Plot summary

1770s England. Despite being at a carefree stage of her young adult life which includes a friendship and possibly more in the future with Charles Grey, Lady Georgiana Spencer is more than thrilled to accept the marriage proposal of older William Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire, regardless of the fact that they have only met twice. Georgiana is well aware that she has only two primary responsibilities as Duchess: (1) to produce a male heir for the Duke; (2) to be loyal to him. However, their marriage is not as she expects, where he pays more attention to his dogs than he does to her. Even their lovemaking is cold and clinical. As long as she doesn't fulfill that first responsibility which seems to be difficult to achieve, their marriage will remain distant. That coldness she is aware includes infidelity on his side, which she tolerates in keeping to her second responsibility, especially as it relates to her public duties. As such, she decides to be fulfilled in other ways outside of her time with the Duke, which he, in an unspoken agreement, is not to intrude. Those outside activities, which make her a star among the elite, include fashion design, gambling, and surprisingly politics. It also includes a friendship with Lady Elizabeth Foster - Bess - whose own marriage is in disarray, as her husband beats her and he has all but taken away their children from her. Georgiana and Bess act as each other's emotional support, which on Georgiana's side includes inviting her to live in Devonshire House with her and the Duke. As her marriage to the Duke deteriorates even further, Georgiana has to decide how far she will go, especially as it relates to Bess, and to Charles, who, as a young man, has political aspirations. If she can't have her cake and eat it too, she will have to make some difficult decisions with regard to the ones she truly loves.—Huggo