Desert Isle Keeper
The Duke and I
To celebrate the arrival of Netflix’s Bridgerton, AAR is running, in reading order, our reviews of the original nine books in the series.
(originally published on August 22, 2006)
Now that the tenth and final book has been published in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series – one of my favorite series of connected books of all time – has been published, it seemed like the right time to take a return trip back to where it all it started. The Duke and I always comes to mind when people talk about their favorite books in the series, and my reread of this bright and funny novel reminded me of all the reasons just why that is so.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Julia Quinn makes it look so very easy that hundreds of aspiring authors (and their eventual editors) seek to write in the “style” of Julia Quinn. But there is a big – make that a very big – difference between the artistry of the author and that of her far paler imitators and that’s a point I find myself wanting to make again and again.
This first book in the series is actually the story of the fourth Bridgerton child, Daphne. With three very protective older brothers and surrounded by her loving family, Daphne, quite reasonably for a woman in her place and time, wants a husband she can view with affection and the children that marriage will bring. After two Seasons, however, and a few proposals she simply couldn’t bring herself to accept, Daphne hopes seem to be fading since the men to whom she is attracted seem to view her almost like a – perish the thought! – sister.
To describe Simon, Duke of Basset’s, relationship with his now-dead father as strained might be the understatement of the century. A childhood stutterer viewed as an idiot by his idiotic father and denied any love and attention, Simon returned to England upon the death of his hated father to take over his duties as Duke. For reasons of his own – reasons that actually kind of make sense in this case – Simon is determined never to marry.
As a close friend of Anthony, Benedict, and Colin (Daphne’s older brothers and future heroes all), soon enough – well, after a few misadventures, anyway – Simon and Daphne come to an agreement to pretend to be courting with the twin goals of keeping the matchmaking mamas away from Simon and increase Daphne’s chances of attracting a husband. Daphne reasons, you see, that if she is seen to merit Simon’s stamp of approval, other men might begin to view her more favorably.
Well, their scheme works. Perhaps too well when the Bridgerton brothers become (quite understandably) more than a bit suspicious about Simon’s true intentions towards their sister and matters – hey, this is a romance novel – take a turn neither Daphne nor Simon anticipated.
As the first book in the series, Ms. Quinn does a masterful job of introducing a large and lively cast of characters, including Violet, the Bridgertons’ affectionate mother; Lady Danbury, the resident-grumpy-matron-with-a-heart-of-gold destined to play a key role in several books; and, of course, the infamous Lady Whistledown. Yes, ladies, this is the book in which the anonymous scribbler who so effectively skewers all of society makes her very first appearance – well, through her writings anyway. As Bridgerton readers know, her identity isn’t revealed until Romancing Mr. Bridgerton four books down the line and my lips are officially zipped about it here.
The Duke and I is also vintage Julia Quinn in that her knack for writing some of the liveliest and funniest dialogue in romance is decidedly present and accounted for, as is her skill in creating fully three-dimensional characters. In every Julia Quinn book, I find myself really liking her characters, just as I root for their HEA. This is never more clear than with poor, tortured Simon. The Duke could be that clichéd tortured rich boy character we’ve all come to know so well, but in Ms. Quinn’s skilled hands he goes far beyond the clichés and watching his protective façade crack every so slowly when confronted with Daphne and her loving family is one of the great pleasures of the book.
Now that the series is complete and Ms. Quinn is moving on, readers who’ve enjoyed the Bridgertons might well enjoy just as much as I did a look back to where it all started. As I’m sure ever reader knows, you always take a bit of a risk in revisiting a book you loved in the past. Well, I needn’t have worried since, happily, this old favorite actually more than lived up to my fond memories.
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Book Details
| Reviewer: | Sandy Coleman |
|---|---|
| Review Date: | December 15, 2020 |
| Publication Date: | 2000 |
| Grade: | A- |
| Sensuality | Warm |
| Book Type: | Historical Romance |
| Review Tags: | Bridgerton | Bridgerton series | funny | Julia Quinn | Netflix |
Whoa. Color me shocked but early reviews of Bridgerton say that the Simon non-consent scene is still in the show. It’s toned down, but it’s there. I am so curious how it will be handled.
I had a feeling something of the sort would be in the show- otherwise what’s the conflict? There’s not a lot to their story otherwise. If Daphne doesn’t do something wrong too then it’s just Simon being a jerk and her being a doormat.
