When the Duke Returns (Desperate Duchesses)
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'More posh totty from the 18th century behaving disgracefully'. (Daily Mirror on AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS )
An evocative tale of love and life' (Inside soap on AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS )
'A cheeky and evocative romp through the lives of the eighteenth century A-listers. Good characters and authentic settings...will have you laughing and cheering in equal measures' (Bookbag.co.uk on AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS )
'It's charming, cheeky, funny and sexy and I know I'll re-read it in the future. And of course I'll definitely be reading more of Eloisa James's books. Highly recommended (even if you don't think it looks like your kind of thing!)' (Trashionista.com on DESPERATE DUCHESSES )
'It's guaranteed to get me hot under the collar . . . Bravo for Eloisa' (Fiona Walker on Much Ado About You )
An evocative tale of love and life' (Inside soap on AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS )
'A cheeky and evocative romp through the lives of the eighteenth century A-listers. Good characters and authentic settings...will have you laughing and cheering in equal measures' (Bookbag.co.uk on AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS )
'Entertaining and exciting throughout [with] enough seduction, laughter and surprises . . . to satisfy even the most demanding fans of historical fiction.'
(Publishers' Weekly on AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS )'It's charming, cheeky, funny and sexy and I know I'll re-read it in the future. And of course I'll definitely be reading more of Eloisa James's books. Highly recommended (even if you don't think it looks like your kind of thing!)' (Trashionista.com on DESPERATE DUCHESSES )
'It's guaranteed to get me hot under the collar . . . Bravo for Eloisa' (Fiona Walker on Much Ado About You )
'Sheer joy from beginning to end.'
(Carole Matthews on Much Ado About You )Product Description
For the Duke of Cosway, it was a marriage of convenience. For his bride, it was anything but...
Isidore has waited for many long, frustrating years for her mysterious husband to return from exploring the world. They were married by proxy when she was just a child, but now she's fully grown and yearns for nothing more than for her Duke to return.
Until he does come back. And he is not what she expected. At all.
Not only does he refuse to conform to any of society's norms: he won't powder his hair, has little regard for cravats, and seems frighteningly keen on running around the countryside in nothing but short trousers. But - more shocking than any other revelation - he reveals that he is a virgin.
There is an undeniable attraction though, and while Isidore tries to establish whether this Duke was actually worth waiting for, Cosway himself begins to discover that there may be more adventures in marriage than in all of the rest of the world...
Isidore has waited for many long, frustrating years for her mysterious husband to return from exploring the world. They were married by proxy when she was just a child, but now she's fully grown and yearns for nothing more than for her Duke to return.
Until he does come back. And he is not what she expected. At all.
Not only does he refuse to conform to any of society's norms: he won't powder his hair, has little regard for cravats, and seems frighteningly keen on running around the countryside in nothing but short trousers. But - more shocking than any other revelation - he reveals that he is a virgin.
There is an undeniable attraction though, and while Isidore tries to establish whether this Duke was actually worth waiting for, Cosway himself begins to discover that there may be more adventures in marriage than in all of the rest of the world...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this book. It's a well written tale about Isidore and Simeon, the Duke and Duchess of Cosway: "Married by proxy as a child, Lady Isidore has spent years fending off lecherous suitors while longing for her husband, Simeon Jermyn, the Duke of Cosway, to return." A light hearted story about what happens when a passionate, head-strong and beautiful woman collides with her calm, dispassionate (on the surface) and in-control husband. A lot of the story takes place on his country estate, which has been sadly neglected. There is lots of choice detail about Georgian plumbing! I didn't find it hugely emotionally intense but their developing relationship was well described and there is some good, snappy dialogue.
I can't help it though, I confess that in all the books so far I have been distracted by the parts featuring Jemma Beaumont and her husband Elijah. It is very tantalising - I want to read their story and because of the way it's been set up I'm guessing theirs will be one of the darkest books of the series. I'm also looking forward to finding out what happens to the Duke of Villiers.
I do like how Eloisa James writes and "When the Duke Returns" is definitely better than the last two in this series.
I can't help it though, I confess that in all the books so far I have been distracted by the parts featuring Jemma Beaumont and her husband Elijah. It is very tantalising - I want to read their story and because of the way it's been set up I'm guessing theirs will be one of the darkest books of the series. I'm also looking forward to finding out what happens to the Duke of Villiers.
