The Duchess
Originally published as “Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire”
By Amanda Foreman
Random House, 456 pages, $15.95
Princess Diana possessed star quality quite like her great-great-great-great aunt Georgiana, wife of William Cavendish, a prominent aristocrat and fifth duke of Devonshire. The biography of Georgiana — upon which new movie “The Duchess” is based — evokes the dramatic world of 18th Century politics, just as Britain became a world power. The book, winner of a Whitbread Prize, is an intelligent depiction of the times as well as the story of a woman’s life from her rise, scandalous fall and emergence as a troubled celebrity. It’s a guilty pleasure, without the guilt.
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On the Web: Read Taylor’s 2001 conversation with author Amanda Foreman online at chicagotribune.com/duchess.