At long last the day arrived. I was going to be visiting the legendary Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire. It was the promise of a visit to Chatsworth that had lured me on this journey to begin with.

Chatsworth was restored and made into a profitable venture by the very wise and enterprising Deborah, the Duchess of Devonshire, affectionately known as DD. Deborah was also famous for being the youngest of the Mitford sisters whose exploits both shocked and dazzled Britain for decades.

As the youngest, Debo, as she was known in the family, did not share the outré political stances of her older siblings. Hers was a simpler aim—to marry a titled gentleman. She accomplished this in 1941 by marrying Andrew Cavendish who became the 11th Duke of Devonshire after the deaths of his older brother in WWII and his father in 1950.

Chatsworth is an estate of some 35,000 acres stretching over the Derbyshire hills and dales. It was first built by the formidable Bess of Hardwick in 1553. However, by the time Debo and her husband Andrew came on the scene, it was in an appalling state. (Remember Sir Richard’s complaints about the costs of Tissington Hall?). Our guide told us that early on, as the Duke and Duchess rode over the hills and Chatsworth came into sight, she would turn to him and say, “What a lovely place! I wonder who lives there?” Ah, that British sense of humor!

In the event, Debo decided that Chatsworth must be saved, and she made it her life’s work to do so, to wonderful effect. Chatsworth itself is a building of some five stories and 300 rooms and contains art and artifacts collected over the centuries. Its Painted Hall is breathtaking.

Of immense interest to me were the portraits of Georgiana, the wife of the fifth Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish. Georgiana (1787-1806) was quite the celebrity in her day, an activist and style-setter who was friends with Marie Antoinette. Her life was ultimately tragic as she was trapped in a loveless arranged marriage. She has often been compared to her great-great-great grandniece Diana Spencer, whose loveless marriage to Prince Charles also ended badly. The 2008 film The Duchess (based on a novel by Amanda Foreman) starring Keira Knightly as Georgiana and Ralph Fiennes as her husband is worth watching for anyone who wants to know more about this beautiful and fascinating woman.

But back to the present. What Debo accomplished in her transformation of Chatsworth is nothing short of remarkable. While it remains a work in progress, Chatsworth is a glittering jewel of an estate, complete with a working farm, a priceless art collection, and major events all year, culminating in its famous Christmas fete.

Our visit to Chatsworth was too short, but we made the most of it, by which I mean I hit the shops. It is a magnificent property, thanks to the ongoing efforts of the women of the Cavendish family, from Bess of Hardwick to dear Debo. I’ll have more to tell you about our journey to Chatsworth in my next missive, dear readers.