Georgiana was charismatic, generous, good-humored, and intelligent. Kindhearted, Georgiana instinctively wanted to help others and from a young age, happily gave her money to poor children [8] or to her desperate friends. Lady Charlotte Bury wrote of Georgiana's generosity: "when some individual came to her in pecuniary distress, she would always relieve him or her, and leave her own difficulties unprovided for. Oftentimes she was wrong in doing so. ... One must be just before one is generous. But it is impossible not to be charmed by the kindly impulse which made her, without a moment's hesitating, shield another from distress." [9] Georgiana's empathy extended towards animals as well. After noticing a starving cow in a field, Georgiana deduced its owner could not afford to feed it; she had the man found and gave him some money. [10] The House in the Square (also titled I'll Never Forget You (US) and Man of Two Worlds) (1951), portrayed by Kathleen Byron

A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War – 30 November 2011 – The New York Society Library [56] The first of her published literary works was Emma; Or, The Unfortunate Attachment: A Sentimental Novel in 1773. On her seventeenth birthday, 7 June 1774, Lady Georgiana Spencer was married to society's most eligible bachelor, William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire (aged 25). The wedding took place at Wimbledon Parish Church. [4] It was a small ceremony attended only by her parents, her paternal grandmother Lady Cowper, one of her prospective brothers-in-law, and her soon-to-be sister-in-law, the Duchess of Portland. Her parents were emotionally reluctant to let their daughter go, but she was wed to one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the land. Her father, who had always shown affection to his children, wrote to her, "My Dearest Georgiana, I did not know till lately how much I loved you; I miss you more every day and every hour". Mother and daughter continued to correspond throughout their lives, and many of their letters survive. [6]Since taking up gardening, Amanda has become increasingly obsessed with all things horticultural. She is happy to discuss the finer points of pruning with anyone who’s interested. She is the daughter of Carl Foreman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter and producer of many film classics including, The Bridge on the River Kwai, High Noon, Born Free, Young Winston and The Guns of Navarone. Foreman has dual citizenship, and splits her time between New York City, Kinderhook, New York, [58] and London. Foreman also writes for radio, television, and print media. Her work has appeared on BBC Radio 2, 3, and 4, BBC 2, Channel 4, and Nat-Geo in the USA. Foreman has been a columnist for The Sunday Times and the Smithsonian Magazine. Currently, she is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal. She is also a CBS News royal contributor. Her BBC documentary series, ‘The Ascent of Woman’, has been seen in over 120 countries. Amanda Foreman examines the formative years of British politics when the most important structures of British life – still valued and recognised today – were established in the shadow of revolution. One more piece was published in the last years of Georgiana's life, The Passage of the Mountain of Saint Gothard, first in an unauthorised version in the 'Morning Chronicle' and 'Morning Post' of 20 and 21 December 1799, then in a privately printed edition in 1800. A poem dedicated to her children, The Passage of the Mountain of Saint Gothard was based on her passage of the Saint Gotthard Pass, with Bess, between 10 and 15 August 1793 on returning to England. The thirty-stanza poem, together with 28 extended notes, was translated into some of the main languages of Western Europe including into French, by Jacques Delille, in 1802; Italian, by Gaetano Polidori, in 1803; and German in 1805. The Passage of the Mountain of Saint Gothard was then reprinted in 1816, after Georgiana's death. [21] Samuel Taylor Coleridge published a glowing response to the poem, 'Ode to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire' in the 'Morning Post' on 24 December 1799.

