Cavendish, William

Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire (Modern Library Paperbacks)

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Impossible Read
awesome!
INTRICATE, INVOLVING SAGA OF A SOMETIMES DITZY LADY
A.K.A. The "Let's Blame Bess Book!"
Difficult Read

Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire (Modern Library Paperbacks)
Amanda Foreman
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375753834
Release Date: 2001-01-16

Amazon.com

Georgiana Spencer was, in a sense, an 18th-century It Girl. She came from one of England's richest and most landed families (the late Princess Diana was a Spencer too) and married into another. She was beautiful, sensitive, and extravagant--drugs, drink, high-profile love affairs, and even gambling counted among her favorite leisure-time activities. Nonetheless, she quickly moved from a world dominated by social parties to one focused on political parties. The duchess was an intimate of ministers and princes, and she canvassed assiduously for the Whig cause, most famously in the Westminster election of 1784. By turns she was caricatured and fawned on by the press, and she provided the inspiration for the character of Lady Teazle in Richard Sheridan's famous play The School for Scandal. But her weaknesses marked the last part of her life. By 1784, for one, Georgiana owed "many, many, many thousands," and her creditors dogged her until her death.

Biographer Amanda Foreman describes astutely the mess that surrounded the personal relationships of the aristocratic subculture (Georgiana and the duke engaged for many years in a ménage à trois with Lady Elizabeth Fraser, who inveigled her way into the duke's bed and the duchess's heart). Foreman is, by her own admission, a little in love with her subject, which can lead to occasional lapses of perspective, but generally it adds zest to a narrative built on, rather than burdened by, scholarship, that is at once accessible and learned. An impressive debut, in every sense. --David Vincent, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

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 Prince 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 ménage à 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.

Customer Reviews:

Impossible Read.......2006-12-17

This was a book club selection. I really, really tried to get into the book, but simply couldn't. After 100 difficult pages I just had to give up. Not even worthy of one star.

awesome!.......2006-09-12

i loved this book. i read it several years ago and thought it was very informative. i loved the political and fashion commentary - i learned a lot while being entertained. love it!

INTRICATE, INVOLVING SAGA OF A SOMETIMES DITZY LADY.......2005-10-04

At times the cast of characters in this biography gets one slightly lost and it is good that it has a reasonably full index. There are some intriguing photos of the scandalous goings-on and it is a generally good read.

Timothy Wingate Ottawa CANADA

A.K.A. The "Let's Blame Bess Book!".......2005-07-20

Despite Foreman's excellent style and fascinating subject, I found myself frustrated with "Georgiana" as the story continued.

Foreman's caricature of Lady Elizabeth Foster as the "villainess" of the story doesn't ring true. Foreman's repeated castigation of Bess to justify Georgiana's lower moments and characteristics reminds me of a mother repeatedly choosing to excuse her favorite child of any wrongdoing because of a "bad friend's unwholesome influence."

Bess is consistently depicted as a jealous homewrecker anxious to supplant Georgiana and "show her up." Yet Foreman's own facts reveal a level of devotion on Bess's part to the Cavendishes that makes that dificult to believe. Bess didn't seem so interested in supplanting her friend so much as she was in securing some sort of security for herself.

Foreman seems determined to depict Bess's sole motivation in all her actions as causing harm/embarrassment to G or "showing her up." If she has an alleged love affair with Count Fersen its sole purpose is to humiliate G and her love affair and near-marriage to another man is written off as an attempt to "show up" Georgianna (the man in question was of comparable rank to Devonshire).

The concept that Bess Foster might have been distinctly uncomfortable with her unorthodox position (a poor divorcee, estranged from her children, living as an undefined "houseguest"--sometimes governess, sometimes friend to G, and sometimes mistress to G's hubby) and seeking other alliances (via a respectable marriage) never seems to enter Foreman's mind.

