Customer Reviews

The American Duchess (Signet)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this one ages ago and still read it again occasionally. William Bodmin is dying and like many self made Americans he wished to sell his fortune for a title. Eyeing the crop of eligibles he finds the poor but impressive Duke of Hastings. Tracey Bodmin, realizing that her marrying an aristocrat is her father's dying wish, is willing to do the inevitable.

Adrian (the Duke) has a family to care for and an estate to finance so he looks to the current crop of heiresses. Quickly discarding most of the crop, his eye lands on Tracey Bodmin who in addition to having money is lovely and personable boot. So Tracey and Adrian do their duty. . .

Duty never felt so good.

Tracey, Adrian, and Tracey's father find themselves quite pleased with the results and prepare for a happily ever after. . .only reality intrudes.

Tracey's democratic tendencies leave her feeling ill suited for a ton marriage--especially with someone as truly aristocratic as Adrian. Add in a difficult pregnancy and a long lost suitor determined to free her from the strict rules of English society, and Tracey's marriage is poised to fall apart.

It's a tale of a totally unsuited couple that find that not only do opposites attract, they can even survive once the honeymoon is over.

I have to agree with the reviewer below who did such a great job in outling the story. Although this is an old story, there is still so much in it to like upon a re-read. It is a story of a couple brought together by duty and love - on his part, the duty to his estates and tenants, to his family, and to his Name and Title, and on hers, to her father. In agreeing to marry, they discover firstly that they get along surprisingly well, and secondly that they love each other - but not without several hiccups. One of Tracy's problems is her post-natal depression (the baby blues) which combine with a general feeling of insecurity both as a very young wife and mother and as a foreigner and outside. Her attempts to do what she thinks her husband wants from her - to be a political hostess - only serve to create a rift between the two. This is made worse when a former suitor arrives in London and completely misread's Tracy's feelings about her marriage and about himself. But everything ends happily (this is a romance!), and the young duke and duchess realize that they are in love, and that Tracy does not in fact have to play the part of political hostess.

Add to all this some delightful vignettes into the way in which American heiresses were received in British high society (well before the 1880s and 1890s when many more American heiresses arrived to win titles), and the ways in which a young Republican heroine adjusts to life at the top of the aristocratic ladder. Tracy's political beliefs are not taken seriously by the statesmen who listen to her, but then fortunately she is no firebrand, either.

At least one of the love scenes were curiously reminiscent of a similar scene in THE GAMBLE (one of my favorite Joan Wolf books). This scene and other scenes are slightly more explicit than the norm for this period (early 1980s), but most of the sensuality is conveyed by such scenes as the couple fishing together, riding together, the duke lifting a heavy branch off the road, and so forth.

If you like Joan Wolf, this book is a must-read. It is also a favorite choice for most Regency readers. There is no explicit adventure, but the story of a couple learning about each other and the sacrifices they have made for others.

I find the older Regencies by Joan Wolf to be far superior to her current ones--doubtlessly written to ensure high sales in the bodice-ripper catagory--although Wolf is never as explicit or sexy as most of her fellow writers...The American Duchess is an old-fashioned story of a marriage undertaken for love of others that developes into a true marriage of equals--Tracy Bodmin, the American heiress, is counted as a rustic unsuited because of her plebian background for her marriage to the almost purple-blooded Duke of Hastings--yet he (and the reader) comes to realize that she is his equal in many qualities and surpasses him in compassion and adaptability....
She marries to please her father and comes to love her husband as well as ---by being totally herself--drawing him--a very worldly veteran of the war against the French and within the ton -- very deeply in love with her...
This novel and others in Wolf's early series reminds me in many ways of a shorter, less complex Jane Austin --- and for those who have read Wolf's Edge of Light about King Alfred--Tracy shares many characteristics with Alfred's wife---Elswyth...
a book I hesitate to read at times because I am afraid of wearing it out...but thanks to EBAY and people who don't know a gem when they find it, I can probably find another copy...

