Search - The Duchess

Excellent and highly readable book about a woman of great intelligence, beauty and spirit who had a lasting effect on the time in which she lived. This last cannot be said of many women of the time: unenfranchised, chattle of their husbands, restricted in their thoughts and movement in the world. Meanwhile, men held the political power as well as the domestic. Georgiana managed to enter a world in which she could could use her flair to become both politically influential and a star of society. Highly recommended - much less of a potboiler than the movie!

Though it has been some time since I read this book , it is one of the few I have wanted to keep in my personal library. Unfortunately, I cannot remember to whom it was loaned. The book gives a fascinating picture into the life of that class in that era. But, even more important, it gives a very full picture of an amazing woman, her strengths, her flaws and her weaknesses. As for the movie -- don't bother!

I didn't love it, but it gave great depth and insight.

After seeing the movie, which I thought was completely heart-wrenching, I found the book. Although I think both versions are very good, as always, the book is a little less dramatic and more realistic.