The Love of the Duchess of Devonshire, Part 1

their hands before the night was over. But as candles were lit and set pieces were placed just so beyond the thin walls of the theater, another show was already well into its first act. The doors to the Drury Lane Theater's house lobby were open, and the audience's arrivals

brought with them a spectacle all their own. A seemingly endless parade of carriages lined the street outside, as women with impossibly tall hairpieces were forced to maneuver themselves with an excess of caution so as not to topple the glorified sculptures balanced precariously atop their heads. When theater goers finally managed to make their way past the front doors

and into the theater lobby. Typical patrons of the Drury Lane may have been slightly puzzled at the appearance of not only so many women dressed in over the top finery, but men as well, flaunting tightly fit waistcoats and high heeled shoes, paired with almost comically small hats skewed crookedly

on their heads. Opening nights were celebratory occasions, to be sure, but these types of fashion statements were excessive even for the theater, though given what they were about to watch, heightened states of dress were hardly going to be considered

drama by the night's end. Technically speaking, the crowd was there to watch the opening night performance of playwright Richard Sheridan's newest play, The School for Scandal, But in the weeks leading up to the production, it had quickly become London's worst kept secret that the plot to his newest play was almost exclusively centered around the inner workings of a group of London socialites and politicians that had come

to be known as the Devonshire House Circle. Not that the subject matter was exactly a stretch for the playwright.

This was his own group of friends after all, As the House seats began to fill, it became glaringly obvious that the night was not going to be solely focused on the happenings on stage, Not when half of the Devonshire House circle was gleefully taking their seats in the orchestra with smug cheshire Cat grins mirrored across their faces, ready to see what part of their lives their friend Sheridan had deemed worthy of the stage, And especially not

when the real life counterparts to the play's main character finally stepped through the doors of the Drury Lane Theater. At just nineteen years old, the Duchess of Devonshire, Georgana Cavendish, had the town eating out the palm of her hand. She had only been married to the Duke for two years, but considering her almost overnight meteoric rise to fame, you'd have to live under a rock or be the Duke himself not to marvel at the Duchess's ability to charm

a room. Even as the curtains were drawn and actors flooded the stage as the show began in earnest, all eyes remained towards the real Duchess, especially as the play's plot unfolded to tell the plight of Lady Teazl, a young woman who had moved from the country to marry a nobleman who had absolutely no interest in his new wife. The character Lady Teazl was a woman who, still so young and innocent, was lured into the depths of depravity

that festered at the core of London's high society. The other members of the Devonshire House circle delighted in seeing caricatures of themselves parade across the stage, no doubt entertained by the colorful names chosen to embody some of their circles more notorious drama magnets. You can probably guess the type of character someone named Lady Sneerwell or Snake would be. The school for Scandal would go on to be Richer, Charitan's most successful work, celebrated for its quick wit and

pointed satire. However, despite its overall positive reception, there are no surviving records as to the real Duchess's candid thoughts on the production. But as Georgiana Cavendish sat in the dark opening night with the weight of the theater's eyes upon her, it's not difficult to imagine that her easy smile slowly became harder to keep up as the consequences of her all two real life choices were played out

on stage before her. By the end of the night, her school for scandal counterpart Lady Teazl had managed to

escape the clutches of the town relatively unscathed. But when Georgane and Cavendish finally climbed back into her carriage, ready to be taken back to Devonshire House home, filled with nothing but a childless nursery, gambling debts, and the disappointment of her husband, it's enough to make anyone wonder whether she didn't wish her night at the theater could have lasted only a little longer or ended a little differently.

I'm Dan Schwartz and this is noble blood. On the day of her seventeenth birthday, young Georgiana found herself standing in a church face to face with William Cavendish, the man who would give her, quite possibly her most extravagant birthday present to date, the title Duchess of Devonshire. Seventeen years earlier, she had been born at Georgiana Spencer, the first child of John and Lady Georgiana Spencer, in Northamptonshire, England.

