Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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 The authors use letters and other historical documents to present Bess in a more positive way, than previously recorded.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.

While this book doesn't make Bess out to be some sort of angel, it at least gives her position and also uses her private papers to show that she was not entirely mercenary. She did have some genuine feeling for Georgiana and the Duke and they were all close friends together, with Bess and the Duke at times being something more. I knocked off a star for the writing: it could've been better and was a bit weak, especially after reading Amanda Foreman's book and Privilege and Scandal. But perhaps this one was knocked out very quickly as a rebuttal to AF? Anyway, it was a good thing to hear some good about Bess because everyone has some good in them and how else did she keep the confidence of two people such as the D and Dss without being a good friend in some way to them both?

bad marriage,being kept from young sons would wreck a lesser woman,but bess land on her feet with duke duchess devershire.having strong friendship with duchess didn't stop her from boring two childern by duke,keeping her friendship with the duchess.this is a positive view of lady elizabeth foster who later got her duke,very comfortable life.

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.