although Georgiana thought he did. Knowing how awkward her father could be in public, she assumed that the Duke masked his true nature from all but his closest confidants. The fact that her parents treated him so respectfully Georgiana wrote desperate letters to her mother, begging for advice about how to entice her husband. She even tried to join in on his hobbies—but he’d rather go hunting with the boys. She also emphasized her young wifely virtue—but the Duke preferred to gamble all night. Just a few months ago, Georgiana was the most eligible woman in England. Now her own husband barely looked at her. The legacy of the life of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire has remained a topic of study and intrigue in cultural and historical spheres centuries after her death.

The Duchess had a small laboratory where she conducted chemistry experiments and studied geology, natural history; she was most passionate for mineralogy. [6] [29] [30] In addition to her scientific curiosity, Georgiana wanted to contribute to her children's education. [30] Writing from Paris, one of the Duchess’s friends told her that young ladies now had to sit on the floors of their carriages as the trend for tall hair made it impossible for them to sit on the seats. Not that this seemed to put Georgiana off the trend. Such tall and detailed designs could not be constructed single-handedly and it took more than a lady’s maid to prepare a duchess for an evening out. myself I should have had more time to have improv'd her understanding and, with God's assistance to have strengthened her principles, and enabled her to avoid the many snares that vice and folly will throw in Rauser, Ameilia F. "The Butcher-Kissing Duchess of Devonshire: Between Caricature and Allegory in 1784." Eighteenth-Century Studies, 36 no. 1 (Fall 2002): 23–46.there were nine daily newspapers, all based in London, and hundreds of bi- and tri-weekly provincial papers which reprinted the London news. For the first time national figures emerged, Georgiana among them, which the whole Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 71, no. 93. European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 142, repro. Portrait of the Ladies Georgiana and Harriet Cavendish, daughters of the 5th Duke of Devonshire c. 1788. After Richard Cosway. To the dismay of her mother and the derision of many others, Georgiana insisted on nursing her babies herself and was far more involved in their everyday lives than was typical for a woman of her class. To her children, she was a loving and familiar presence and in later years they would recall her company and care with pleasure.

Even though she was married to a dullard, the Duchess became England’s first It Girl. She sparked outrageous fashion trends like wearing enormous ostrich feathers as hair ornaments and going wild with three-foot-tall hair-dos. Society women tripped over themselves to imitate Georgiana, with many sitting on the floors of carriages so that the vehicle could accommodate their extraordinarily high hair.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]

The New Annual Army List and Militia List for 1854, the 17th annual volume, by Major Henry G. Hart, John Murray, Albemarle street, London, 1854. William was very reserved, preoccupied with his dogs and his desire for a male heir, and was not keen to socialise; Georgiana soon grew tired of him and immersed herself in the fashion world.

Sadly Georgiana was denied the opportunity to raise her fourth child, Eliza Courtney (1792-1859) because she had been conceived during an affair with politician Charles Grey (1764–1845). The Duke exiled Georgiana, forbidding her to return until invited and only on the condition that the baby was placed elsewhere. Georgiana was able to see Eliza as she grew up, acting as an unofficial god-parent, but Eliza was only told of her parentage after Georgiana’s death. Eliza named her first daughter Georgiana and her second Elizabeth Georgiana. Mrs. Delany had come to a similar conclusion. She happened to be at a ball in May where Georgiana danced for so long that she fainted from the heat and the constriction of her dress—"Which of course made a little bustle," she informed In the 1856 Webster's, he is listed as having a residence at 57 Park Street, Mayfair. He died 18 June 1856. The fashion generated resentment: it was too excessive and too exclusive. The Queen banned ostrich feathers from court, and according to Lady Louisa Stuart, "the unfortunate feathers were insulted, mobbed, hissed,