A great disappointment
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Although 'Georgiana' is competently written and well-researched, I am frankly amazed that it has achieved such massive success and popularity since its first publication ten years ago. As other reviewers have pointed out, it perhaps fulfills a useful purpose in putting women back in the 'front-line' of the eighteenth-century political scene but, speaking for myself, I found the exhaustive discussion of the ups-and-downs of the Whigs and Tories tedious in the extreme and an almost total turn-off. This was doubly disappointing, since the rave reviews had led me to expect so much more.
Strangely enough, the most engaging part of the book was the introduction, in which the author writes with real verve and enthusiasm of how she was first 'introduced' to the duchess and how her sympathy and interest grew to such an extent that a full-length biography seemed to be the natural and inevitable conclusion. Would that this enthusiasm had percolated through to the rest of her work which I found to be both turgid and dull. Comparisons have already been drawn to the infinitely warmer, livelier and more approachable biographies of Flora Fraser, Claire Tomalin and Stella Tillyard. Being very familar with the writing of all these authors, and a great fan to boot, I am left to wonder why THIS work should be so celebrated, so well-regarded - and, sad to say, so completely over-hyped.
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Engaging
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I have given this review 5 stars because I think the book is well researched and an engaging read. It easily moves through the early life of the duchess (who originates in the Spencer family) and her movement through 'the ton'. The author clearly highlights the role of a women in the regency type period - feminism was unheard of and yet here we have a woman influencing politics and refusing to be constrained by her gender. The only negative comment I can make (and this is not a reflection on the book at all) is that I am not sure that I would like Georgiana very much and whilst I have sympathy for her loveless marriage, I find it hard to find empathy for a woman who lived in to such excess when many women of the era would have been grateful for a fragment of the fortune she had.
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A brilliant read, but a bit over political
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I found this book absorbing from the minute I picked it up. Amanda Foreman managed to mix the political elaments with the more social side of her life, to keep it interesting and to keep our attention. Even though I had been warned that it was heavily political, I still found it managable. However, as the book came towards the end, I felt that maybe Amanda Foreman was being pressed by her publishers to get it finished or maybe she was restricted to a limited word count. It seemed to become very rushed, brushing over elements in her life that I felt should have been covered, such as 'Little G's' wedding, both daughters' period of being debutante's and her sister Harriet's affairs, which saw her baring more illegitimate children, instead of only focusing on her political attributes. Maybe it was simply due to the fact that there are little surviving sources, but the fact that the last chapters are only appromimatly 10 pages long stays alot! Overall, It's a good read and I do recommend it, but be prepared to read alot about 18th Century politics.
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An exhaustively researched yet highly accessible book
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I found this absolutely compelling; I simply couldn't put it down. I found the politcal angle paticularly absorbing; the extra juice was just an added bonus! I also loved how Foreman points the reader to the ironies which pepper Georgina's life.It's really got me hooked on 18thc social and political history. I'm lucky enough to have a history degree, but this book is so accessible you don't need one; Foreman just guides through giving you all extra info without sounding patronising. This has to be the best researched biography I've read... if only my academic reading was as fun.
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a well-crafted, sympathetic and vivid portrayal
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Clearly well-researched, this biography of one of the eighteenth century's most enigmatic figures conveys vividly the tumultous world of eighteenth century politics alongside that of Georgiana's private life. A pioneer in women's involvement in politics, her role as a campaigner and society hostess placed her in the centre of the Whig party throughout its years of opposition; prominent men instinctively sought her advice. As well as highlighting G's pivotal political role, Foreman succeeds in capturing the moral ambiguity of the age in the private dilemmas her heroine faces: a hopeless addiction to gaming, her husband's mistress being her best friend, forcing to choose between her lover and her children etc. Although from an age difficult to empathise with, Foreman never the less makes G and her world instantly accessible. An Interesting and insightful read.
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