Amazon.com
Georgiana Spencer was, in a sense, an 18th-century It Girl. She came from one of England's richest and most landed families (the late Princess Diana was a Spencer too) and married into another. She was beautiful, sensitive, and extravagant--drugs, drink, high-profile love affairs, and even gambling counted among her favorite leisure-time activities. Nonetheless, she quickly moved from a world dominated by social parties to one focused on political parties. The duchess was an intimate of ministers and princes, and she canvassed assiduously for the Whig cause, most famously in the Westminster election of 1784. By turns she was caricatured and fawned on by the press, and she provided the inspiration for the character of Lady Teazle in Richard Sheridan's famous play The School for Scandal. But her weaknesses marked the last part of her life. By 1784, for one, Georgiana owed "many, many, many thousands," and her creditors dogged her until her death.
Biographer Amanda Foreman describes astutely the mess that surrounded the personal relationships of the aristocratic subculture (Georgiana and the duke engaged for many years in a ménage à trois with Lady Elizabeth Fraser, who inveigled her way into the duke's bed and the duchess's heart). Foreman is, by her own admission, a little in love with her subject, which can lead to occasional lapses of perspective, but generally it adds zest to a narrative built on, rather than burdened by, scholarship, that is at once accessible and learned. An impressive debut, in every sense. --David Vincent, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
The winner of Britain's prestigious Whitbread Prize and a bestseller there for months, this wonderfully readable biography offers a rich, rollicking picture of late-eighteenth-century British aristocracy and the intimate story of a woman who for a time was its undisputed leader.
Lady Georgiana Spencer was the great-great-great-great-aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, and was nearly as famous in her day. In 1774, at the age of seventeen, Georgiana achieved immediate celebrity by marrying one of England's richest and most influential aristocrats, the Duke of Devonshire. Launched into a world of wealth and power, she quickly became the queen of fashionable society, adored by the Prince of Wales, a dear friend of Marie-Antoinette, and leader of the most important salon of her time. Not content with the role of society hostess, she used her connections to enter politics, eventually becoming more influential than most of the men who held office.
Her good works and social exploits made her loved by the multitudes, but Georgiana's public success, like Diana's, concealed a personal life that was fraught with suffering. The Duke of Devonshire was unimpressed by his wife's legendary charms, preferring instead those of her closest friend, a woman with whom Georgiana herself was rumored to be on intimate terms. For over twenty years, the three lived together in a jealous and uneasy ménage à trois, during which time both women bore the Duke's children—as well as those of other men.
Foreman's descriptions of Georgiana's uncontrollable gambling, all- night drinking, drug taking, and love affairs with the leading politicians of the day give us fascinating insight into the lives of the British aristocracy in the era of the madness of King George III, the American and French revolutions, and the defeat of Napoleon.
A gifted young historian whom critics are already likening to Antonia Fraser, Amanda Foreman draws on a wealth of fresh research and writes colorfully and penetratingly about the fascinating Georgiana, whose struggle against her own weaknesses, whose great beauty and flamboyance, and whose determination to play a part in the affairs of the world make her a vibrant, astonishingly contemporary figure.
Customer Reviews:
A fascinating women.......2007-10-04
Before I read the biographies of Georgian and Harriet, I thought the stories of £50,000 gambling debts were just made up for romantic novels. Georgiana and her sister Harriet, members of the influential Spencer family, made "brilliant" marriages, set the fashion trends of their times, lived scandalous lives, and mixed with royalty in England and across Europe. Their interest and influence in politics were incredible for a time when women were still thought of as useless and frivolous creatures. This biography is well documented and gives a great introduction to late 18th Century English society though I thought it jumped around a little.
Impossible Read.......2006-12-17
This was a book club selection. I really, really tried to get into the book, but simply couldn't. After 100 difficult pages I just had to give up. Not even worthy of one star.
awesome!.......2006-09-12
i loved this book. i read it several years ago and thought it was very informative. i loved the political and fashion commentary - i learned a lot while being entertained. love it!