I was wondering why this novel was selected for adaptation as there isn’t a lot to it. Most of the drama happens in the last part of the book. But then I thought about it and decided it’s easy to Shonda-ize it as it doesn’t have a ton of personality on its own. It’s mostly about going to balls and social events until they end up married. So it can be all visual spectacles, glittering costumes and beautiful people. It’s an easy book to overlay another style or personality on.
Apparently, they are starting with the stories in order. But, really, Daphne and Simon could have resolved their story without the forced pregnancy.
It actually doesn’t surprise me. It’s the only controversial thing about the book, so I figured it would be included in some way.
I read this book years ago so I may have some details wrong.
I get the outrage over the forced impregnation scene. It’s pretty shocking when it happens in the book, but I felt the blame was pretty equally shared. Simon did tell Daphne he didn’t want children, but then he DID marry her, and in that time, given his position, everyone in the world will expect them to have children. And what’s more, if there are no kids, Daphne was likely to get the blame. He didn’t seem to care one bit that everyone would be talking about her failure to provide an heir.
Simon was somewhat ridiculous for not wanting kids as a way to spite his father…who is dead and would never know whether he had zero kids or ten. OK, some PTSD from the emotional abuse, but still.
It seemed particularly dumb after he spent time with the Bridgertons, a big happy loving family, and knew how much Daphne wanted to have kids. He could have guessed that any children of his would have a childhood more like hers than his, with her as their mother.
The final thing is that he outright lies to Daphne about sex. Of course she was angry and wanted to retaliate when she found out.
Daphne just struck me as a blank canvas. Young, handsome, and rich. There isn’t much in her life’s ambition except getting married and having children. When people find out they’ve been cheated out of the only thing they’ve ever wanted… Well, this didn’t look any worse to me than some of the transactional sex (ie, give me an heir and I’ll give you a divorce) or the sex-as-revenge/payback plots authors still use.
One thing I do remember: Violet Bridgerton, who is supposedly the most devoted adoring mama in London, who had a loving and obviously sexual marriage, does an F- job of preparing her daughter for marriage and sex. I realize this was done to clear the way for Simon to deceive Daphne but it felt like a big hole in Violet’s characterization.
Yes to the bit about Violet. And in later books, they talk about how much she bollocked it up!
The modern era meets the Bridgertons according to the NYT.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/arts/television/bridgerton-netflix-shonda-rhimes.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Television
I believe I only read this once, a sure sign that it wasn’t a favorite. Both Simon and Daphne were annoying, though I warmed up to them in later books. I felt that Simon’s rationale for not having kids was pretty flimsy.
My favorite of the other volumes I’ve read (Anthony, Benedict and Colin) is The Viscount who Loved Me. I adore Anthony, and Kate is such an everyday heroine whom you can relate to. Not gorgeous, just ordinary, and I love the dog (even though I’m primarily a cat person). I’m looking forward to reading the next review.
I don’t read much HR these days and lost interest in the Bridgertons after awhile. I liked Colin (maybe because I love the name) but his novel doesn’t resonate with me the way Anthony’s does. Benedict’s story bothered me because he was taking advantage of the heroine when she was basically in the position of a servant and had no recourse if she got pregnant. Though I loved the way Benedict’s family supported her against her stepmother. (Stepmother: “I’m higher ranking than you are.” Violet: “But I am more popular.”)
Not my favorite of the Bridgerton books, Quite apart from Daphne’s arrogant behavior, I had trouble with Simon. The “I will never have children in order to punish my dead father” motivation has always struck me as, well, dumb.
This is my feeling as well. Simon just isn’t much of a hero to me.
Yes, not my cup of tea. I’m interested to see what Shondaland makes of it all. I was surprised that this book is going to be the entire season.
Well, it’s really an introduction to all the Bridgertons and their world.
I suspect they may borrow from other books and start setting up future seasons or else they pad this one a great deal. I think I saw a glimpse of a same sex couple in the preview for The Bridgertons and I didn’t see anyone in this book who fits that description. Maybe it’s a hint from a book further down the line?
I think it will end up being “inspired by” Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series.
The costumes look “inspired by” too. They’re very, very pretty but every innocent young Miss is decked out in more tiaras and jewels to attend a function than Josephine at her coronation.
Of course I can’t wait!
I like the over the top look of it all. It screams FUN. I’m a fan of fun.
