1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,480 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. 3 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,479 Speaker 1: On the evening of May eighth, seventeen seventy seven, the 4 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: city of London was preparing for a night of theater. 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: Backstage at the Drury Lane Theater, costumers frantically mended seams 6 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:34,200 Speaker 1: and wrangled actors into wardrobe, while stage hands meticulously accounted 7 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: for each of the props that would inevitably pass through 8 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: their hands before the night was over. But as candles 9 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: were lit and set pieces were placed just so beyond 10 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,200 Speaker 1: the thin walls of the theater, another show was already 11 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,839 Speaker 1: well into its first act. The doors to the Drury 12 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: Lane Theater's house lobby were open, and the audience's arrivals 13 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: brought with them a spectacle all their own. A seemingly 14 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: endless parade of carriages lined the street outside, as women 15 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: with impossibly tall hairpieces were forced to maneuver themselves with 16 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: an excess of caution so as not to topple the 17 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: glorified sculptures balanced precariously atop their heads. When theater goers 18 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: finally managed to make their way past the front doors 19 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: and into the theater lobby. Typical patrons of the Drury 20 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: Lane may have been slightly puzzled at the appearance of 21 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: not only so many women dressed in over the top finery, 22 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: but men as well, flaunting tightly fit waistcoats and high 23 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: heeled shoes, paired with almost comically small hats skewed crookedly 24 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:46,559 Speaker 1: on their heads. Opening nights were celebratory occasions, to be sure, 25 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: but these types of fashion statements were excessive even for 26 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: the theater, though given what they were about to watch, 27 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: heightened states of dress were hardly going to be considered 28 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 1: drama by the night's end. Technically speaking, the crowd was 29 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: there to watch the opening night performance of playwright Richard 30 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: Sheridan's newest play, The School for Scandal, But in the 31 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: weeks leading up to the production, it had quickly become 32 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: London's worst kept secret that the plot to his newest 33 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,800 Speaker 1: play was almost exclusively centered around the inner workings of 34 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: a group of London socialites and politicians that had come 35 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: to be known as the Devonshire House Circle. Not that 36 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: the subject matter was exactly a stretch for the playwright. 37 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,519 Speaker 1: This was his own group of friends after all, As 38 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: the House seats began to fill, it became glaringly obvious 39 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: that the night was not going to be solely focused 40 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: on the happenings on stage, Not when half of the 41 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: Devonshire House circle was gleefully taking their seats in the 42 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: orchestra with smug cheshire Cat grins mirrored across their faces, 43 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: ready to see what part of their lives their friend 44 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: Sheridan had deemed worthy of the stage, And especially not 45 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: when the real life counterparts to the play's main character 46 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: finally stepped through the doors of the Drury Lane Theater. 47 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:20,559 Speaker 1: At just nineteen years old, the Duchess of Devonshire, Georgana Cavendish, 48 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: had the town eating out the palm of her hand. 49 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: She had only been married to the Duke for two years, 50 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: but considering her almost overnight meteoric rise to fame, you'd 51 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: have to live under a rock or be the Duke 52 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: himself not to marvel at the Duchess's ability to charm 53 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: a room. Even as the curtains were drawn and actors 54 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 1: flooded the stage as the show began in earnest, all 55 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: eyes remained towards the real Duchess, especially as the play's 56 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: plot unfolded to tell the plight of Lady Teazl, a 57 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: young woman who had moved from the country to marry 58 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: a nobleman who had absolutely no interest in his new wife. 59 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: The character Lady Teazl was a woman who, still so 60 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: young and innocent, was lured into the depths of depravity 61 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: that festered at the core of London's high society. The 62 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: other members of the Devonshire House circle delighted in seeing 63 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: caricatures of themselves