| Duchess By Night | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 30 reviews)
Sales Rank: 31054
Category: Book
Author: Eloisa James
Publisher: Avon
Studio: Avon
Manufacturer: Avon
Label: Avon
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.4 x 3.9 x 1.5
ISBN: 0061245577
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780061245572
ASIN: 0061245577
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A Mischievous Charade . . . Harriet, Duchess of Berrow, is tired of her title and the responsibilities that come along with it. Enough with proper tea parties and elegant balls; what Harriet really wants is to attend an outrageous soiree where she can unleash her wildest whims and desires. But to attend such an event?especially if the event in question is Lord Justinian Strange's rollicking fete, filled with noble rogues and rotters, risque ladies and illicit lovers?would be certain scandal. That's why she must disguise herself . . . Looking forward to a night of uninhibited pleasure, Lord Strange is shocked to discover that beneath the clothes of a no-good rake is the most beautiful woman in the room. Why is a woman like her risking her reputation at his notorious affair? And can he possibly entice her to stay . . . forever?
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 But really ...did you like wearing Paniers? January 5, 2009
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read "When the Duke Returns" first (and you would read them both and the sequels to come if in this genre) so it seems that this is a bit of a disadvantage because frankly I never really got "Lord Strange" in that earlier read book as referenced, reading out of order, but here goes now. I get him now. (I do not particularly know why but if I were talking this one through I'd suggest a different name for the male lead.)When the Duke Returns (Avon Historical Romance)
The premise here is that this Lord Strange indulges his pleasures to a fault, not entirely sexually, more personally, more as a public House party service pleasure station for others to "enjoy", and runs a house where anything goes while raising his daughter puritanically bent. He seems to enjoy the bon vivance of challenging norms plus he's wealthy and adept at business of one sort or another which is played out in The Game with invited well heeled and placed male guests. This "the Game" predominates themes in the book both in characters and in behavior (is life a game?) He's open to it all. We are left to wonder why. The explanation is ultimately very weak. House parties with him are places of desire and apparently fresh "action."
So enter this Duchess Harriet who basically agrees to play the part of a man going there in disguise as a favor to accompany a Duchess friend and invited by another Duke (of Sundry), a recovering ill-repute buddy going with them into a situation to entice her friend's wayward spouse out of India. That spouse comes and totally reads everything in a glance, and is thrilling in the other book mentioned paragraph one. But the set up there is to goad him to his marital duties long delaid. Opps delayed.
Under the premise when he hears about this House Party there he will come and take Duchess Isidore the h out of there. So the Duchesses are up to some tricks and Lord Strange is providing the backdrop. And that he does with a kind of enthusiasm.
What? So dressed up as a really pretty man Duchess Harriet becomes Harry Cope, nephew or some such thing, to the elegant Duke. We all want to see this smooth jazz Duke one day written into his own romantic salvation, but right now he is recovering from illness resulting from a dramatic injury so his part is mostly to hold the female (and disguised female) hands. You know the type. There are threads here woven, Duchess Harriet has a husband that killed himself years passed, chess is seen as a game that was all consuming for her previous spouse to the point of his suicide losing. Let's be honest her previous marriage was difficult, there is guilt, shame, loads of boredom so on. This is a romance novel of a certain genre so it isn't a searing expose into angst, gender expectations and/or limitations either but it does enjoy reminding us how free a pair of pants is for our Harriet. (It's repeated enough.) Sword play and riding astride, which gets old as a sex referent in a hurry, just thrills her. And the writing doesn't address the voicing of this transformation to man well enough, it's just stated Cope is thought to be male and seen as a male. So then men with "that inclination" might want to bed him too. Oh there is a rather nice piece of assumption about pretty boys. Ugh. Well there are a few others looking for that opportunity at his bedding that seem headed sheetside too. So all in all Mr. Cope has to..well...er...cope with the demands on her/his...well er...the new sexuality in more ways than one. It's more of a romp in a party kind of deal overall though, without the romping proceeding to the big discovery stage until called upon by the big romance genre needs. Okay then.
