The Duchess-Fast Shipping

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NEW YORK TIMES
NOTABLE BOOK •
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

Lady Georgiana Spencer was the great-great-great-great-aunt ofDiana, Princess of Wales, and was nearly as famous in her day. In 1774 Georgianaachieved immediate celebrity by marrying William Cavendish, fifth duke of Devonshire,one of England’s richest and most influential aristocrats. She became the queen offashionable society and founder of the most important political salon of her Georgiana’s public success concealed an unhappy marriage, a gambling addiction,drinking, drug-taking, and rampant love affairs with the leading politicians of theday. With penetrating insight, Amanda Foreman reveals a fascinating woman whose struggleagainst her own weaknesses, whose great beauty and flamboyance, and whose determinationto play a part in the affairs of the world make her a vibrant, astonishingly contemporaryfigure.

Praise for The Duchess

“Georgiana bursts from the pages of Amanda Foreman’s dazzling biography like the force of nature she undoubtedly was–passionate, political, addicted to gambling, and drunk on life. This is a stunning book about an astonishing woman.”
–Simon Schama

“Biography at its best . . . seamlessly merges a life and its times, capturing not just an individual but an age.”
–The New York Times Book Review

“Riveting . . . marvelously diverting.”
–The New Yorker