INTRICATE, INVOLVING SAGA OF A SOMETIMES DITZY LADY.......2005-10-04
At times the cast of characters in this biography gets one slightly lost and it is good that it has a reasonably full index. There are some intriguing photos of the scandalous goings-on and it is a generally good read.
Timothy Wingate Ottawa CANADA
A.K.A. The "Let's Blame Bess Book!".......2005-07-20
Despite Foreman's excellent style and fascinating subject, I found myself frustrated with "Georgiana" as the story continued.
Foreman's caricature of Lady Elizabeth Foster as the "villainess" of the story doesn't ring true. Foreman's repeated castigation of Bess to justify Georgiana's lower moments and characteristics reminds me of a mother repeatedly choosing to excuse her favorite child of any wrongdoing because of a "bad friend's unwholesome influence."
Bess is consistently depicted as a jealous homewrecker anxious to supplant Georgiana and "show her up." Yet Foreman's own facts reveal a level of devotion on Bess's part to the Cavendishes that makes that dificult to believe. Bess didn't seem so interested in supplanting her friend so much as she was in securing some sort of security for herself.
Foreman seems determined to depict Bess's sole motivation in all her actions as causing harm/embarrassment to G or "showing her up." If she has an alleged love affair with Count Fersen its sole purpose is to humiliate G and her love affair and near-marriage to another man is written off as an attempt to "show up" Georgianna (the man in question was of comparable rank to Devonshire).
The concept that Bess Foster might have been distinctly uncomfortable with her unorthodox position (a poor divorcee, estranged from her children, living as an undefined "houseguest"--sometimes governess, sometimes friend to G, and sometimes mistress to G's hubby) and seeking other alliances (via a respectable marriage) never seems to enter Foreman's mind.
A look at Bess's history (repudiated by her husband, abbandoned by her father) explains to any sensible person why Bess may have felt compelled to please William Cavendish and accept his advances. Clearly she'd learned in the school of hard knocks that this was an era where women fared best by pleasing the men in their lives. It says a lot about Georgiana's character that she was not above encouraging this "flirtation" between her younger friend and her husband to secure a more "pleasant" lifestyle for the both of them.
Who ultimately had the power in this relationship? Who had the political clout? The social standing? Who held all the advantages? It certainly wasn't Lady Bess Foster. If anything HER reputation was compromised by her involvement in the situation. So how can she be the one in charge of everything that was happening?
It seems throughout the narrative Bess's good intentions are maligned by selfish motives while Georgiana's faults are excused by virtue of her good nature.
Bess married William a few years after Georgiana's death. So what? How was this a disloyalty to her friend? We're talking about a woman who died twenty years after Georgiana, still wearing a hair bracelet of her late friend's hair.
It seems Amanda Foreman is a victim of the same class snobbery that colored the era she wrote about.
Nice try, Ms. Foreman. Next time, let your subject be a grown-up and be responsible for her own choices.
Book Description
Published anonymously in 1773 and attributed to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, this epistolary novel explores the "unfortunate attachment" of Emma Eggerton to William Walpole. Forbidden by her father to marry the man she loves, Emma resigns herself to marrying Walpole, her father's autocratic choice of a husband. The novel's other unfortunate attachment concerns Colonel Sutton, who falls prey to the "low" machinations of the confirmed flirt Harriet Courtney. Like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Georgiana's Emma explores the dangers of first impressions and arranged marriages, but does so from the vantage point of a woman who would suffer the long-term consequences of both.
Originally published when the author was only sixteen, and long out of print, Emma anticipates many of the major events of Georgiana's own life, and taken together with her second novel, The Sylph, it offers significant insights into the outlook of aristocratic women in the late eighteenth century. An Introduction by Jonathan David Gross sets the novel in the context of its time and explores the questions surrounding its authorship.
Book Description
"A tale well worth telling . . ."