A look at Bess's history (repudiated by her husband, abbandoned by her father) explains to any sensible person why Bess may have felt compelled to please William Cavendish and accept his advances. Clearly she'd learned in the school of hard knocks that this was an era where women fared best by pleasing the men in their lives. It says a lot about Georgiana's character that she was not above encouraging this "flirtation" between her younger friend and her husband to secure a more "pleasant" lifestyle for the both of them.

Who ultimately had the power in this relationship? Who had the political clout? The social standing? Who held all the advantages? It certainly wasn't Lady Bess Foster. If anything HER reputation was compromised by her involvement in the situation. So how can she be the one in charge of everything that was happening?

It seems throughout the narrative Bess's good intentions are maligned by selfish motives while Georgiana's faults are excused by virtue of her good nature.

Bess married William a few years after Georgiana's death. So what? How was this a disloyalty to her friend? We're talking about a woman who died twenty years after Georgiana, still wearing a hair bracelet of her late friend's hair.

It seems Amanda Foreman is a victim of the same class snobbery that colored the era she wrote about.

Nice try, Ms. Foreman. Next time, let your subject be a grown-up and be responsible for her own choices.

Difficult Read.......2004-12-30

With all the "sexy" things that happened to the subject, this could have been much more interesting. Perhaps the author was showing restraint in not ascribing perceived emotions, reactions, etc. Foreman's research is amazing and she deserves credit for her hard work. However, the book is somewhat dry and hard to follow; I was skimming it toward the end.

Average customer rating:

Wow
Great Book form my old mate
a charming story of an aging aristocrat losing his marbles..
Such an oddly charming character
good writing..

The Underground Man
Mick Jackson
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0140274375

Amazon.com

Mick Jackson makes films. It's no surprise, then, that his first novel, The Underground Man, should be so economically told, the action evoking a mise en scène. The novel takes the form of journal entries interspersed with eyewitness accounts from servants and neighbors. The "Underground Man" portrayed in the novel, William John Cavendish Bentinck-Scott, the Duke of Portland and a resident of Nottinghamshire, England, is mightily eccentric; the man was real (1800-1879), as was his eccentricity. Historical fact: the Duke commissioned eight tunnels on his estate. Present-day fact: if you walk the estate today, you see the skylights--2' in diameter and 4" thick. But why did he build them?

In the last few days of the Duke's life, eccentricity burgeons; madness follows. The reader learns that his odd view of the world was shaped by early tragedy, the full truth of which is withheld until the last few pages.

The Underground Man is that most delectable blend of fact and fiction, one in which the intriguing details of a real life are richly explored through imagination.

Book Description

William John Cavendish Bentinck-Scott was a singularly eccentric man. What sets him apart from other eccentrics is the fact that he had the wealth to indulge his mania to the fullest. Mick Jackson became fascinated by the stories that surrounded his memory--the Duke died in 1879--and began to embroider them with fictional ideas of Jacksons own, and with the tales that local people had passed on to him. Some of the characters names in this book are genuine, as is much of the geography, and indeed some of the most bizarre details. The actual narrative is, however, pure invention, filled not only with the tale of the Duke but also the excitement and discoveries of the age in which he lived, and the mysteries that we may still discover.

This is a curiously moving and often hilarious portrait of the remarkable fifth Duke of Portland, who indulged his fantasies to the fullest and built a vast network of tunnels beneath his estate from which he could secretly escape to the world beyond.

Customer Reviews:

Wow.......2006-08-18

"The Underground Man" is the best book I've read all year! I don't know much about the real Duke of Portland or how historically accurate the book is, but as a character study, it is superb. It may not be for everyone--there are a few passages that might upset the very squeamish--but for those who like their fiction a bit "offbeat," it should be quite satisfying.

Although the story is rather sad, the author's sense of humor helps mitigate the more tragic elements of the Duke's life. The part where he has stomach pain and tries to discover what is wrong is one of the funniest passages I've ever encountered in a book. I also enjoyed the bit about the "essence of beef," given to the Duke by a friend to help with his stomach troubles.

The historical details impart a vivid sense of life and science in the 1800's, and the personal details make the very strange Duke seem very real.

