Chatsworth, the Regency, the Gilded Age

I haven’t read anything by David Starkey (I don’t think!) I’ll check him out.
You mention Chatsworth. I’m looking forward to a trip there this fall. I got the book The House: Living at Chatsworth by the present Duchess after I read Georgiana. Then I realized that the Duchess is one of the famous Mitford sisters so I had to read The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family. I don’t know why I find this all so fascinating but I really do!
I did the same thing after I visited Bleinham Palace. I was so struck by the portrait of Consuelo Vanderbilt. I read her book The Glitter and The Gold and then a really fun book To Marry an English Lord, It’s all about how the American heiresses were married off to the English aristocracy. There is a new book about Consuelo and her mother Alva that is wonderful- Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Mother and Daughter in The Gilded Age.
Recently I’ve been into the Regency period. I just finished An Elegant Madness; High Society in Regency England. This is very gossipy and is all about Georgiana’s era-amazing.
As you say, it’s fun to recognize the people in portraits. They always look so staid and proper THEN you find out the real story!