-Antonia Fraser, author of Marie Antoinette: The Journey
"Oh, may I see my beloved friends again, for they are dearer still to me than all else in the world!—She is the kindest, dearest, best most beloved of friends—and he is and must be ever the very soul of my existence. I will cease to live in error with him, tho' with shame and blushes I confess it, one moment passed in his arms, one instant pressed to his heart, effaces every sorrow, every fear, every thought but him."
-From the journals of Lady Elizabeth Foster as quoted in Elizabeth & Georgiana
She was a lonely young woman of noble birth, condemned to a life of poverty and disgrace. They were one of the wealthiest and most glamorous couples in England. When they appeared on her doorstep one day and whisked her into the dazzling and glittering world at the very pinnacle of the British upper class, how could she not fall in love?
Elizabeth & Georgiana tells the poignant and provocative true story of what may be the most remarkable and enduring love triangle in history. Drawing on hundreds of previously unpublished letters and thousands of journal entries written by Lady Elizabeth Foster, this intriguing journey to the heart of passion will shock you, delight you, and challenge your beliefs about friendship, loyalty, and the true nature of love.
Customer Reviews:
Biased account.......2005-11-30
I suppose few people really care now that Lady Elizabeth Foster finally got her man. This book is nonetheless a caution to historians dependent upon family archives for primary source material. Laudatory bias is bound to creep in somewhere. As the previous reviewer noted, Bess does not come across so attractively in other biographies, even those written about Georgiana's niece, Lady Caroline Lamb. The book's positives have already been noted: good descriptions of aristocratic society and travel in the 18th century. The book is not, however, good history or even good biography.
A Better View of Bess.......2003-09-12
If you haven't read "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire," you're likely to come away from "Elizabeth and Georgiana" with a very positive view of Lady Elizabeth Foster. I had read "Georgiana," and I didn't find Bess all that likable, even after reading Chapman's glowing chapters about her life. I did, however, love this book and found it very interesting and well done. There are unanswered questions, though, about Bess and the Duke's children and what the Duchess knew; but, Chapman does a good job of filling us in on what happened to the main characters after Bess's death. Easy to read, filled with information about the Georgian period (for instance, a good explanation of how people traveled in the time), and not so mired in politics of the day as "Georgiana . . ." is.
Eliazbeth & Georgiana.......2003-01-23
While I had read about the triangular relationship between Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and Lady Elizabeth Foster, nick-named Bess, I never realized that Bess had such colorful life. The authors use letters and other historical documents to present Bess in a more positive way, than previously recorded. It is a fascinating biography.
orsaylady.......2003-01-21
Excellent book on the lives of two amazing women sharing the same man. Highly recommend it if you like reading about 'ton' society in late 18th-early 19th century England.
Book Description
The most decorated solder in World War I was not Sergeant Alvin York, as many believe, but a stretcher bearer named Charles Denver Barger. And Barger is just one of the legion of military medical personnel whose lifesaving feats are remembered in this inspiring volume. A tribute to those who tend the sick and wounded under the toughest conditions, Doc is made up of the sometimes humorous, often harrowing, and always heartfelt memoirs of quick-thinking medics and heroic nurses, of surgeons and physicians equipped with only the tools of mercy, performing acts of great courage. Here too are the stories of those whose lives were saved as the indefatigable "Doc" braved battle and the elements on Omaha Beach and in Da Nang, on Okinawa and in Korea to treat a shrapnel wound or a napalm burn orin one remarkable casegive lifesaving instructions to the wounded despite his own fatal injury. Recounted by privates and generals from World War I to Iraq, these stories all have one thing in common: they inspire with the raw truth of men and women working under the greatest stress imaginable to bring their comrades safely home.