Outstanding!

Great Book form my old mate.......2005-10-06

Mick is an old classmate of mine from Dartington College...
,and reading this is like being with him again...For, he , his wit, charm, brilliance are all here in this treasure of a book.
Reading it is like an incredible journey he dares you to take with him...and most important of all is that old Jackson humour...giggling between the lines of nearly every page...
I strongly urge you to read this book...you will not be disapointed......(can I have me twenty quid now mate?)

Ray Barcia.

a charming story of an aging aristocrat losing his marbles.........2004-12-15

'The Underground Man' is a most unusual story. Apparently loosely based on a real person, it is about an aging aristocrat in Victorian England who slowly progresses/regresses from being an eccentric (likes to build many tunnels under his massive estate) to a real cuckoo (becomes delusional, and begins to engage into nasty mischief). And he seems to be obsessed with his (real? imagined?) failing health. His staff, while seeming unerringly loyal, struggle to keep up with him.

While all this might sound a bit dull, the book is salvaged by some very sweet and compassionate writing. The dottering old coot is all alone and sad. The reader cannot help but care for him, much like his close servants. I was hoping that someone would come and offer true comfort to the old man. I will let future readers discover as to whether this actually happens.

Bottom line: a sweet, sad story of aging and loneliness. Depressing? No. Recommended? Yes.

Such an oddly charming character.......2004-11-01

I had no clue what this book was when I bought it...but I'm so glad I did! The Duke is one of the most oddly charming characters I've ever encountered in literature. He referred to the events in his life and his actions in such a way that almost felt detached...almost. I got the impression that he did understand his thoughts, emotional reactions and behavior were strange but also knew who he was an accepted it.

While the ending is tragic, I felt it gave a truly understanding look into a person with serious mental problems who was still able to live a fulfilling life.

good writing.........2003-08-17

it certainly is a good writing... simple yet smooth, full of curious metaphors -- just like the duke himself ---.. very well-written.
However, i couldn't really figure out what the author's driving at. the mystery + the duke's ruminations, his adventures, and the title... everything seemed to have its own agenda, not really unifying under one central theme. (correct me if i'm wrong..I was wondering what the author was trying to say the whole time i was reading the book..(while admiring his writing...)
I thought this was going to be about tunnels -- the underground man? --- but they are only small part of the novel.... so, although i did enjoy the book for the writing, i couldn't really grasp the story...

Average customer rating:

The way to good riding is timeless
Fortunate Cavendish put it in writing

General System Of Horsemanship
William Cavendish
Manufacturer: Trafalgar Square Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1570761515

Book Description

This classic work is not only one of the most beautiful books on horses ever published, but also a landmark in the development of equestrian technique.

Customer Reviews:

The way to good riding is timeless.......2001-11-06

Once you get over the different style of font and familiarize yourself with the vocabulary this book privides for some exciting reading. This man must have been a genius. He provides detail description of how to loosen up your young horse in the shoulders and further work and excercises in a precise way which still pertains to the basics how we ride today. Its sometimes good to go back to the original scourses.

Fortunate Cavendish put it in writing.......2001-07-08

Together with books by Gurinire, Mseler, and Podhasky (see these) this too is a very important book concerning classical dressage. The text gives the impression of being written with considerable thought...this contrasts somewhat with some modern dressage texts. This text together with Gurnire's is recomendable.

Dramatic Works by William Cavendish (Malone Society Reprints)

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Dramatic Works by William Cavendish (Malone Society Reprints)
William Cavendish
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

History | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

A substantial body of Cavendish's prose and verse is preserved among the Portland literary manuscripts in the Hallward Library, University of Nottingham. The collection was given to the University in 1949 by the Duke's descendent William Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland, following his decision to abandon Welbeck Abbey as a family home. The four volumes ascribed to Cavendish contain in the region of 450 individual works, at least 39 of which can be classified as drama. The present miscellany edition contains most of these dramatic pieces. They were written between c.1630 and the early years of the Restoration, and include the complete text of `A Pleasante and merrye Humor off a Roge'; fragments from seven other plays including eight scenes from `A Debaushte Gallante', two dialogues on the origin of names and `Projectes...for the good of the Comon welth', and the draft of a scene between Mistress Hood and Mr Furrs in The Humorous Lovers which does not appear in the printed edition; a Christmas masque written shortly before the Civil War for the Duke's household at Welbeck Abbey; a pastoral composed during his exile in Antwerp; and several play songs, including eight `for the Ende off a Comodye att the mariges' and three from Cavendish's Caroline play The Variety which differ from versions in the printed text of 1649. In her introduction the editor, Lynn Hulse, Research Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, gives a detailed account of the manuscripts.

The Disappearing Duke: The Improbable Tale of an Eccentric English Family

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Eccentric or just plain nuts?

The Disappearing Duke: The Improbable Tale of an Eccentric English Family
Andrew Crofts , and Tom Freeman-Keel
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

19th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

A true tale of fratricide, mock burials, clandestine marriages, fraud, bribery, perjury, blackmail, the financing of Benjamin Disraeli's ascent to Prime Minister, and a court case that the British aristocracy feared

Shortly after the fourth duke of Portland died in 1854, his son and heir, William John Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, began construction of a fantastic underground palace beneath the family's estate of Welbeck Abbey. The subterranean chambers were designed by the finest architects and engineers then working in the burgeoning Victorian Empire, featuring a vast ballroom which would be the largest unsupported structure ever built, and passages stretching out to the farthest corners of the estate that would allow the duke to travel up and out to the world undetected.

But the caverns that lay beneath the surface of Welbeck Abbey were neither as dark nor twisted as the secrets that lay behind the Cavendish-Bentinck name.

In this extraordinary work of historical detection, the authors reconstruct a century of controversy surrounding a British family of unmatched wealth and influence, culminating in one of the most bizarre and contentious cases the British courts have ever seen. At stake were the stability of the empire's social order and the secrecy its privileged classes enjoyed. In unprecedented fashion, the British papers exposed the private lives of the ruling class to feed the curiosity of the masses. The press would never be the same and one man would earn the title of the disappearing duke.

Steeped in layers of deliberately manufactured mystery, the fifth duke of Portland—unmarried and childless—became the marquess of Titchfield upon the violent death of his elder brother. In addition to suspicions of fratricide, some observers of the family, and reporters, claimed that during the duke's frequent absences from Welbeck Abbey he had forged a second identity as Thomas Druce, who owned London's Baker Street Bazaar and was the subject of countless rumors throughout high society about his secretive lifestyle. Druce allegedly died in 1864, but his burial was called a fake by skeptics who claimed that the coffin was filled with lead rather than his corpse.

When Druce's daughter-in-law reasoned that he might have survived for fifteen more years in his role as the duke, she set out to prove that her son, Sydney Druce, was the rightful heir to the dukedom. In a legal battle straight out of Alice in Wonderland—with accusations of madness, perjury, and even grave robbing—the previously unassailable aristocratic establishment, built upon centuries of tradition, threatened to topple at the drop of a gavel.

Customer Reviews:

Eccentric or just plain nuts?.......2003-03-21

The Disappearing Duke definitely falls into the "truth is stranger than fiction" category. The fifth Duke of Portland, head of an immensely powerful and rich British family apparently lived a double and perhaps triple life,leading to the most scandalous case of infighting among ostensible heirs and court case of the early 20th century in Britain.As Duke of Portland, he led a reclusive life occupied by extensive building on the estate. As his alter ego,Thomas Druce,he married twice and produced two separate families.The fighting between the groups led to madness and financial ruin for several of the family members.
This is a fascinating story,but I found the novelistic approach to the material a bit diconcerting.There was much dialogue that was apparently not supported by any sources other than the authors' imagination. That being said, it was entertaining and at least an accurate representation of the power possessed by the British aristocracy of the time.

