Secret Duke, The (Malloren World) [Mass Market Paperback]

I found it got slogged down in the depiction of Bella's association with Lady Fowler and that sad, unloved group of women. Really, Bella is lovely and lively, a March hare indeed, but this group of women who endured so much became, in the telling of Bella's and Thorn's story, very off-putting. I wonder if Ms. Beverley (one of my favorite novelists; I own all of her books and have read them all, some twice)...I wonder if she was distracted in her writing during her move from Victoria to England? I guess in summary, this book was just too long; too much dark, dysphoric mood rising from the Fowler ladies, causing Bella to slug through the mud out of a sense of duty, rather than giving free rein to her optimistic nature. I know some conflict is needed, but she suffered so much under her brother's control. But all ended well, of course, and I believe Bella and Thorn will live happily. Now, please Ms. Beverley, please give us Caleb's story...
Your friend, Marilyn

I very much wanted to like this book because, for me, Jo Beverley is a grand dame of the historical romance genre and I have enjoyed several of her Malloren and Rogue books (especially the earlier ones.) But she's a hit-or-miss author for me. This book is the third in her recent additions to the Malloren series set in Georgian times. At least it's better than THE SECRET WEDDING, the previous new Malloren, but she could have done better by Thorn, our hero in this book. Here we have a young Bella Barstowe abducted in 1760 and rescued, inadvertently, by Thorn, the Duke of Ithorne, in his guise as Captain Rose, when he finds himself in the same tavern where Bella's virtue is obviously in danger. She then disappears to her home and Thorn knows nothing of her identity or her whereabouts. She is treated badly at home by father and then brother Augustus, who blame and punish her for her supposed ruination. Fast forward to 1764 when Bella inherits a tidy sum of money from her godmother and now moves to London to live an independent life. There she becomes involved with a social-reforming and feminist circle led by a Lady Fowler, who is not looked upon kindly by most of the ton. Bella becomes involved because she is empathetic to suffering souls but she is quickly disillusioned by the group. As the story continues, Bella manages to discover who instigated all her troubles of 1760 and enlists the aid of Captain Rose (aka, the Duke of Ithorne, unbeknownst to her) to help her avenge herself. From there the adventures ensue. Along the way she falls in love with Thorn as Captain Rose and he falls in love with her but does not consider her to be suitable duchess material. She has no idea she is supposed to be duchess material but is, rather, hoping to become a captain's wife. Heartache ensues but all is resolved at the end. This is a very brief sketch of the story. Lots of things happen and lots of characters people the book and I think I wondered at times if we needed all of this stuff in one book. One thing I would definitely have done away with is those darned "cat-rabbits". They annoyed me in THE SECRET WEDDING and I did not warm up to them any more in this book. (Disclaimer: I am a cat lover. That's not the problem here.) And this mistaken identity ploy. Must it be in every book Beverley has written recently? Just asking. And the social reform circle of Lady Fowler's seems to be mainly a secondary plot that isn't very important to the story except to get Thorn and Bella back together and the mistaken identities cleared up towards the end.

So, if this review seems to be a bit of a mishmash, it's because Beverley has left my brain in a bit of a mishmash from reading the book. Still and all, it had some interesting characters and some interesting moments. (For example, you might enjoy the King George appearances.)

Jo Beverley is a great writer, who's written many excellent books. Devilish, the story of the Marquess of Rothgar and Lady Diana, Countess of Arradale, is one of my all time favorite books and I think Rothgar is one of the most fascinating characters in romantic fiction. All this means I hold Beverley's works to a very high standard and The Secret Duke, while enjoyable, wasn't on a par with her best.

The Secret Duke is the third of a trilogy featuring Ithorne and his cousin Robin, Earl of Huntersdown and his foster brother Christian, Major Lord Grandiston. The books all would have benefitted from more interaction between the three of them because the repartee among the three is always amusing. Rothgar and Diana appear in all three books, but while their role is significant in the first two, giving a real feel for how their life after marriage evolves, their role in this third book is very slight. Even though Robin has married Rothgar's daughter, Ithorne has a problem with Rothgar, mostly it seems because Ithorne, as a duke, out ranks him, but Rothgar has more power. Not very flattering to Ithorne and this potentially very interesting conflict is never played out.

The book starts out well when the heroine, Bella, having escaped from kidnappers and unwisely sought refuge in a waterfront tavern, is cornered by a group of drunken toughs. Ithorne, as his alter ego Captain Rose, rescues Bella only to have her steal his horse and ride off. Captain Rose is a character sure to make any woman salivate, the quintessential pirate figure. From previous books we know that Ithorne as Captain Rose and Robin and Christian as Lt. Sparrowe and Pagan the Pirate have had many adventures at sea on a ship named The Black Swan (all for a good cause of course). I think this is the first book to reveal that there are actually two Captain Roses, the other being Ithorne's illegitimate brother Caleb who resembles him very closely. A few years later, when Bella accidentally learns that her kidnapping was arranged by her brother to pay off gambling debts, she seeks out Captain Rose to help her get revenge and meets with the brother Caleb. Caleb and Ithorne switch places so that Ithorne can find out what's up. Bella becomes aware that there are two Captain Roses and when Ithorne takes her to her home county to look for a way to get revenge, she believes she is with Caleb. Caleb and Ithorne never have a scene together, which I think is a shame. It could have helped illuminate the question of class and identity that runs through the book. Worse, Bella never got on The Black Swan. Why create a delicious pirate like Captain Rose and never take him to sea? This book could have really used some swashbuckling adventure.

After spending a couple of weeks posing as husband and wife in a town near Bella's brother's estate, during which Ithorne and Bella grow ever closer,Ithorne does devise a way to ruin Bella's brother's reputation by exposing his debauched lifestyle. Not particularly heroic, even if effective. Then he and Bella part. This is basically Ithorne's decision. Although there is a period where he longs to win Bella without her knowing he is a rich duke, when they have succeeded in their scheme, Ithorne decides she would not fit in the role of his duchess. Although he supposedly leaves to spare her the unhappiness of being a misfit in his world, it hardly reflects well on him.

Of course Bella gets into another scrape, this one is political, and by hapenstance Ithorne is called on to help. They reunite and you know the rest.

Bottom line, the hero, who seemed so promising in the earlier books, was a disappointment. Bella would have been better off with Caleb. There were many interesting aspects to the book, but none of them were delved into deeply. Theres a definite lack of action or intrigue. There is no detailed description of Georgian life among the elite, which enriched the early books in the Malloren series. King George III appears again, but this time as a man sliping into madness, and the characterization was less convincing than his portrayal in earlier books. Come to think of it there isn't much sex either. But the quality of Beverley's prose is a pleasure to read as always.