parade across the stage, no doubt entertained 64 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: by the colorful names chosen to embody some of their 65 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 1: circles more notorious drama magnets. You can probably guess the 66 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 1: type of character someone named Lady Sneerwell or Snake would be. 67 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: The school for Scandal would go on to be Richer, 68 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: Charitan's most successful work, celebrated for its quick wit and 69 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: pointed satire. However, despite its overall positive reception, there are 70 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: no surviving records as to the real Duchess's candid thoughts 71 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 1: on the production. But as Georgiana Cavendish sat in the 72 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: dark opening night with the weight of the theater's eyes 73 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: upon her, it's not difficult to imagine that her easy 74 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: smile slowly became harder to keep up as the consequences 75 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: of her all two real life choices were played out 76 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: on stage before her. By the end of the night, 77 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: her school for scandal counterpart Lady Teazl had managed to 78 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 1: escape the clutches of the town relatively unscathed. But when 79 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: Georgane and Cavendish finally climbed back into her carriage, ready 80 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: to be taken back to Devonshire House home, filled with 81 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:40,799 Speaker 1: nothing but a childless nursery, gambling debts, and the disappointment 82 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:44,719 Speaker 1: of her husband, it's enough to make anyone wonder whether 83 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: she didn't wish her night at the theater could have 84 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 1: lasted only a little longer or ended a little differently. 85 00:05:53,520 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 1: I'm Dan Schwartz and this is noble blood. On the 86 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: day of her seventeenth birthday, young Georgiana found herself standing 87 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:17,039 Speaker 1: in a church face to face with William Cavendish, the 88 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: man who would give her, quite possibly her most extravagant 89 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: birthday present to date, the title Duchess of Devonshire. Seventeen 90 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,599 Speaker 1: years earlier, she had been born at Georgiana Spencer, the 91 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: first child of John and Lady Georgiana Spencer, in Northamptonshire, England. 92 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: Unlike the majority of historical figures we cover on this podcast, 93 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: Georgiana had a surprisingly happy, trauma free childhood. Her parents 94 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: had a successful marriage, that is to say, there are 95 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 1: no recorded instances of affairs or illegitimate children, and because 96 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: Georgiana was their oldest, she was doated on endlessly by 97 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: both her parents, but especially her mother. Even after giving 98 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 1: birth to Georgiana's two younger siblings, her mother still held 99 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: a clear favoritism for her eldest daughter, telling Georgiana as 100 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: a teenager quote, you are my best and dearest friend. 101 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 1: You have my heart and may do what you will 102 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: with it. So when William Cavendish, the fifth Duke of Devonshire, 103 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: came knocking to pursue Georgiana's hand in marriage, Lady Spencer 104 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 1: was understandably hesitant to let her daughter go at such 105 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: a young age. She had no desire to see her 106 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: daughter become a quote child bride. But Georgiana was not 107 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: blind to the attention she had been receiving from the Duke, 108 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: nor was she blind to the reactions his interests had 109 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: elicited from her parents. A union between the Spencer and 110 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: Devonshire families, two of the most powerful aristocratic families in 111 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: the Whig Party, would only strengthen what political foothold they 112 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 1: had in the English government. Even Lady Spencer could not 113 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: argue against the advantage as a marriage between those two 114 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: household would bring. At only sixteen years old, Georgiana was 115 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,480 Speaker 1: so dedicated to her parents happiness that it was barely 116 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: any work for her to convince herself she had fallen 117 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: in love with the powerful Duke, So what if he 118 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: was a bit aloof when they met. Surely it was 119 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: knacked put on around those outside his inner circle. Her 120 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: father was also awkward in public settings, it made sense 121 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,800 Speaker 1: after they married, his real personality would shine through and 122 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: the two would be hopelessly in love and live happily 123 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 1: ever after. Well as you or anyone who has ever 124 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 1: waited for a