Customer Reviews:
An inspiring and personal history.......2006-02-09
From the very start, the first person accounts of war in Mark Littleton and Chuck Wright's "DOC" bring you immediately into the experiences of life and death in the battles fought by American sons and daughters since World War I. Each account from a medic or from one of the countless souls saved by a medic on some foreign shore reminds you of the millions of soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen who have put themselves in harm's way to defend our precious way of life. From Marine Jerry Jolly's quest to find the corpsman who saved his life in Korea to Wheeler Lipes' courageous performance of an emergency appendectomy in the austere conditions of a USN submarine on patrol, these stories will stir your heart. The medics, corpsmen, and nurses measure up admirably, facing horrifying injuries and using their determination and ingenuity to save lives and comfort the injured as best they can in the chaos of combat. As an Air Force surgeon, this book demonstrated to me the fine tradition of American military wartime medical care preceding me and the large footsteps I have to fill.
Customer Reviews:
The Real Heroes.......2001-07-03
"Combat Medic Vietnam" is a solid military story. Its 33 chapters are devoted to some 10 Army and Marine medics who served in Vietnam. While "CM" pulls no punches, neither does it belabor or drag the episodes out. Each episode, told in the first person "tells it like it was" and moves on. The result is a highly compact and readable tale with no gratuitous gore and suffering. To the credit of the men involved, there is also no trace of self-pity though the Lord knows they were well entitled on that score. The Afterward reveals what became of the 10 when they returned to "The World"- more power to them all! I enjoyed the Appendix, which encompasses a brief world history of military medics both U.S. and foreign. "CM" has 2 minor flaws common to military books: There are no maps and no glossary of Army/Marine/Navy acronyms or jargon. Their inclusion would have helped. Their exclusion does not detract from the larger story. "CM" represents yet another view, another observation post into the Vietnam War. Both "Combat Medic" and author Roberts earlier work, "One Shot-One Kill" are highly and earnestly recommended.
The Real Heroes.......2001-07-03
"Combat Medic Vietnam" is a solid military story. Its 33 chapters are devoted to some 10 Army and Marine medics who served in Vietnam. While "CM" pulls no punches, neither does it belabor or drag the episodes out. Each episode, told in the first person "tells it like it was" and moves on. The result is a highly compact and readable tale with no gratuitous gore and suffering. To the credit of the men involved, there is also no trace of self-pity though the Lord knows they were well entitled on that score. The Afterward reveals what became of the 10 when they returned to "The World"- more power to them all! I enjoyed the Appendix, which encompasses a brief world history of military medics both U.S. and foreign. "CM" has 2 minor flaws common to military books: There are no maps and no glossary of Army/Marine/Navy acronyms or jargon. Their inclusion would have helped. Their exclusion does not detract from the larger story. "CM" represents yet another view, another observation post into the Vietnam War. Both "Combat Medic" and author Roberts earlier work, "One Shot-One Kill" are highly and earnestly recommended.
thank God for Mr Roberts and the Medics.......2001-05-01
This is a great book. I couldn't put it down and read the whole thing from cover to cover. It covers the experiences of the medics in the Vietnam war. I know one of the medics featured in the book. His name is Doug Wean, and he is a heroic honorable person. If you want to get the inside story on the Vietnam war this is a book for you.
Recommended by Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 295.......1998-12-04
This book is on the "Recommended Reading List" of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 295, Indianapolis, Indiana
What combat looks like from the eyes of a combat medic........1998-02-09
As one of the ten men featured in this book, it was both an honor and a humbling experience to reveal the most intimate moments of my entire life to the world in print. The experiences of this book are real - recorded from gut-wrenching memories that will never die. Bob 'Doc' Bosma
Average customer rating:
- TOP VIETNAM POETRY BOOK
- A masterpiece from a warrior's warrior...
- Delightful and amazing
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Poems in the Keys of Life: Reflections of a Combat Medic
Kerry "Doc" Pardue
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Anthologies
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Poetry
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1413771947 |
Book Description
I have been many things over the past 57 years of my life. I have been a brother, son, friend, husband, father, soldier, medic, police officer, detective, letter carrier, college recruiter, grandfather, and now, poet. These poems are a reflective journey to find healing after the war in Vietnam. Thirty-five years ago I was a combat medic. When I came home, I was determined to put Vietnam behind me. Somehow, deep within my heart, soul, and spirit, Vietnam was a part of who and what I became. Finally, my journey to healing began, and these poems are the result of that journey, 35 years later. They will make you cry, laugh, and appreciate friendships. They are my road map to a place I call home. I only hope that other soldiers, medics, nurses, and doctors will be able to find a way to their home. So grab a beverage and curl up and join with me on the journey together as we find peace, hope, friendships, love and yes, even healing.
