. For over twenty years, the three lived together in a jealous and uneasy menage a trois, during which time both women bore the Duke's children - as well as those of other men. 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. A gifted young historian whom critics are already likening to Antonia Fraser, Amanda Foreman draws on a wealth of fresh research and writes colorfully and penetratingly about the fascinating Georgiana, 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." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 005230

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire [SIGNED]

Verlag: Random House, New York

Erscheinungsdatum: 1998

Einband: Hardcover

Zustand: New

Zustand des Schutzumschlags: New

Signiert: Signed by Author(s)