man to change can probably understand, the 125 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: Duke did not miraculously fall in love with Georgiana after 126 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: they married. If anything, William began to resent the Duchess 127 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: the longer he was forced to share her company. Unlike 128 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: his new wife, the Duke had no romantic ideations when 129 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: it came to his Georgiana's union. He had chosen his 130 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: wife with most likely the same care he had taken 131 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 1: to hire his staff. In theory, she checked off all 132 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: the right boxes. She came from a good family, was 133 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: well educated, yet most importantly, was still young enough to 134 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: be molded to his needs. Theoretically, in practice, the Duke 135 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: would discover Georgiana, not completely dissimilar from his own demeanor, 136 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: had a personality that was not so easy to change. 137 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: Georgiana had spent the entirety of her life up until 138 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: this point being showered in the affection and adoration of 139 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 1: her parents. Being snubbed by her husband in every situation 140 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:47,079 Speaker 1: save his sporadic nightly visits to try to conceive an 141 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 1: air was quickly exhausting any remaining hope she may have 142 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 1: held for her new marriage. When she finally wrote to 143 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,319 Speaker 1: her mother seeking advice on how to best please her 144 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: new husband, Ladies Venture replied, quote, But where a husband's 145 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: delicacy and indulgence is so great that he will not 146 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: say what he likes, the task becomes more difficult, and 147 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: a wife must use all possible delicacy and ingenuity in 148 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 1: trying to find out his inclinations end quote. Unfortunately, it 149 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: seemed no amount of delicacy or ingenuity could change the 150 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 1: Duke's overall ambivalence toward his new wife, leaving Georgiana with 151 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 1: the horrifying revelation that we all saw coming. There was 152 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: no happily ever after. But while the Duke could barely 153 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: stand to be in the same room as his wife 154 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: for longer than five minutes, the whole of London seemingly 155 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 1: couldn't get enough of the newest addition to the House 156 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 1: of Devonshire. It seemed that everywhere Georgiana went, for better 157 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: or for worse, the Duchess couldn't help but attract attention. 158 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: One woman remarked, quote she was so handsome, so agreeable, 159 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: so obliging in her manner, that I am quite in 160 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 1: love with her end quote, while another would go on 161 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: to say, I think there is too much of her. 162 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: She gives me the idea of being larger than life, 163 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 1: even if the public couldn't quite agree on how they 164 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:26,119 Speaker 1: felt about their newcomer, Larger than life seems pretty accurate 165 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: in terms of Georgiana's appeal to late eighteenth century London society, 166 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 1: though larger than life could also easily describe the company 167 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: she began to keep in the Devonshire House Circle. The 168 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: Circle was comprised of around a hundred London politicians, artists 169 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: and socialites, whose only official unifying factor remained their allegiance 170 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,959 Speaker 1: to the Whig Party. Unofficially, membership to the Circle was 171 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: a symbol of wealth and status, one's level of import 172 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 1: becoming synonymous with how to meet their knowledge was of 173 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: the goings on in Devonshire House. A primary example of 174 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,320 Speaker 1: this was the use of what became known as the 175 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:13,319 Speaker 1: Cavendish drawl, an accent found nowhere else in London, let 176 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 1: alone the rest of Great Britain except within the walls 177 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: of Devonshire House. The strange affectation stretched vowel sounds in 178 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: odd ways while simultaneously putting stresses on unusual syllables for 179 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: seemingly no reason. It's what I can only compare to 180 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: the vocal stylings of ships Creeks Moira Rose, and like 181 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:41,680 Speaker 1: Moira Rose and her strangely elitist pattern of speech, the 182 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 1: Cavendish drawl was really just another way for the Circle 183 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: to widen the divine between themselves and the rest of 184 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: London society. But the divide between classes was perhaps more 185 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: easily distinguished in the Circle's style of