Unlike the majority of historical figures we cover on this podcast, Georgiana had a surprisingly happy, trauma free childhood. Her parents had a successful marriage, that is to say, there are no recorded instances of affairs or illegitimate children, and because Georgiana was their oldest, she was doated on endlessly by

both her parents, but especially her mother. Even after giving birth to Georgiana's two younger siblings, her mother still held a clear favoritism for her eldest daughter, telling Georgiana as a teenager quote, you are my best and dearest friend. You have my heart and may do what you will with it. So when William Cavendish, the fifth Duke of Devonshire, came knocking to pursue Georgiana's hand in marriage, Lady Spencer was understandably hesitant to let her daughter go at such

a young age. She had no desire to see her daughter become a quote child bride. But Georgiana was not blind to the attention she had been receiving from the Duke, nor was she blind to the reactions his interests had elicited from her parents. A union between the Spencer and Devonshire families, two of the most powerful aristocratic families in the Whig Party, would only strengthen what political foothold they

had in the English government. Even Lady Spencer could not argue against the advantage as a marriage between those two household would bring. At only sixteen years old, Georgiana was so dedicated to her parents happiness that it was barely any work for her to convince herself she had fallen in love with the powerful Duke, So what if he was a bit aloof when they met. Surely it was

knacked put on around those outside his inner circle. Her father was also awkward in public settings, it made sense after they married, his real personality would shine through and the two would be hopelessly in love and live happily ever after. Well as you or anyone who has ever waited for a man to change can probably understand, the Duke did not miraculously fall in love with Georgiana after they married. If anything, William began to resent the Duchess

the longer he was forced to share her company. Unlike his new wife, the Duke had no romantic ideations when it came to his Georgiana's union. He had chosen his wife with most likely the same care he had taken to hire his staff. In theory, she checked off all the right boxes. She came from a good family, was well educated, yet most importantly, was still young enough to

be molded to his needs. Theoretically, in practice, the Duke would discover Georgiana, not completely dissimilar from his own demeanor, had a personality that was not so easy to change. Georgiana had spent the entirety of her life up until this point being showered in the affection and adoration of her parents. Being snubbed by her husband in every situation save his sporadic nightly visits to try to conceive an air was quickly exhausting any remaining hope she may have

held for her new marriage. When she finally wrote to her mother seeking advice on how to best please her new husband, Ladies Venture replied, quote, But where a husband's delicacy and indulgence is so great that he will not say what he likes, the task becomes more difficult, and a wife must use all possible delicacy and ingenuity in

trying to find out his inclinations end quote. Unfortunately, it seemed no amount of delicacy or ingenuity could change the Duke's overall ambivalence toward his new wife, leaving Georgiana with the horrifying revelation that we all saw coming. There was no happily ever after. But while the Duke could barely stand to be in the same room as his wife for longer than five minutes, the whole of London seemingly couldn't get enough of the newest addition to the House

of Devonshire. It seemed that everywhere Georgiana went, for better or for worse, the Duchess couldn't help but attract attention. One woman remarked, quote she was so handsome, so agreeable, so obliging in her manner, that I am quite in love with her end quote, while another would go on to say, I think there is too much of her.

She gives me the idea of being larger than life, even if the public couldn't quite agree on how they felt about their newcomer, Larger than life seems pretty accurate in terms of Georgiana's appeal to late eighteenth century London society, though larger than life could also easily describe the company

she began to keep in the Devonshire House Circle. The Circle was comprised of around a hundred London politicians, artists and socialites, whose only official unifying factor remained their allegiance to the Whig Party. Unofficially, membership to the Circle was a symbol of wealth and status, one's level of import becoming synonymous with how to meet their knowledge was of

the goings on in Devonshire House. A primary example of this was the use of what became known as the Cavendish drawl, an accent found nowhere else in London, let alone the rest of Great Britain except within the walls of Devonshire House. The strange affectation stretched vowel sounds in odd ways while simultaneously putting stresses on unusual syllables for

seemingly no reason. It's what I can only compare to the vocal stylings of ships Creeks Moira Rose, and like Moira Rose and her strangely elitist pattern of speech, the Cavendish drawl was really just another way for the Circle to widen the divine between themselves and the rest of London society. But the divide between classes was perhaps more easily distinguished in the Circle's style of dress. For if the Devonshire House Circle had a mod know it was

probably something along the lines of more is more. So, the critique that the Duchess was larger than life was not completely unwarranted, especially considering the fact that she would sometimes walk into events wearing three foot tall hairpieces, all for the sake of fashion. Even before Georgiana became the Duchess, it was in style for women's hair to be styled

well above where it would naturally sit. But after months spent trying anything and everything to get the attention of her husband, I like to imagine Georgiana Cavendish wanted to be certain every other eye in London would be turned

toward her. Amanda Foreman's biography Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire outlines some of the more extreme stylings, writing quote, she stuck pads of horsehair to her own hair and decorated the top with miniature ornaments unquote, among the most notable ornaments being waxed fruit, stuffed birds, or my personal favorite quote a pastoral tableau with little wooden, freeze and sheep unquote.