But just the same it's interesting to see James create her written world, the images and characters and see them, in this case, flounder around with their "issues." He's attracted, Lord Strange, to boy Cope, only the out is... it is really just good ole Harry (Harriet) dressed up in a pair of pants/ paniers.No need to sit and examine that as long as anyone would in reality. They seem content with letting that be. Okay. Lord Strange has a house full of actors and actresses and poor behavior always so I found it fascinating how the Duchess as Cope found this all roaringly good fun and then re-found her lady manor ways. Then it was not appropriate as roaring good fun later on. Guess why not? I can't tell you.
His daughter operates in the story as the moral compass. That little touch, that a child changes the moral behavior (hey it's a romance so the sexual behavior gets a modification and keeps on giving) in the end is actually interesting development in this genre for all its mundaneness. Or ennui or whatever it was that made me not so interested in it all. Also throw in that Harriet adores the daughter (who is amazingly plastique in ability to accept a man/woman and see none of this as difficult for her psyche) and loves her affections as they grow through the story and it all ties up, neatly. I can say no more.
"Molly" comes up a lot in this, over and over, it's defined repeatedly, just so you know....."get it" ... addressing the severe gender restrictions of the times, and I suppose the hypocrisies, as well as the sexual desires in a repressive time and how they get met, it seems not as regulated sexually here as the formalities suggest it might have been. Here it's like the only game in town, sheesh. It's is a big piece of meaning,these sex/gender/desire/disguised roles, used to move the story-but is this basically just a a modern sensibility? Sure.
One of the interesting things used to decide the male/female issue is who speaks Latin, so the non-education of females makes an appearance. Sure again. It's all semi-research James puts into her romps. In many ways too, it's kind of neat to have two books telling two sides or two characters perceptions of similar events and time lines as these two do very well, better than most, clearly revealing James skills. The ultimate books will be when romances are written with the six or eight in a series having all characters within the exact same time frames, event. It's all in how to regurgitate the previous book (often is needed to explain previous action in a romance series) it is always problematic (your author has to write to allow a new reader a fresh story that's complete and not disgust a regular reader with slogging through that old stuff again-great way to see again characters you like) If you were teaching high school how basic is this writing container as a "style" with very defined rules? But then again not content that's usable, better hunt down Animal Farm.
I have the beef here possibilities for sequels are ruined with ten year later quickly drawn epilogues-with everything tied in the knot of matrimonies-better to revisit in series form in new books a character group ten years later with different sets of romantic, well, needs...expand the genre....like the mid-life crisis or affaires or the on-going deep loves. Deaths, remarriages. Not everyone needs to be 16 to 23 experiencing the sexuality and it's a way around the trap of this style.
But to return to a point about writing these multiple line stories- it's written here in a more compelling character driven way from this visit to Strange's House Party from two views and it seems to work with the two books giving puzzle pieces of missing information, kind of delightful for the mind reading just for a light minute to find things in the two that answer questions or solve untied threads. James does as well with it as I have seen. It isn't much different than I delighted in as a child in Nancy Drew actually.
You know what I thought about?
What if you were a male but what really interested you was writing female romance novels of this genre. Would you have to pose as a female? Hire a female and hide behind them? Would you maybe just use a pen name, what chance would you have? Is this a field entirely closed to you? I also thought how I'd feel about a male instead writing these escapes into my head umm..well..isn't that the real fantasy. And what if a male reads these. I never, ever met a male that said they did read romances. Never. Why is that? It seems something they would really like, often I think more than I do. Are the fantasies so very profoundly different? Where does it sit for me that a female feeds my fantasy. Kind of in the same places this touches upon I assure you.
Since after all her book is about these questions. I thought some about where I was led.
It is odd to me on one level that a woman is creating actual sexual feelings as these romance novels do for another female. And yet odder still to contemplate a male writer. Yet the authenticity might make me think both genders writers are intimately needed here in this forum equally writing to get a better story....however I suppose it's just a by product of the issues in the story line. Thinking aloud isn't really a romance novels objective, do you suppose?
I also thought about how strange it is ....this on-going love of mine for reading a romance and when I started reading during a time of greatest personal isolation and as I've seen actual rejection, mocking and hurt trying to resolve the issues in a life. None of that light.
So perhaps the name Strange actually fit after all as it caused me to lower the veil of the illusion just a tiny bit. Nice evening read as I return to work life and the reality of daily pain.