I do like how Eloisa James writes and "When the Duke Returns" is definitely better than the last two in this series.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The latest in Eloisa James' "Desperate Duchesses" series focuses on Isidore, the Duchess of Cosway, and her husband Simeon. They have a rather unusual marriage in that, despite being wed for eleven years, they have never actually met. They were married by proxy when Isidore was 12 whilst Simeon was travelling in Africa and India and he has never returned. In James' previous book in this series we learned that Isidore accompanied a friend to a country house party in order to try to get some reaction from Simeon. It works - Simeon arrives at the house party and takes Isidore back to London.
Isidore didn't know what to expect in her husband and finds that he's a man who doesn't conform to society's idea of a gentleman in clothing and general dress. However she does find hm very attractive and knows that she, herself, has many admirers. However when Simeon's initial plans to have a 'proper' wedding change to suggestions of an annulment, Isidore has to decide whether she wants to continue with her marriage with its many inconveniences, not the least of which are the problems at the Ducal seat and with his mother, or whether she wants the freedom she has never really had. And can Simeon, who has learned self control and calmness on his travels, ever get to grips with his fiery wife?
Eloisa James writes well and the interest is always kept up in this book. There were some rather unusual plot events (having the water closets cleaned out in the house, for example) and the side plot of Jemma, Duchess of Beaumont, and her troubled marriage was explored further although unresolved. Where the book falls down is depth of plot (this was actually a fairly simple story and I wasn't always convinced by the interactions between Simeon and Isidore) and historical accuracy where characters used American words in the time of George III (such as 'diapers' for 'nappies' and various American sentence structures which aren't used in England). I had looked forward to this book as I enjoyed the previous one but felt somehow as if it didn't quite satisfy and some of the improbabilities in the plot were too much to ignore.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009
Isidore didn't know what to expect in her husband and finds that he's a man who doesn't conform to society's idea of a gentleman in clothing and general dress. However she does find hm very attractive and knows that she, herself, has many admirers. However when Simeon's initial plans to have a 'proper' wedding change to suggestions of an annulment, Isidore has to decide whether she wants to continue with her marriage with its many inconveniences, not the least of which are the problems at the Ducal seat and with his mother, or whether she wants the freedom she has never really had. And can Simeon, who has learned self control and calmness on his travels, ever get to grips with his fiery wife?
Eloisa James writes well and the interest is always kept up in this book. There were some rather unusual plot events (having the water closets cleaned out in the house, for example) and the side plot of Jemma, Duchess of Beaumont, and her troubled marriage was explored further although unresolved. Where the book falls down is depth of plot (this was actually a fairly simple story and I wasn't always convinced by the interactions between Simeon and Isidore) and historical accuracy where characters used American words in the time of George III (such as 'diapers' for 'nappies' and various American sentence structures which aren't used in England). I had looked forward to this book as I enjoyed the previous one but felt somehow as if it didn't quite satisfy and some of the improbabilities in the plot were too much to ignore.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am a big fan of Ms James and have all her books. I am very very disappointed with this long-awaited new Duchess book. Without repeating what other reviews already written about the story outline, I will go straight to the problem: there is no "romance" in this "romance" novel. No chemistry, barely any interactions between H/H. It reads like a build-out to the next book in the Duchess series. I think like so many romance authors (no names here) who have written many books and series in a short period of time (due to publishers' demands?), Ms James needs a writing holdiay to recharge her battery.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Duchess versus free thinker
I loved this book. Great dialogue, good plot. Romantic interest good without being explicit. Isidore our intelligent heroine was married by proxy at an early age, and has waited... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Armchair reader
the duke returns
Part of a series called desperate duchesses, the book is well up in the genre it represents. An excellent read if this is your type of book. My wife is an avid fan.
Published 10 months ago by Thomas Page
posh totty behaving disgracefully
4th in the duchesses series and is the story of Isidore. married by proxy at the ageof 12, never seen her husband and now 11 years later she has decided enough is enough and she... Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2009 by Lindymck
The Duchesses Return
Lady Isidore Del'Fino was married by proxy when she was just twelve years old, and always assumed her husband would fetch her when she came of age. Read more
Published on 24 May 2009 by Book Gannet
A little dissapointing given the build up in previous novels
Not at all what I was expecting given the way the characters had been set up so far. It was all far too predictable. Read more
Published on 18 Feb 2009 by Gemma
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