The Duchess: Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Amanda Foreman

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Privilege and Scandal: The Remarkable Life of Harriet Spencer, Sister of Georgiana by Janet Gleeson, Crown Publishers, New York, 2006. ISBN 978-0-307-38197-2

it became the most important accessory in a lady's wardrobe, even though the tall nodding plumes were difficult to find and extremely expensive. The ton wore them with a smug arrogance which infuriated the less fortunate. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 164, repro. Sadly Georgiana was denied the opportunity to raise her fourth child, Eliza Courtney (1792-1859) because she had been conceived during an affair with politician Charles Grey (1764–1845). The Duke exiled Georgiana, forbidding her to return until invited and only on the condition that the baby was placed elsewhere. Georgiana was able to see Eliza as she grew up, acting as an unofficial god-parent, but Eliza was only told of her parentage after Georgiana’s death. Eliza named her first daughter Georgiana and her second Elizabeth Georgiana.The fashion generated resentment: it was too excessive and too exclusive. The Queen banned ostrich feathers from court, and according to Lady Louisa Stuart, "the unfortunate feathers were insulted, mobbed, hissed, Marriage and children [ edit ] With her siblings, Henrietta and George, by Angelica Kauffman, c. 1774. The painting was painted just before Georgiana's marriage to the Duke of Devonshire. Unwilling to disappoint her mother, Georgiana made sincere efforts to appear cheerful, sending her carefully composed accounts of her life. Lady Spencer was particularly delighted when Georgiana wrote her letters in French and interspersed her news with

As was common among the aristocracy of her time, Georgiana routinely gambled for leisure and amusement. However, her gaming spiraled into a ruinous addiction made worse by her emotional instability. her friend. "His (philosophical) Grace was at the other end of the room and ask'd 'what's that?' They told him and he replied with his usual demureness (alias dullness), 'I thought the noise—was—among—the—women.'" He did not even make a pretence of going over to where Georgiana lay to see how she was. tell you all the civil things she said, and really they deserve a better name, which is kindness embellished by politeness. I hope she will illumine and reform her contemporaries!" Even cynics like Horace Walpole found received from his mistress, companionship from his friends; from his wife he expected loyalty, support, and commitment to the family's interests. His was an old-fashioned view, greatly out of step with an age which the Duke because she loved him "above all men upon Earth." She would go to any lengths to please her parents, and that included thinking herself in love with a man she hardly knew. But her happiness at his proposal

13. The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword

Theirs was a happy household and Georgiana and her siblings were raised in expectation of making good marriages to partners from similar families and were equipped with the skills and accomplishments it was felt would enhance their prospects. The family were well-travelled and, whilst in Spa in the Netherlands, met William, 5th Duke of Devonshire (1748-1811). An Aristocratic Affair – The life of Georgiana's sister Harriet, Countess Bessborough, Janet Gleeson, 2006, ISBN 0-593-05487-3 Georgiana combined a perfect mastery of etiquette with a mischievous grace and ease which met with approval in the artificial and mannered atmosphere of the French court. Wherever Georgiana accompanied Lady Spencer people marvelled at the way in which Paulson, Ronald. Emblem and Expression: Meaning in English Art of the Eighteenth Century. London, 1975: 216, pl. 148. Georgiana’s activities and those of her friends and relations were reported and ridiculed, partly because her behaviour and actions were viewed as transgressive.