A little odd, a little long...but mostly good...3 stars December 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Harriet, Duchess of Berrow, was widowed two years ago when her husband committed suicide. Now aged 27, she leads a respectable and uneventful country life, managing the ducal estate while her young nephew the heir finishes his schooling. She has a few close friends, but most people avoid or pity her. She longs for a husband and child, but there are few men who would dare approach a duchess, least of all one tainted by suicide. And her matronly style of dress is not exactly a man magnet. For all her trappings of privilege, Harriet feels lonely, unattractive, depressed...and desperate for change. So on the spur of the moment, she decides to do something about it.
Harriet's good friend is traveling to the country estate of the infamous Lord Strange. Strange's home is full of loose women, important men, and decadent goings-on: a place no reputable woman would dare set foot for it could ruin her good name. Against character, Harriet decides to go too, BUT she disguises herself as a young man ("Harry") so that her pristine reputation remains intact. The fun begins when Strange meets "Harry" and is inexplicably attracted to 'him'...and the ladies find "Harry" pretty tempting as well!
I like this story overall, though it feels a little long and takes some odd turns. I like the powerful connection and sexual tension that build between the couple long before Harriet's true identity is revealed. Their almost instant possessiveness about the other is particularly charming, as is the sweet irony of Harriet's burgeoning confidence as a woman while in the guise of a man. The dialogue is consistently clever and fun, even though some of the houseguests can be a bit tedious; and there are some good tender moments involving Strange's daughter. What bothers me, though, is how long Harriet's gender is kept a secret from the other guests, yet her affair with Strange is quite public. This makes it appear as if it is a homosexual liaison - which for me really detracts from the romance. And the final chapter injects virtually brand-new characters as part of some odd psychological soul-searching by Strange. This does nothing for the ending, nor does the epilogue ten years on which highlights an event I expected would take place years earlier. STILL, it is a happy ending...and I feel mostly good about this book...it just loses a bit of its luster towards the end. I was at first thinking a solid 4 stars, but the ending is just a tad too "strange."
 Another home run from Eloisa James October 30, 2008
The latest book in Eloisa James' Desperate Duchesses series is a page-turner.
I loved Harriet's character...a woman before her time with her ideas about wearing breeches and riding astride a horse as opposed to a side saddle. And how you could not love her when she expressed concern for Jem Strange's daughter, Eugenia?
And what about Jem Strange and his odd generosity? His concern for those who would be turned away elsewhere and his curious disdain for the ranked nobility?
James has once again managed to create a formidable, unique cast of characters. And, as always, the Duke of Villiers is present and accounted for. While I didn't care much for him in the first couple of books as a background character, I find myself anxiously awaiting James to tell Villiers's story because it seems he wants to fall in love but has horrid luck at finding the right woman. As such, the supporting characters are--at times--almost more interesting than the hero and heroine.
During most of the novel, I found myself wondering why Jem Strange would invite such a hodgepodge group of people to his home but yet ignore the lot of them nearly all the time. And Harriet--our heroine--wondered the same thing many times over. She seemed to have no objection to it...right up until she was ready to return to her own home.
I wondered how a woman could pose for a man for so long and no one be the wiser with the exception of a very few. I suppose it's possible but not likely, particularly with one as feminine as Harriet is reputed to be.
Jem Strange was certainly not my favorite hero of all-time, but he wasn't the worst, either. I admired his intelligence and wit as well as his spontaneous ways. Harriet's seriousness and desire for normalcy balanced out his flamboyance.
One of my favorite things about reading a James novel is her heavy research and intricate detail. For instance, we find out that the Game being played is primero, a 16th century card game. Personally, I'd never heard of it before reading this novel. I also enjoy the brief mentions of historical figures I'd forgotten like Guy Fawkes. I'd certainly chalk this up to James' real-life role as an English professor at Fordham University and her desire for literary accuracy.
All in all, this was a highly enjoyable read--as usual, and I am looking forward to the follow-up, When the Duke Returns.
 So Disappointing September 10, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
After the last one, I thought this book would be different. But, this will be the last Eloisa James that I buy. After the 1st Chapter, I was bored and really didn't care for the characters.
There were to many things going on at once and the main charcters in the story were boring.
I stopped midway and put the book away. This was a waste of money!
Great Fun September 3, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a good read and great fun. I'll be looking for the rest of her books soon.
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