Oh heavens yes, I am all about the fun this year! I want sparkle and flirtation galore.
I was reading today that the “over the top” choices were very deliberate. In short, the feeling is that Quinn plays fast and loose with the historical time period for her own ends (that was not a complaint) and the series uses that same idea, of blending time periods and attitudes to tell a wonderful story, rather than an historically accurate one.
Yes for a genius, he’s a dope. And a jerk IMHO.
I don’t think of him as a genius. What proof does Quinn offer?
Am I conflating books? I thought he didn’t talk but started reading very early and went on to excel at school at the prodigy type level. Maybe I’m mixing in part of a Carla Kelly book with a genius hero I just read too.
Which Carla Kelly?
It was a novella- a precursor to her series with Sailing Master Able Six that tells of his romance with his (eventual) wife. It’s called the Christmas Angle (Geometry pun) in the collection A Country Christmas (Timeless Regency Collection Book 5). I really enjoyed it and am going to start the series now.
I went back to check. He’s reading and writing at 4, then at Oxford he gets a “reputation as a scholar and a rake”. He goes on to take a first in mathematics there so I guess not a genius, but certainly supposed to be above average in intelligence and a “scholar”.
No memory of that at all.
Well he certainly doesn’t act like one. And if he’s so afraid of having kids he really needs to find better birth control.
On my goodreads the book is marked as read with 2 stars but I don’t remember anything about it. I guess it was just meh.
I didn’t really care for it either. I’m surprised this is the book that kicked off such a beloved series. Fingers crossed for the next one. I’m not a fan so far.
It’s because it’s book one. She wrote one a year.
Lady Danbury actually stomped her way through an earlier book, How to Marry a Marquis. JQ must have felt that she had that magic something-a fantastic creation- that she brought her into the following Bridgerton books.
I’m not sure I read that one. heads to Goodreads to check
I HAVE read it–I somehow thought it came after the Bridgertons.
In my view, what Daphne does is OK. Simon isn’t honest, the way he abuses the truth about how having kids works is unfair. He takes advantage of the stupidity that time liked in women, and for a woman like D, kids are her life. She’s a victim too.
I recently read this for the first time (even though I’ve apparently owned it for years) and I’ve seen that people mostly blame Daphne.
I guess I’m in the middle because I blame both of them. What Daphne does is awful but it seems like she gets all the blame. I think Simon is probably more awful in his way. He uses, lies and manipulates Daphne terribly, relying on her innocence and ignorance which is no better. I get that he has his own issues but I think they are BOTH wrong.
I don’t say that to excuse Daphne. Two wrongs certainly don’t make a right. But I think you have to look at the relationship and the situation as a whole. Simon isn’t some innocent guy who is taken advantage of. He’s incredibly manipulative and deceitful. If he thought everything he was doing was morally defensible he wouldn’t have lied to Daphne about everything to do with children and their private life.
I also am hesitant to describe what happens between them as a “rape”. Simon is under the influence-but he is very enthusiastic as he always is (for someone who is adamant about NEVER having kids he isn’t running out to get condoms, saying he’s not in the mood or abstinent and he’s relying on a risky method of birth control).
I think Quinn makes it very clear the issue isn’t he doesn’t want to have sex- but he doesn’t want to have kids. Tipsy or sober there is no question Simon wanted to have sex with Daphne- he just wants to control who decides if there are children. When Simon has the upper hand he manipulates their sex so he’s pulling out to prevent conception and Daphne doesn’t understand what he’s doing. When Daphne finally understands she forces him to complete the act one time but can only do this because Simon is drunk enough that his reflexes are impaired (but not so drunk he doesn’t want to have sex, know that they are and remember at the end that he wants to disengage before conception).
That’s a lot to break down but I’m interpreting it as If Simon had enough capacity to try to end the sex, (which he does) he would have had enough capacity to say no if he didn’t want to engage in sex. It’s not rape per se on Daphne’s part but it’s more like “forced conception” which is also bad.
I guess my conclusion is you have a guy who has a lot of issues and a young woman who has been kept ignorant by her family and completely manipulated and kind of used by her husband and together it made a bad situation.
Also, I didn’t really love this book overall (I thought the whole story with Simon and his father was nonsensical) and I’m going to hope that the series gets better.
I–shocker!–agree with you about all this. I used the phrase forced impregnation–that feels more accurate to me than rape.