Georgiana's styles would take two hairdressers multiple hours to achieve in order to reach the level of perfection she strived for, and even then the pieces would be so tall the Duchess famously had to sit on the floor of her carriage in order to arrive at her destination with the construction fully intact, and yet, despite the hair's complete impracticality, seemingly overnight, the rest of London was following suit. But Georgina's influence was not just confined to the world of fashion.

Not long after The School for Scandal made its debut at the Drury Lane Theater, Georgeana anonymously published a novel titled The Sylph, loosely based on her own life as outside are marrying into a position of power and learning the problematic ways of London's aristocracy. Unlike the public's reaction to Sheridan's comparatively naive Lady Teazl, readers were scandalized by the darker thematic elements within the Self. The ton stared

at the pages, simultaneously enraptured and horrified. The novel depicted a relationship between an abusive husband who blamed his wife for the miscarriage of their child. The veil of anonymity was already thin to begin with, since most of the names in the novel bore a very close resemblance to their real life counterparts, but the darker themes running throughout were enough to give readers pause. Surely this could not be rumored to be written by the same duchess whose

fashions paraded through all of London society pages. But if it was, what else was Georgiana cavn is hiding and what was really going on within the walls of Devonshire house quote The pretty Duchess of Devonshire, who by all accounts has no faults but delicate health in my mind, dines at seven summer as well as winter, goes to bed at three and lies in bed till four. She has hysterical fits in the morning and dances in the evening. She bathes, rides and dances for ten days and lies

in bed the next ten end quote. This account of the Duchess's behavior by one of her close friends probably most accurately sums up her existence in the early years of her marriage. If there was one constant in Georgiana's life, it would be the inconsistency in which she chose to live it. The Duchess's popularity wasn't without its pitfalls. Beneath the towering wigs and charming disposition, Georgiana was, at any

moment one carefully crafted's sile away from social ruin. In the months since her wedding, lacking any love or validation from her husband, Georgiana found solace in gambling tables across London. If the nights of constant inebriation weren't enough of a stress on her body, the sudden onslaught of gambling debts made sure even her sober hours were tormented with near

constant anxiety. In the span of a few short months, Georgiana had accumulated thousands of pounds of debt, which she had assumed the Duke would forgive after she gave him a Devonshire air. Only that was another problem. Georgiana had little troubled getting pregnant, but remaining so proved tragically difficult.

One miscarriage quickly turned to two, then three, and by the fourth the Duke began to blame his wife for the failed pregnancies, and while her late nights out and excessive alcohol consumption probably didn't help matters, I think it's important to remember that up until the nineteen seventies, there was little to no discourse on the negative effects of

alcohol on pregnant bodies. So though her ventures into London night life, made from our point of view, with over two hundred years worth of additional medical hindsight, look ill advised, it wasn't understood as to be as cut and dry

as we see it today. Regardless, after eight years with a perpetually empty nursery, in seventeen eighty two, the Duke and Georgiana decided to take a trip to Bath in the hopes that the town's healing waters would cure the Duchess of whatever was keeping her from having a healthy child. And though the couple would not find the miracle cure for the Duchess's infertility, by the end of their stay, one more person would be returning to Devonshire House with them.