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The house: Living at Chatsworth
Deborah Vivien Freeman-Mitford Cavendish Devonshire
Manufacturer: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Round and About Chatsworth
Counting My Chickens . . .: And Other Home Thoughts

ASIN: 0030624282

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Intelligence Chief Extraordinary
Patrick Howarth
Manufacturer: The Bodley Head Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Intelligence & Espionage | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Elizabeth & Georgiana: The Duke of Devonshire and His Two Duchesses

Average customer rating:

Biased account
A Better View of Bess
Eliazbeth & Georgiana
orsaylady

Elizabeth & Georgiana: The Duke of Devonshire and His Two Duchesses
Caroline Chapman , and Jane Dormer
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire (Modern Library Paperbacks)
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ASIN: 047127495X

Book Description

"A tale well worth telling . . ." <BR> -Antonia Fraser, author of Marie Antoinette: The Journey

"Oh, may I see my beloved friends again, for they are dearer still to me than all else in the world!—She is the kindest, dearest, best most beloved of friends—and he is and must be ever the very soul of my existence. I will cease to live in error with him, tho' with shame and blushes I confess it, one moment passed in his arms, one instant pressed to his heart, effaces every sorrow, every fear, every thought but him."<BR> -From the journals of Lady Elizabeth Foster as quoted in Elizabeth & Georgiana

She was a lonely young woman of noble birth, condemned to a life of poverty and disgrace. They were one of the wealthiest and most glamorous couples in England. When they appeared on her doorstep one day and whisked her into the dazzling and glittering world at the very pinnacle of the British upper class, how could she not fall in love?

Elizabeth & Georgiana tells the poignant and provocative true story of what may be the most remarkable and enduring love triangle in history. Drawing on hundreds of previously unpublished letters and thousands of journal entries written by Lady Elizabeth Foster, this intriguing journey to the heart of passion will shock you, delight you, and challenge your beliefs about friendship, loyalty, and the true nature of love.

Customer Reviews:

Biased account.......2005-11-30

I suppose few people really care now that Lady Elizabeth Foster finally got her man. This book is nonetheless a caution to historians dependent upon family archives for primary source material. Laudatory bias is bound to creep in somewhere. As the previous reviewer noted, Bess does not come across so attractively in other biographies, even those written about Georgiana's niece, Lady Caroline Lamb. The book's positives have already been noted: good descriptions of aristocratic society and travel in the 18th century. The book is not, however, good history or even good biography.

A Better View of Bess.......2003-09-12

If you haven't read "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire," you're likely to come away from "Elizabeth and Georgiana" with a very positive view of Lady Elizabeth Foster. I had read "Georgiana," and I didn't find Bess all that likable, even after reading Chapman's glowing chapters about her life. I did, however, love this book and found it very interesting and well done. There are unanswered questions, though, about Bess and the Duke's children and what the Duchess knew; but, Chapman does a good job of filling us in on what happened to the main characters after Bess's death. Easy to read, filled with information about the Georgian period (for instance, a good explanation of how people traveled in the time), and not so mired in politics of the day as "Georgiana . . ." is.

Eliazbeth & Georgiana.......2003-01-23

While I had read about the triangular relationship between Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and Lady Elizabeth Foster, nick-named Bess, I never realized that Bess had such colorful life. The authors use letters and other historical documents to present Bess in a more positive way, than previously recorded. It is a fascinating biography.

orsaylady.......2003-01-21

Excellent book on the lives of two amazing women sharing the same man. Highly recommend it if you like reading about 'ton' society in late 18th-early 19th century England.

Two Early Tudor Lives: The Life and Death of Cardinal Wolsey by George Cavendish; The Life of Sir Thomas More by William Roper

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Two Early Tudor Lives: The Life and Death of Cardinal Wolsey by George Cavendish; The Life of Sir Thomas More by William Roper
George Cavendish , and William Roper
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lord William Bentinck: The making of a liberal imperialist, 1774-1839

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Lord William Bentinck: The making of a liberal imperialist, 1774-1839
John Rosselli
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