I’m not wild about this book because Simon is an ass for far too much of it and Daphne is a big baby. I do think the series improves–I love The Viscount Who Loved Me, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, and When He Was Wicked.
Yes, it’s more than just a case of “he was wrong” or “she was wrong” it’s just a big old stew of wrong. I love your summation “he’s an ass, she’s a big baby”. Agreed! It should have been the tag line for the book.
I think I read Romancing Mr Bridgerton when it came out but it didn’t leave an impression because I hadn’t read the lead up books. I’m trying the next one in the series because I own it and I’ll see if it grabs me.
Another shocker!! I agree with you, too! Neither Simon nor Daphne is blameless, and although I thought the her deception was way to close to the line for comfort, I don’t call it rape. I do call it rape in This Heart of Mine. SEP’s books didn’t hold up well for me when I tried them again this spring.
Yes, I agree totally re: This Heart of Mine. In that Kevin clearly didn’t not want to or intend to have sex and it’s definitely rape.
In this one Simon definitely wanted to have sex with Daphne, always wanted to and only objected to conception. It was still a crappy thing for Daphne to do and it’s far, far out of my comfort zone but it’s not the same thing as the SEP situation and I wouldn’t label it the same at all.
Maybe if there are degrees of rape, like we’ve got for violent crimes. All rapes are not the same. For an attack, Molly’s was mild..
Taking away someone’s choice and forcing physical intimacy on them, even without physical violence isn’t mild, imo. Coercion is also rape. Rape can be very seductive and gentle, as is often the case with predators grooming younger victims. If you switched the roles in SEP’s story you’d have a man going in and having nonconcentual sex with a sleeping woman, and that is very clearly rape, and nothing mild about it.
I read the book years ago and several of the following stories but lost interest and frankly they weren’t memorable for me. I await reaction after this series commences as I wonder if the casting and screenplay will satisfy those who actually did read the book(s).
Yeah, I hate this book.
Broadly, I don’t have a problem with depictions of rape in romance. I’ve read dark romances which deal explicitly with rape fantasies. When I pick up a certain generation of Old School romances, I go in with eyes wide open and understand that there may be scenes of dubious/non-consent that were socially acceptable at the time of publication. And I’m straight-up fascinated by a subset of 90s romances that boldly explore the continuum between sexual assault and sexual pleasure (Patricia Gaffney’s To Have and To Hold in 1995; Judith Ivory’s The Proposition in 1999) in a way that bridges the gap between older bodice rippers and our newer ideas around enthusiastic consent.
And yet, I find The Duke and I slightly repulsive. Like Blackjack, I was charmed by the novel’s light touch and sweetly comic tone, which I think made the rape scene that much more harrowing. I felt tricked…quite like Simon himself is. Then, despite the novel’s publication in 2000, the text never holds Daphne accountable for her violation of Simon. In fact, he is framed as the villain for refusing to impregnate her and failing to educate her about conception. It’s not just a grotesque scene of sexual assault, it’s also blatantly victim-blaming.
Eventually, Quinn’s admirably effervescent voice reemerges, but it only makes the events depicted seem that much more sinister, as if the sexual assault of men by women is part of the joke.
It’s my bet that the TV show will not include Daphne’s forcible impregnation.
This book is good, I could not call it great because a certain incident. I had never read Julia Quinn before, but I started because I heard about the Shonda Rhimes show. I usually read Contemporary Romance, but I liked this. I love the wit, humor, and romance. I enjoyed the story does not end with happily ever after, but show Simon and Daphne learning how to live and really love each other. I plan to read the rest of the series.
Enjoy. Some of the books in it are among my favorite in light historical romance!
This comes out on the 25th of December and I, for one, can’t wait!!
Omg!!! I cannot wait for this – is it being produced by Shonda Rhimes? Or have I made that up? I absolutely love the Bridgertons!
It will be interesting to see how they handle the consent issue referenced in the discussion above . . . When I wrote my comment above about this first book in the series, I had no recollection of the specifics. But clearly other readers have called it out. Will Netflix adhere to the book as written? Or modify the plot for a different time/audience?
I would be willing to bet that that scene will not be in the show. It’s not, I don’t think, based exactly on each book and I so doubt they’ll include that in today’s era. Which, IMHO, is a good thing.
I’m so excited for this show! (Though I join everyone in hoping the dubcon scene is not included)