Unlike most who aim to visit Bath, Lady Elizabeth Foster, or Bess as she was known to her friends, had not traveled to the small country town in search of healing cures. Recently Separated from her husband, Foster suddenly found herself at a bitter crossroads in her life. Her husband retained custody of their two children and left her with no money to support herself, leaving Bess Foster with no

choice but to stay with an aunt in Bath. Upon her initial introduction to the Devonshire's, the Duchess was immediately taken by the unfortunate tale of the all but destitute best Foster. Georgiana was more than ready to shower her new friend in all the love and affection she had been so far unable to give out in her own home to her husband. Given what we know about Georgiana's

extroverted tendencies, this is probably less than surprising. But what was surprising was the Duke, against all odds, also similarly became enamored with their newest acquaintance, so much so that by the end of their summer in Bath, an invitation was extended to Bess to return to the city with them. Now, the Devonshire House Circle was no stranger to the concepts of sex or scandal, but even so, Bess's arrival in London created a commotion the likes of which had even

members of the circle clutching their pearls. Word within the circle traveled faster over drinks and gambling tables than printing presses could ever hope to keep up with, and it didn't take long for the town to make assumptions as to why the newest member of Devonshire House had found herself with nowhere else to go. Typically, in eighteenth century marital separations, it was not uncommon for husbands to maintain

custody of children. However, it was uncommon for the separated wife to receive no monetary compensation with which to support herself. The only instances of this occurring usually indicated some sort of quote wrongdoing on the side of the wife, most commonly an instance of infidelity. So with rumors of Bess's infidelity against her former husband flying across the Ton, it only makes sense that the next rumor would be speculation as to the exact nature of her relationship with the

Duke and Duchess. After all, in the entirety of the eight years the Duke and Duchess had been married, when had they ever agreed on anything as a couple, And out of all aspects of a marriage to finally settle on, the first thing is bringing another woman into their home, and they really expected the Devonshire House circle the bona fide poster children for extra marital affairs and sex game

indals to believe that nothing nefarius was going on. Even now, nearly two hundred and fifty years after the fact, scholars and casual historians can't help but to speculate as to what exactly happened behind closed doors at Devonshire House. Of Course, the most popular theory, if only because it remains the

lowest hanging fruit, is there infamously rumored Minagata. And while the idea of this dysfunctional throutle is enticing in its inherent drama, I'm sorry to inform you the specific threesome most likely never happened. It's true the Duke and Duchess both independently loved Best, but it's evident through their various correspondences that their love was not intertwined in any sort

of capacity. In fact, it was Best His ability to morph into what the Duke and what Georgana needed as individuals at any and moment that made her so indispensable to their relationship. For Georgiana, Best became an invaluable confidante for her, event all frustrations regarding her loveless merit with the Duke. Of course, the undeniable closeness between the two women would give birth to the possibility. The second most popular rumor as to the goings on at Devonshire House

a lesbian love affair between Bess and Georgiana. And while this claim, in my opinion, still lack sufficient evidence, there is no mistaking the strength of devotion between these two women. Quote who has any right to know how long or how tenderly we love one another? Georgiana wrote in a letter to Best. Following public speculation of their relationship, she continued writing, quote, does the warm impulse of two hearts want an excuse to be accounted for? And must your

partiality to me be ushered in by another connection? Of course, the instance of quote another connection a k a. A supposed sexual relationship can't be confirmed by something so flimsy as this. But ironically, the majority of scholarly discourse on the nature of their relationship stems from the letters historians

have never been able to read. At some point in the last two hundred years, someone close to the Devonsures went through all of the records of their correspondence, censoring and destroying anything they saw as potentially harmful to the family's legacy, which unfortunately, had the opposite effect of making curious parties speculate wildly as to what could have been

so damning as to necessitate such extreme censorship. Ultimately, the full extent of Georgiana and Bess's relationship will remain a mystery, but in my personal opinion, given these sexual proclivities associated with the Devonshire House circle, it's entirely possible their relationship may have, at one point or another blurred its lines. But the fact remains, whatever their romantic relationship may or may not have been, the two undoubtedly shared a deep

emotional connection that persisted throughout their lives. With Bess's comforting presence, Georgiana began to ease on her drinking and late nights, and soon found herself pregnant once again, and finally, after nine years of marriage, in seventy three, Georgiana gave birth to her first healthy child, and the whole of Devonshire

House took a collective sigh of relief. The child may have been, to the Duke's disappointment, a girl, but her birth proved Georgiana could eventually give birth to a healthy air, and with her best friend at her side, it seemed as if the loveless marriage she had once felt trapped in no longer had such a suffocating hold on her life.