dress. For if 186 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:00,960 Speaker 1: the Devonshire House Circle had a mod know it was 187 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: probably something along the lines of more is more. So, 188 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:10,679 Speaker 1: the critique that the Duchess was larger than life was 189 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 1: not completely unwarranted, especially considering the fact that she would 190 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:21,200 Speaker 1: sometimes walk into events wearing three foot tall hairpieces, all 191 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:25,320 Speaker 1: for the sake of fashion. Even before Georgiana became the Duchess, 192 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 1: it was in style for women's hair to be styled 193 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 1: well above where it would naturally sit. But after months 194 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 1: spent trying anything and everything to get the attention of 195 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 1: her husband, I like to imagine Georgiana Cavendish wanted to 196 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 1: be certain every other eye in London would be turned 197 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:48,679 Speaker 1: toward her. Amanda Foreman's biography Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire outlines 198 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: some of the more extreme stylings, writing quote, she stuck 199 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: pads of horsehair to her own hair and decorated the 200 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: top with miniature ornaments unquote, among the most notable ornaments 201 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 1: being waxed fruit, stuffed birds, or my personal favorite quote 202 00:14:07,559 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: a pastoral tableau with little wooden, freeze and sheep unquote. 203 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 1: Georgiana's styles would take two hairdressers multiple hours to achieve 204 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 1: in order to reach the level of perfection she strived for, 205 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 1: and even then the pieces would be so tall the 206 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: Duchess famously had to sit on the floor of her 207 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: carriage in order to arrive at her destination with the 208 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: construction fully intact, and yet, despite the hair's complete impracticality, 209 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: seemingly overnight, the rest of London was following suit. But 210 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 1: Georgina's influence was not just confined to the world of fashion. 211 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 1: Not long after The School for Scandal made its debut 212 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 1: at the Drury Lane Theater, Georgeana anonymously published a novel 213 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: titled The Sylph, loosely based on her own life as 214 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: outside are marrying into a position of power and learning 215 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: the problematic ways of London's aristocracy. Unlike the public's reaction 216 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: to Sheridan's comparatively naive Lady Teazl, readers were scandalized by 217 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 1: the darker thematic elements within the Self. The ton stared 218 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: at the pages, simultaneously enraptured and horrified. The novel depicted 219 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: a relationship between an abusive husband who blamed his wife 220 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:34,720 Speaker 1: for the miscarriage of their child. The veil of anonymity 221 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: was already thin to begin with, since most of the 222 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: names in the novel bore a very close resemblance to 223 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: their real life counterparts, but the darker themes running throughout 224 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: were enough to give readers pause. Surely this could not 225 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 1: be rumored to be written by the same duchess whose 226 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: fashions paraded through all of London society pages. But if 227 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: it was, what else was Georgiana cavn is hiding and 228 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 1: what was really going on within the walls of Devonshire 229 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: house quote The pretty Duchess of Devonshire, who by all 230 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: accounts has no faults but delicate health in my mind, 231 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 1: dines at seven summer as well as winter, goes to 232 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: bed at three and lies in bed till four. She 233 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:24,360 Speaker 1: has hysterical fits in the morning and dances in the evening. 234 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,920 Speaker 1: She bathes, rides and dances for ten days and lies 235 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: in bed the next ten end quote. This account of 236 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: the Duchess's behavior by one of her close friends probably 237 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: most accurately sums up her existence in the early years 238 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: of her marriage. If there was one constant in Georgiana's life, 239 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: it would be the inconsistency in which she chose to 240 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 1: live it. The Duchess's popularity wasn't without its pitfalls. Beneath 241 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: the towering wigs and charming disposition, Georgiana was, at any 242 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: moment one carefully crafted's sile away from social ruin. In 243 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:06,680 Speaker 1: the months since her wedding, lacking any love or validation 244 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:11,720 Speaker 1: from her husband, Georgiana found solace in gambling tables across London. 