Duke of Devonshire a separate title from that of Earl of Devon, which still belongs to the Courtenay family. The fifth Duke and Duchess of Devonshire are portrayed in the 2008 film "The Duchess" directed by Saul Dibb. The film is based on Amanda Foreman's biography of the scandalous 18th-century English aristocrat Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (portrayed by Keira Knightley) and her relationship with the Duke (Ralph Fiennes) and his next wife, Lady Elizabeth Foster. Along with Jane Austen, the fifth Duke and his second wife appear, soon after Georgiana's death, in "Jane and the Stillroom Maid", a murder mystery by Stephanie
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire Duchess of Devonshire by reputable painters of the Georgian era remain, including a 1787 portrait by the famed Thomas Gainsborough which was once thought lost. Over 1,000 of personal letters written by the Duchess of Devonshire remain in existence. Chatsworth, the seat of the duke of Devonshire, houses a majority of her letters in historical archives. In modern times, the circumstances of her life are seen as an example of female oppression by historical cultural and legal constructs favoring male interests, while denying rights to the female party in a relationship, and they have become the subject of scholarly and