PCA Nominations People's Choice Awards". 13 December 2008. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008 . Retrieved 13 December 2008. Using her influence as a leading socialite and fashion icon, the Duchess of Devonshire contributed to politics, science, and literature. As part of her illustrious social engagements, the Duchess would gather around her a large salon of literary and political figures. Among her major acquaintances were the most influential figures of her time, including the Prince of Wales (later King George IV); Marie Antoinette of France; and her favourite in court, the Duchess of Polignac; Charles Grey (later Earl Grey and British Prime Minister); and Lady Melbourne (lover of the Prince of Wales). [20] Newspapers chronicled her every appearance and activity. [6]In 2012, A World on Fire won the Fletcher Pratt Award for excellence in Civil War history writing. [22] It was a finalist for the 2012 Lincoln Prize, [23] the Lionel Gelber Prize, [23] and the National Book Critics Circle Award. [24] It was also nominated for the Jefferson Davis Prize. [23] The Ascent of Woman [ edit ] Some Old Time Beauties by Thomson Willing Featuring a different version of her picture as well as written material on her reputation. She was called a "phenomenon" [7] by Horace Walpole who proclaimed, "[she] effaces all without being a beauty; but her youthful figure, flowing good nature, sense and lively modesty, and modest familiarity make her a phenomenon". [21] Madame d'Arblay, who had a preference for acquaintances of talent, found that her appeal was not generally for her beauty but for far more, which included her fine "manner, politeness, and gentle quiet." [21] Sir Nathaniel Wraxall stated that her success as an individual lay "in the amenity and graces of her deportment, in her irresistible manners, and the seduction of her society." [21] Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, writing, "I deeply enjoyed the film, but then I am an Anglophile. I imagine the behavior of the characters will seem exceedingly odd to some viewers. Well, it is." [18] Accolades [ edit ] The Duchess". Film Ireland. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008 . Retrieved 8 September 2008.

Hertzberg, Hendrik (1 August 2011). "Over There". The New Yorker. p.62 . Retrieved 7 February 2012. Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, died on 30 March 1806, at 3:30, at the age of 48. She was surrounded by her husband, the 5th Duke of Devonshire; her mother, Countess Spencer; her sister, the Countess of Bessborough; her eldest daughter, Lady Morpeth (who was eight months pregnant); and Lady Elizabeth Foster. They were all said to have been inconsolable over her death. For the first time, the Duke showed moving emotion towards his late wife; a contemporary wrote, "The Duke has been most deeply affected and has shown more feeling than anyone thought possible—indeed every individual in the family are in a dreadful state of affliction." Georgiana's eldest daughter furthermore poured out her feelings, "Oh my beloved, my adored departed mother, are you indeed forever parted from me—Shall I see no more that angelic countenance or that blessed voice—You whom I loved with such tenderness, you who were the . . . best of mothers, Adieu—I wanted to strew violets over her dying bed as she strewed sweets over my life, but they would not let me." Her distant cousin, Charles James Fox, for whom she had triumphantly campaigned, was noted to have shed tears. The Prince of Wales himself lamented, "The best natured and the best-bred woman in England is gone." Thousands of the people of London congregated at Piccadilly, where the Cavendish family's town house was located, to mourn her. [6] She was buried at the family vault [21] at All Saints Parish Church (now Derby Cathedral) in Derby.In the third essay of the series, Amanda Foreman, author of the bestselling biography Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and the American Civil War history A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided, explores her personal feelings about the historian’s role. She has served as a judge on almost every major literary prize, including the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. In 2016, she was asked to serve for a second time on the Booker Prize, this time as the chair. The Duchess is a 2008 historical drama film directed by Saul Dibb, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jeffrey Hatcher and Anders Thomas Jensen, based on the 1998 book Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman, about the late 18th-century English aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. She was an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales, where the quote "There were three people in her marriage" in the promotional poster comes from. Diana Spencer is the direct descendant of Georgiana’s brother Earl Spencer, making the Duchess of Devonshire her great-great-great-great-great aunt. “Both Georgiana and Diana were intelligent, powerful women who were torn apart by the press and struggled to rebuild themselves and ultimately become the women they wanted to be. One aspect of Georgiana’s life that is very relevant today is that she had to live under the intensely scrutinising gaze of the public,” explains Amanda Foreman. The incredible cast of The Duchess: Keira Knightley, Hayley Atwell, Ralph Fiennes and Dominic Cooper The Duchess was born Miss Georgiana Spencer, on 7 June 1757, [4] as the first child of John Spencer (later Earl Spencer) and his wife, Georgiana (née Poyntz, later Countess Spencer), at the Spencer family home, Althorp. [3] After her daughter's birth, her mother Lady Spencer wrote that "I will own I feel so partial to my Dear little Gee, that I think I never shall love another so well." [5] Two younger siblings followed: Henrietta ("Harriet") and George. The daughter of her sister Henrietta, Lady Caroline Lamb, would become a writer and lover of Lord Byron. John Spencer, a great-grandson of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, came from a wealthy English noble family. He built a Spencer family residence at St. James's, London, and raised his children there. The parents raised Georgiana and her siblings in a happy marriage, which bears no record of there ever having been any extramarital affairs – a rarity in the era. [6] Meanwhile, Georgiana grew to be close to her mother, who was said to favour Georgiana over her other children. [5]