245 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 1: If the nights of constant inebriation weren't enough of a 246 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:19,919 Speaker 1: stress on her body, the sudden onslaught of gambling debts 247 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 1: made sure even her sober hours were tormented with near 248 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: constant anxiety. In the span of a few short months, 249 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: Georgiana had accumulated thousands of pounds of debt, which she 250 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 1: had assumed the Duke would forgive after she gave him 251 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: a Devonshire air. Only that was another problem. Georgiana had 252 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 1: little troubled getting pregnant, but remaining so proved tragically difficult. 253 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,160 Speaker 1: One miscarriage quickly turned to two, then three, and by 254 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,680 Speaker 1: the fourth the Duke began to blame his wife for 255 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 1: the failed pregnancies, and while her late nights out and 256 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: excessive alcohol consumption probably didn't help matters, I think it's 257 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: important to remember that up until the nineteen seventies, there 258 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,879 Speaker 1: was little to no discourse on the negative effects of 259 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: alcohol on pregnant bodies. So though her ventures into London 260 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,640 Speaker 1: night life, made from our point of view, with over 261 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 1: two hundred years worth of additional medical hindsight, look ill advised, 262 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: it wasn't understood as to be as cut and dry 263 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: as we see it today. Regardless, after eight years with 264 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:32,160 Speaker 1: a perpetually empty nursery, in seventeen eighty two, the Duke 265 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: and Georgiana decided to take a trip to Bath in 266 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,879 Speaker 1: the hopes that the town's healing waters would cure the 267 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: Duchess of whatever was keeping her from having a healthy child. 268 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: And though the couple would not find the miracle cure 269 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:50,159 Speaker 1: for the Duchess's infertility, by the end of their stay, 270 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:58,719 Speaker 1: one more person would be returning to Devonshire House with them. 271 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: Unlike most who aim to visit Bath, Lady Elizabeth Foster, 272 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: or Bess as she was known to her friends, had 273 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 1: not traveled to the small country town in search of 274 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:15,920 Speaker 1: healing cures. Recently Separated from her husband, Foster suddenly found 275 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,400 Speaker 1: herself at a bitter crossroads in her life. Her husband 276 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:23,160 Speaker 1: retained custody of their two children and left her with 277 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: no money to support herself, leaving Bess Foster with no 278 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: choice but to stay with an aunt in Bath. Upon 279 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 1: her initial introduction to the Devonshire's, the Duchess was immediately 280 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:39,360 Speaker 1: taken by the unfortunate tale of the all but destitute 281 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:43,679 Speaker 1: best Foster. Georgiana was more than ready to shower her 282 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:47,000 Speaker 1: new friend in all the love and affection she had 283 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: been so far unable to give out in her own 284 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 1: home to her husband. Given what we know about Georgiana's 285 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:58,959 Speaker 1: extroverted tendencies, this is probably less than surprising. But what 286 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:04,360 Speaker 1: was surprising was the Duke, against all odds, also similarly 287 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: became enamored with their newest acquaintance, so much so that 288 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,200 Speaker 1: by the end of their summer in Bath, an invitation 289 00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:17,399 Speaker 1: was extended to Bess to return to the city with them. Now, 290 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 1: the Devonshire House Circle was no stranger to the concepts 291 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:25,879 Speaker 1: of sex or scandal, but even so, Bess's arrival in 292 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 1: London created a commotion the likes of which had even 293 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:34,119 Speaker 1: members of the circle clutching their pearls. Word within the 294 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: circle traveled faster over drinks and gambling tables than printing 295 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,239 Speaker 1: presses could ever hope to keep up with, and it 296 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,560 Speaker 1: didn't take long for the town to make assumptions as 297 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:48,439 Speaker 1: to why the newest member of Devonshire House had found 298 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:53,160 Speaker 1: herself with nowhere else to go. Typically, in eighteenth century 299 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:57,680 Speaker 1: marital separations, it was not uncommon for husbands to maintain 300 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: custody of children. However, it was uncommon for the separated 301 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:07,720 Speaker 1: wife to receive no monetary compensation with which to support herself. 