Rindis.com

Another book bought because of non-selective Kindle sale buying. And a worthwhile one as it turns out.

This is a fairly interesting look at the highest level of British society at the end of the 18th Century. As a biography, everything stays centered around Georgiana herself, and it stays strictly focused on her life. However, along the way, this brings in the Regency crisis, Whig politics, the French Revolution (at somewhat of a distance, but she was in France for some of the opening parts), and high fashion.

Naturally, the bulk of the book is still the more expected soap-opera of unhappy marriages, lovers, gambling—and some astonishingly large gambling debts—friends, rivals, and and the stresses of producing and raising children. Georgiana is treated very sympathetically, and Foreman has a great liking for her. This is fine, and frankly despite some problems, she is a person who it is easy to sympathize with, being generally a progressive person for her era, with her faults more lying in the realm of lack of self-control, than any actual desire to cause problems.

So, it’s a fairly engaging, but fairly long, look at an important period in history, from someone who is a bit more central than might be immediately supposed. I recommend it if you already have some interest and knowledge of the period. It adds a nice personal touch.