That is until just over a year later, when, within weeks of discovering that she was once again pregnant, Georgiana would come to the life altering realization that she was not the only woman in Devonshire House carrying the Duke's child. Now remember earlier when I said it was Bess's ability to morph into the specific needs of both the Duke

and Duchess that made her so invaluable to them. Well, Following the death of the Duke's longtime mistress, the Duke was left with a romantic void in his life that he would have sooner worn one of his wife's three foot wigs than try to let her fill. But any doubt in his wife's judge of character was swiftly forgotten upon his introduction to Lady Elizabeth Foster on that faithful trip to Bath. Best may have come into Devonshire House

as Georgiana's close friend, but she was no fool. She was in no rush to return to her life, waiting for her father to dole out pennies while she lived with her aunt in the country, So when she saw how the loneliness of the Devonshire marriage was not only affecting Georgiana but the Duke himself, Bess was quick to make herself available as a source of comfort to both sides of the unhappy marriage. But fast forward three years and an unplanned pregnancy later, and Georgiana's world was once

again crumbling to pieces around her. In the wake of Bess's betrayal, Georgiana once again began indulging in a few of her more self destructive vices, namely deepening the pit of debt she'd already dug herself into gambling across London, and when her second successful pregnancy yielded yet another girl instead of the air her husband needed from her, the Duchess's nearly hundred thousand pounds in debt or roughly six million pounds in today's money suddenly became ground for the

Duke to demand a marital separation. But where Bess had previously stepped in on the Duchess's behalf to plead with the Duke for leniency, Best found that the dynamic between the group had shifted following the birth of her own illegitimate daughter, with the Duke Best no longer felt the need to display the same undying loyalty toward Georgiana that she had before, or at least pretended that she had before.

Maybe Best was bitter that female or not, george Jana's daughters were allowed to live under the same roof as her, unlike her own newborn daughter, who she was forced to leave behind with a foster family. Maybe she realized Georgiana's hold on the title of Duchess was steadily slipping through her fingers, and maybe Bess wanted to be the one ready to take up the mantle. Maybe Bess was tired of living off those who deemed her worthy of the

scraps they allotted her. In the end, Bess's cold shoulder wouldn't matter. Even if the Duke chose to leave his wife for good. There was almost no scenario that saw Best living the same privileged life Georgiana enjoyed as the Duchess. Despite her insurmountable debts, Georgiana was still undeniably popular in the public eye. The Devonshire House circle would surely ostracize any other woman that usurped their beloved Georgiana, especially another

woman who had claimed to be Georgiana's closest friend. In other words, the public was squarely hashtag team Georgiana. For his part, the Duke was reluctantly coming to a similar realization. Unfortunately for his wallet, gambling away the family is state was not sufficient grounds for divorce. Now, if Georgiana had, let's say, had an affair, the Duke may have had more of a case. But unlike her husband, she had

remained unwaveringly faithful through the course of their marriage. Of course, up until this point, Georgiana had yet to meet the young, passionate wig politician who would forever alter the course of her life, a man named Charles Gray. That marks the end of our first episode on Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire. Next week we'll be back with part two, but stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear

a connection Georgiana has with another royal. You may know now if Georgiana's made a name, Spencer immediately set off alarm bells in the royal obsessed part of your brain. I commend you on your encyclopedic knowledge of British royal lineage. For everyone else, allow me to explain a little over two hundred years after Georgiana Spencer was plucked from relative obscurity to become the Duchess of Devonshire, another Spencer would similarly shed her maiden name and shed her previously quiet

existence for a title that would make her a household name. Overnight, Georgiana's great great great great niece, Diana Spencer, would marry Prince Charles in nine and become Diana, Princess of Wales. In the years since Princess Diana's marriage into the royal family and tragically untimely death, historians and tabloids alike have taken to comparing the two iconic women who forever left

an imprint on their respective cultural landscapes. And while it's true both became unmistakable style icons, both stuck in unhappy marriages, both married to indifferent husbands even as they were adored by the public, I think it's also impossible to compare the two women without also taking into account the role that the tabloid media had in their lives. Interesting, isn't it. However?

Two centuries can pass, and yet the press still finds itself reliant on the toxic cycle of building up women to fit on impossibly high pedestals just so they can relish their inevitable falls. It's enough to make you wonder how much of these women's lives were dictated by worry about what would be printed the next day, and how different their lives might have been had the press decided to tell a different story. Ye Noble Blood is a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from

Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danis Shwartz. Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mirra Hayward, Courtney Sunder, and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by rema Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.