The Duchess by Amanda Foreman Harper HK$104
It's hard to read The Duchess without thinking of Keira Knightley or Princess Diana. Knightley played Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, in last year's celluloid bodice-ripper, based on Amanda Foreman's biography. And the life of the Princess of Wales resembled that of her 18th-century predecessor. Both women were Spencers who called Althorp home. Both were popular public figures, their every move followed by the newspapers. They also married men who loved others - hence the strapline here reading, 'There were three people in her marriage'. In becoming the wife of the fifth Duke of Devonshire at 17, Georgiana brought together two of Britain's wealthiest families. It soon became clear, however, that she had little in common with her husband. But that didn't stymie her political ambitions or gambling itch. Neither did it stop her taking a lover, whose child she bore. Georgiana's life was troubled - no surprise considering her husband was openly having an affair with her best friend. Readers will find themselves drawn to Georgiana, damaged as she was. Foreman deserves applause for putting personality into history.