302 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:12,359 Speaker 1: The only instances of this occurring usually indicated some sort 303 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: of quote wrongdoing on the side of the wife, most 304 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: commonly an instance of infidelity. So with rumors of Bess's 305 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:25,480 Speaker 1: infidelity against her former husband flying across the Ton, it 306 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 1: only makes sense that the next rumor would be speculation 307 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:34,119 Speaker 1: as to the exact nature of her relationship with the 308 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:38,439 Speaker 1: Duke and Duchess. After all, in the entirety of the 309 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,400 Speaker 1: eight years the Duke and Duchess had been married, when 310 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:45,359 Speaker 1: had they ever agreed on anything as a couple, And 311 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,720 Speaker 1: out of all aspects of a marriage to finally settle on, 312 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 1: the first thing is bringing another woman into their home, 313 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: and they really expected the Devonshire House circle the bona 314 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 1: fide poster children for extra marital affairs and sex game 315 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: indals to believe that nothing nefarius was going on. Even now, 316 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 1: nearly two hundred and fifty years after the fact, scholars 317 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:12,439 Speaker 1: and casual historians can't help but to speculate as to 318 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:18,359 Speaker 1: what exactly happened behind closed doors at Devonshire House. Of Course, 319 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,919 Speaker 1: the most popular theory, if only because it remains the 320 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: lowest hanging fruit, is there infamously rumored Minagata. And while 321 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,760 Speaker 1: the idea of this dysfunctional throutle is enticing in its 322 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: inherent drama, I'm sorry to inform you the specific threesome 323 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: most likely never happened. It's true the Duke and Duchess 324 00:22:41,359 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: both independently loved Best, but it's evident through their various 325 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:51,200 Speaker 1: correspondences that their love was not intertwined in any sort 326 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,399 Speaker 1: of capacity. In fact, it was Best His ability to 327 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:58,640 Speaker 1: morph into what the Duke and what Georgana needed as 328 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: individuals at any and moment that made her so indispensable 329 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: to their relationship. For Georgiana, Best became an invaluable confidante 330 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 1: for her, event all frustrations regarding her loveless merit with 331 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:16,120 Speaker 1: the Duke. Of course, the undeniable closeness between the two 332 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 1: women would give birth to the possibility. The second most 333 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,920 Speaker 1: popular rumor as to the goings on at Devonshire House 334 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:27,960 Speaker 1: a lesbian love affair between Bess and Georgiana. And while 335 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:32,640 Speaker 1: this claim, in my opinion, still lack sufficient evidence, there 336 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,520 Speaker 1: is no mistaking the strength of devotion between these two women. 337 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 1: Quote who has any right to know how long or 338 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 1: how tenderly we love one another? Georgiana wrote in a 339 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: letter to Best. Following public speculation of their relationship, she 340 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: continued writing, quote, does the warm impulse of two hearts 341 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 1: want an excuse to be accounted for? And must your 342 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: partiality to me be ushered in by another connection? Of course, 343 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,800 Speaker 1: the instance of quote another connection a k a. A 344 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,480 Speaker 1: supposed sexual relationship can't be confirmed by something so flimsy 345 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: as this. But ironically, the majority of scholarly discourse on 346 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,480 Speaker 1: the nature of their relationship stems from the letters historians 347 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,679 Speaker 1: have never been able to read. At some point in 348 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: the last two hundred years, someone close to the Devonsures 349 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:28,119 Speaker 1: went through all of the records of their correspondence, censoring 350 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,159 Speaker 1: and destroying anything they saw as potentially harmful to the 351 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: family's legacy, which unfortunately, had the opposite effect of making 352 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:42,880 Speaker 1: curious parties speculate wildly as to what could have been 353 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:48,919 Speaker 1: so damning as to necessitate such extreme censorship. Ultimately, the 354 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:54,440 Speaker 1: full extent of Georgiana and Bess's relationship will remain a mystery, 355 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 1: but in my personal opinion, given these sexual proclivities associated 356 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:04,360 Speaker 1: with the Devonshire House circle, it's entirely possible their relationship 357 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:08,400 Speaker 1: may have, at one point or another blurred its lines. 