London house in much the same way as
any other aristocratic family of the period.
In 1800, like countless other matchmaking
mothers, Georgiana hosted a series of balls
there to mark the “come-out” of her eldest
daughter, known as “Little G” – although her
parties were on a rather grander scale than
most. The apartments at Devonshire House
could comfortably hold 1,200 guests at a ball
and on one occasion in June 1800 Georgiana
received 1,000 people just for a supper party.
Expense was no object. For a similar party in
1803 the house was decked throughout with
garlands of real flowers brought from the
gardens at Chiswick House; the Morning Post
gushed that “the fragrance they shed
was delicious”.
It was at Devonshire House that “Little
G” was married the following year and there,
too, that her mother died in 1806 after a short
illness caused by an abscess on the liver. The
Duchess lay in state in the Great Hall for five
days before her coffin was transported from
London to Derbyshire for her funeral. The
house became a focal point for mourners who
gathered outside the gates on Piccadilly to
pay their respects.
Jane Austen might not have mourned an
extravagant Whig duchess with a penchant
for gambling, but she would certainly
have known her house. She would have
passed down Piccadilly during her sojourns
in London, walking or driving past the
imposing brick wall and on towards the
museums and galleries in Pall Mall or the
shops on Bond Street. In 1808 she joined
her brother James and his family at the Bath
Hotel, close to Devonshire House on the
corner of Arlington Street (on the site of
what is now the Ritz), while her publisher
John Murray had his offices in Albemarle
Street, just a few hundred metres further up
the road. This was certainly an area of town
that Jane was familiar with and no doubt
she was also familiar with its aristocratic
residents; it has been suggested more than
once that the Duke and Duchess’s family
provided inspiration for her, giving her the
name of Georgiana for the daughter of her
own wealthy Whig family with a country seat
in Derbyshire.
Jane lived to see Devonshire House pass
into the hands of the 6th Duke, also called
William but known as “Hart” because of his
courtesy title, the Marquess of Hartington.
He inherited from his father in 1811 at the age