Customer Reviews:
TOP VIETNAM POETRY BOOK.......2005-09-13
Poet-Warriors have always gone off to fight the wars since the beginning of time. The old tradition of taking emotional and spiritual inner photos of what they experienced and felt so they could record them in poetry latter on, is still carried on by one of the most prolific of Vietnam poets. Kerry "Doc" Pardue in his first book of collective poems, published through PublishAmeica, really captures those inner snap shot memories of what it was like then and now for those who were there.
Doc, as his friends and fellow vets call him, takes the reader on an emotional tour of his heart and soul. The poems are not just focused on war but speak out about the life journey that the poet has taken. In the poets own words these poems show "the struggle of a just war, comradeship and loss... a reflective journey to find healing after the War in Vietnam."
The poet was a combat medic and not some behind the frontlines desk jockey and when you read his poetry you make this journey with him emotionally. Some of his writings deal with his search for himself and for healing from the war. They are about recovery and hope and some will make you cry but some will bring a smile - it is all about the journey.
This is one of the best collections of Vietnam era poetry in one volume by one poet!
A masterpiece from a warrior's warrior..........2005-04-28
I will never forget the Vet buzz over Doc Pardue's haunting poem, 'Welcome Home My Sisters', written to honor the 10th Anniversary of the Vietnam Women's Memorial. Four female Vet friends emailed me independently and said, "Steve, you HAVE to read this..." Just a few lines in, and I could see why.
Kerry Pardue was a field combat medic during the Vietnam War; a war in which US troops sustained as many as 300,000 wounded, many from booby traps. The platoon medics, who went out with every combat patrol, every Search and Destroy, every assault mission, had to be both Medic and combat soldier. The fact that they were respectfully referred to as 'Doc' by their comrades, speaks volumes about their value on the battlefield.
Like his Marine Corpsman comrades, Doc Pardue had to make life-and-death decisions in the field, under fire, as the very first cog in the combat medical care machinery. The Docs weren't trained to stem bleeding with one hand while firing an M-16 with the other, they had to figure that out for themselves. And they did.
I have had the great honor of knowing Kerry for some time and he and his unforgettable poetry were a constant source of inspiration while I was writing my Nam Vet tribute eBook "How To Appreciate A Vietnam Vet: Dealing With The Myth Of The Unwinnable War" (now on Amazon.com). Doc Pardue graciously permitted me to include some of his stunning war poetry as part of my tribute to the fine men and women who served their Country with honor in Vietnam.
The haunting and unique cover art was created by Kerry's combat medic friend, artist Bernie Duff, and it is a perfect choice for this book cover. Doc Pardue is one of the most prolific and influential Vietnam War poets out there, and I simply cannot recommend this collection of poems highly enough.
Welcome home, Doc.
Delightful and amazing.......2005-04-27
I truely loved this collection of poems. Doc Pardue has a way to tell a story thru his poetry. It is an important story that needs to be told. His poetry is clear and heart-felt. I would rate him as one of greatest poets of his generation, his poetry is profound and reaches out to others who served as a caregivers. His book needs to be read and shared. I look forward to reading his next book.
Average customer rating:
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Combat Medic: The 79th Evac
Bill Meyer
Manufacturer: Perc Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Vietnam War
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Vietnam
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Medical History & Records
| Administration & Policy
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Medical History & Records
| Administration & Medicine Economics
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0965837734 |
Customer Reviews:
misleading title.......2000-02-04
the title leads you to believe that you will read about a combat medic, this is not true. this guy was a medic in an evac hospital, and he writes more about the corruption that went on in vietnam and "lifers" than actual patient care and stories about life as a "combat medic". not a bad book in general, just not what the title implies.
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