358 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 1: But the fact remains, whatever their romantic relationship may or 359 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:16,520 Speaker 1: may not have been, the two undoubtedly shared a deep 360 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 1: emotional connection that persisted throughout their lives. With Bess's comforting presence, 361 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:26,880 Speaker 1: Georgiana began to ease on her drinking and late nights, 362 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: and soon found herself pregnant once again, and finally, after 363 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:36,480 Speaker 1: nine years of marriage, in seventy three, Georgiana gave birth 364 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,920 Speaker 1: to her first healthy child, and the whole of Devonshire 365 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:43,880 Speaker 1: House took a collective sigh of relief. The child may 366 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:48,440 Speaker 1: have been, to the Duke's disappointment, a girl, but her 367 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: birth proved Georgiana could eventually give birth to a healthy air, 368 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,640 Speaker 1: and with her best friend at her side, it seemed 369 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: as if the loveless marriage she had once felt trapped 370 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 1: in no longer had such a suffocating hold on her life. 371 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: That is until just over a year later, when, within 372 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:11,959 Speaker 1: weeks of discovering that she was once again pregnant, Georgiana 373 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:16,320 Speaker 1: would come to the life altering realization that she was 374 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 1: not the only woman in Devonshire House carrying the Duke's child. 375 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 1: Now remember earlier when I said it was Bess's ability 376 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 1: to morph into the specific needs of both the Duke 377 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 1: and Duchess that made her so invaluable to them. Well, 378 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:39,840 Speaker 1: Following the death of the Duke's longtime mistress, the Duke 379 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: was left with a romantic void in his life that 380 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: he would have sooner worn one of his wife's three 381 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:49,399 Speaker 1: foot wigs than try to let her fill. But any 382 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:52,760 Speaker 1: doubt in his wife's judge of character was swiftly forgotten 383 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,600 Speaker 1: upon his introduction to Lady Elizabeth Foster on that faithful 384 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:01,359 Speaker 1: trip to Bath. Best may have come into Devonshire House 385 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,399 Speaker 1: as Georgiana's close friend, but she was no fool. She 386 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 1: was in no rush to return to her life, waiting 387 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 1: for her father to dole out pennies while she lived 388 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,440 Speaker 1: with her aunt in the country, So when she saw 389 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:16,720 Speaker 1: how the loneliness of the Devonshire marriage was not only 390 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:20,760 Speaker 1: affecting Georgiana but the Duke himself, Bess was quick to 391 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,919 Speaker 1: make herself available as a source of comfort to both 392 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:29,679 Speaker 1: sides of the unhappy marriage. But fast forward three years 393 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:34,720 Speaker 1: and an unplanned pregnancy later, and Georgiana's world was once 394 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:38,639 Speaker 1: again crumbling to pieces around her. In the wake of 395 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:43,399 Speaker 1: Bess's betrayal, Georgiana once again began indulging in a few 396 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: of her more self destructive vices, namely deepening the pit 397 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,720 Speaker 1: of debt she'd already dug herself into gambling across London, 398 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:58,000 Speaker 1: and when her second successful pregnancy yielded yet another girl 399 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:01,159 Speaker 1: instead of the air her husband needed from her, the 400 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:06,719 Speaker 1: Duchess's nearly hundred thousand pounds in debt or roughly six 401 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:10,840 Speaker 1: million pounds in today's money suddenly became ground for the 402 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:16,400 Speaker 1: Duke to demand a marital separation. But where Bess had 403 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:20,119 Speaker 1: previously stepped in on the Duchess's behalf to plead with 404 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: the Duke for leniency, Best found that the dynamic between 405 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,520 Speaker 1: the group had shifted following the birth of her own 406 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,879 Speaker 1: illegitimate daughter, with the Duke Best no longer felt the 407 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: need to display the same undying loyalty toward Georgiana that 408 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:39,680 Speaker 1: she had before, or at least pretended that she had before. 409 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: Maybe Best was bitter that female or not, george Jana's 410 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: daughters were allowed to live under the same roof as her, 411 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,560 Speaker 1: unlike her own newborn daughter, who she was forced to 412 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: leave behind with a foster family. Maybe she realized Georgiana's 413 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 1: hold on the title of Duchess was steadily slipping through 414 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 1: her fingers, and maybe Bess wanted to be the one 415 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: ready to take up the mantle. Maybe Bess was tired 416 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:08,720 Speaker 1: of living off those who deemed her worthy of the 417 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:13,240 Speaker 1: scraps they allotted her. In the end, Bess's cold shoulder 418 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 1: wouldn't matter. Even if the Duke chose to leave his 419 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: wife for good. There was almost no scenario that saw 420 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:24,360 Speaker 1: Best living the same privileged life Georgiana enjoyed as the Duchess. 