Desert Isle Keeper
The Duke and I (#16 on our Top 100 Romances list)
An AAR Top 100 Romance
originally published on August 27, 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 throught! – 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.
Buy The Duke and I:
Book Details
| Reviewer: | Sandy Coleman |
|---|---|
| Review Date: | February 8, 2018 |
| Publication Date: | 2000 |
| Grade: | A- |
| Sensuality | Warm |
| Book Type: | European Historical Romance |
| Review Tags: | Bridgerton series | Top 100 Romance |
I enjoyed reading this review and reflecting back on the book. I was lucky to read the Bridgertons in order, but this one remains special as the first one of a great series.
I remember finding much of this book charming…right up until the non-consensual sex incident. Hard to give that a pass or explain it away. I feel manipulated too that the author employs a baby and a woman’s desire for a baby as an excuse for what is basically a violation of another person’s ability to consent. I put this in the same boat as I did SEP’s This Heart of Mine, especially in that both books find a way to endorse the act because a baby is introduced into the story. I generally just feel a bit icky about this late plot development here, and so I don’t find this book palatable.
This was my reaction too. I was so furious with this book. And not only did the rape ruin the book in general, it also ruined the first part of the story that I’d previously enjoyed, because it made me view Daphne’s behaviour in a new light. She never respects Simon’s boundaries; he tells her from the very beginning that he’s not marriage material, that he’s not right for her, that he can’t give her what she wants, and she doesn’t listen, storms ahead anyway, and we’re all supposed to applaud her because she’s a woman Going After What She Wants, and he has pants feelings for her which makes it all okay. And then of course she never apologises even for raping him, no, no, HE has to apologise and grovel, and he’s an abuse survivor, that’s all he knows,… No. Just no.
…apparently I STILL get furious thinking about this book, yikes. It’s not just the rape, although that’s the most blatant thing. It’s the justification, gaslighting, the fact that in retrospect, Daphne’s behaviour reads abusive to me, and that with his background, SImon is especially vulnerable to that.
When I read this one, I’d already bought the first four books of the Bridgerton series, so I went ahead and read the next three, but I felt icky about it, and I haven’t been able to read Julia Quinn since. I just don’t trust her now. It’s a shame; I liked her earlier stuff.
You should check out our Winsome or Loathsome blog on Daphne.
https://allaboutromance.com/winsome-or-loathsome-daphne-bridgerton/
We need to do more of these. They are so interesting.
@anonymous – The “justification and gaslighting” you mention are the elements I actively look for in just about any romance I read. I want to know what an author is endorsing or asking us as readers to accept. When serious issues emerge and then are bruhed away because a happy ever after is needed or a baby is on the way, and there are no repercussions for damaging and denigrating behaviors, it feels manipulative to me. In this case, I particularly just find the emergence of a baby as a plot device extremely troubling. Also, women are far too often portrayed as nurturers craving babies and so in the goal of having one, there is apparently no behavior too reprehensible.
I’ve never read “The Duke and I” but this is the same problem I have with SEP”s “Nobody’s Baby But Mine”. Though the heroine in this book seems to be likeable in the beginning, Jane in NBBM is IMHO absolutely horrible. But bring a baby into it and the heroine is automatically excused of everything a hero would be hanged for.
The hypocrisy of it bothers me too. A lot.
Me too! Actually I think this book specifically had an impact on how I look for and evaluate this kind of thing. It was one of the first romance novels I’d read, and it left me just a bit skittish about how romances are portrayed when one party is all in early and the other is less sure. I find that a lot of the time, the author sort of excuses overly pushy behaviour on the part of one person because hey, romance novel, obviously they’re meant to be together, so one party’s resistance is obviously ridiculous. That really doesn’t sit well with me. It’s sort of on the same lazy level as an author portraying all women but the heroine as evil psychos. But I think I’ve become more sensitive to this because of Daphne’s behaviour in this book, because I was willing to go along with it up until the rape, and then suddenly it all felt different. So now more subtle versions of this kind of thing ping that radar for me.
Pretty much how I feel about the book. I read around it when I revisit the Bridgertons.
I read this more than a decade ago and don’t remember much about it except that I didn’t get what all the excitement was about. My memory is that it was an ok/so-so read.
But I loved Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. I’ve often wondered if this one ranks so high in the list because it was the first title in a series that has one or more favorites – not necessarily that this title is so people’s favorite?
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton is my favorite in the series too. And I think you’re onto something about this being the first in this series. I think it’s actually a very uneven series!