First published 2001
Georgiana Spencer transforms from aristocratic daughter into the Duchess of Devonshire after her 1774 marriage to the fifth Duke. She quickly establishes herself as the reigning queen of fashionable London society, winning admiration from the Prince Regent and forming close bonds with Marie Antoinette. Her political salon becomes a powerful force for the Whig party while common people celebrate her as their champion. Behind the glittering public facade, Georgiana battles devastating personal demons. Her addiction to gambling creates crushing debts that threaten her reputation and standing. Her desperate pursuit of genuine affection brings heartbreak and forces her into painful exile from everything she has built. Amanda Foreman's illustrated biography captures both the spectacular rise of this eighteenth century icon and the private torment that shadowed her every triumph.
Genres: biography, history, historical-fiction, 20th-century, historical-romance, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: London, Whig Party
Period: 1774, 18th-Century
252 pages · Hardcover · HarperCollins Illustrated
Content warnings: addiction, mental-illness