421 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:30,720 Speaker 1: Despite her insurmountable debts, Georgiana was still undeniably popular in 422 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: the public eye. The Devonshire House circle would surely ostracize 423 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: any other woman that usurped their beloved Georgiana, especially another 424 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:44,719 Speaker 1: woman who had claimed to be Georgiana's closest friend. In 425 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: other words, the public was squarely hashtag team Georgiana. For 426 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 1: his part, the Duke was reluctantly coming to a similar realization. 427 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:00,320 Speaker 1: Unfortunately for his wallet, gambling away the family is state 428 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 1: was not sufficient grounds for divorce. Now, if Georgiana had, 429 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: let's say, had an affair, the Duke may have had 430 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:12,480 Speaker 1: more of a case. But unlike her husband, she had 431 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:17,400 Speaker 1: remained unwaveringly faithful through the course of their marriage. Of course, 432 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: up until this point, Georgiana had yet to meet the young, 433 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:25,920 Speaker 1: passionate wig politician who would forever alter the course of 434 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:42,840 Speaker 1: her life, a man named Charles Gray. That marks the 435 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:47,200 Speaker 1: end of our first episode on Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess 436 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,160 Speaker 1: of Devonshire. Next week we'll be back with part two, 437 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:53,200 Speaker 1: but stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear 438 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:57,120 Speaker 1: a connection Georgiana has with another royal. You may know 439 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:09,480 Speaker 1: now if Georgiana's made a name, Spencer immediately set off 440 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:12,360 Speaker 1: alarm bells in the royal obsessed part of your brain. 441 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:16,240 Speaker 1: I commend you on your encyclopedic knowledge of British royal lineage. 442 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:20,240 Speaker 1: For everyone else, allow me to explain a little over 443 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,960 Speaker 1: two hundred years after Georgiana Spencer was plucked from relative 444 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 1: obscurity to become the Duchess of Devonshire, another Spencer would 445 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:32,600 Speaker 1: similarly shed her maiden name and shed her previously quiet 446 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:37,240 Speaker 1: existence for a title that would make her a household name. Overnight, 447 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 1: Georgiana's great great great great niece, Diana Spencer, would marry 448 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 1: Prince Charles in nine and become Diana, Princess of Wales. 449 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,680 Speaker 1: In the years since Princess Diana's marriage into the royal 450 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 1: family and tragically untimely death, historians and tabloids alike have 451 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,400 Speaker 1: taken to comparing the two iconic women who forever left 452 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:06,840 Speaker 1: an imprint on their respective cultural landscapes. And while it's 453 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:12,720 Speaker 1: true both became unmistakable style icons, both stuck in unhappy marriages, 454 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:16,360 Speaker 1: both married to indifferent husbands even as they were adored 455 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,520 Speaker 1: by the public, I think it's also impossible to compare 456 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:22,840 Speaker 1: the two women without also taking into account the role 457 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:27,840 Speaker 1: that the tabloid media had in their lives. Interesting, isn't it. However? 458 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,400 Speaker 1: Two centuries can pass, and yet the press still finds 459 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:35,160 Speaker 1: itself reliant on the toxic cycle of building up women 460 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,320 Speaker 1: to fit on impossibly high pedestals just so they can 461 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: relish their inevitable falls. It's enough to make you wonder 462 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 1: how much of these women's lives were dictated by worry 463 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 1: about what would be printed the next day, and how 464 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:52,800 Speaker 1: different their lives might have been had the press decided 465 00:32:52,880 --> 00:33:10,920 Speaker 1: to tell a different story. Ye Noble Blood is a 466 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:14,080 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from 467 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danis Shwartz. 468 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, 469 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,760 Speaker 1: Mirra Hayward, Courtney Sunder, and Laurie Goodman. The show is 470 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:31,520 Speaker 1: produced by rema Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thane 471 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:36,080 Speaker 1: and executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. 472 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I 473 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:43,120 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 474 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:44,000 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.