Early Signet regency that strikes an unconventional tone.

Tracy Bodmin is an American heiress whose father brings her to London in order to score her a titled husband. Adrian, Duke of Hastings needs a wealthy wife in order to restore his own inheritance after two generations of profligacy by his father and grandfather. His aunt and Tracy's father conspire to get them together.

The two meet and decide to marry. In Tracy's case it is because her father is dying and she wants to grant him this last wish. In Adrian's case, well, he needs the money. But it really isn't that simple for either one of them. They actually like each other and, from the moment they meet, they are very attracted to each other. So while each enters the marriage for pragmatic (well, in her case, sentimental) reasons, they actually quickly become quite affectionate and fond of one another.

As this is a book about a marriage, rather than a courtship, much of the conflict doesn't actually come from the personality conflicts and mis-communication that is s normal enough in many married couple romances. No, what sets this book apart from other books, especially supposedly light regency romances is the inclusion of politics. Tracy and Adrian often clash and disagree on political issues.

Adrian is distinctly British nobility. He was born and bred a Duke and takes all that implies as his due. He doesn't notice servants, he is comfortable with the caste system even as he takes his place in the House of Lords seriously. Tracy, otoh, is distinctly American. She doesn't believe in the rights of the nobility. A person's worth isn't in what they've acquired through an accident of birth, but through hard work. She believes in equality and therefore is reluctant to curtsy to people of a higher rank than hers (of course once she becomes a Duchess it isn't an issue).

Wolf packs a surprising amount of class difference and political theory agita into this relatively slim book. Also, equally surprising is the amount of the American colonial cultural and political landscape is slipped into Tracy and Adrian's sometimes spirited discussions.

But it is Tracy's discontent is at the heart of the book. She feels the difference more keenly than Adrian. She is a fish out of water and even as she is falling deeper and deeper in love with her husband, she sometimes is overwhelmed with what she has done in marrying him. Added to that she spirals into a post-partum depression that makes even her smallest doubts seem large and unmanageable.

Even with all that, Wolf still manages to create a satisfying romance. Tracy and Adrian do fall in love and act like a couple who are truly falling in love. They do go through moments of doubt about each other and have some areas mis-communication, but Wolf constructs that really well. Their mis-communication isn't on the scale of an eye-rolling Grand Misunderstanding, but rather smaller, more believable moments of a new couple who are still working their way toward each other.

This is a nice underrated gem that I am glad to have stumbled across

I'm very picky when it comes to my books, especially romance novels. I didn't realize this was a re-print of a book published in the 1980s but it didn't read like a cheesy 80s bodice ripper. It wasn't like that at all.

American heiress, Teresa Bodmin is in London with her father a wealthy English/American shipping magnate. Tracy knows her father has aspirations of her marrying some titled man and just pacifies him going to ton balls and events. For an American, Tracy ends up being a big hit in London society. She's wealthy, very cultured and very attractive. For London society, a group who feel Americans are undignified and trashy, Tracy is a breath of fresh air and very pleasant. Unknown to Tracy, her father is dying. He won't rest until he knows she's secure in a marriage with a highly ranked, titled man.

Being English by birth, William Bodmin always admired the creme de la creme of society and always wanted to be apart of that. A member of society with a long family legacy and titles. He knows his times has passed for that and looks towards making his daughter a member of one of those families. His fondest wish is for his grandchildren to one day be members of the aristocracy as dukes and duchesses and lords and ladies.

His goal turns to the Duke of Hastings, the nephew of Tracy's societal chaperone. The duke's family is one of the most well known and connected families in England and William does his best to see his daughter married to the duke.

Adrian, the Duke of Hastings knows he has to marry for money due to his father's poor money management choices and sees in Tracy the perfect wife for him. Not just for her money but for her all around person that's a good fit in society.

Overall, this was a cute book. I liked it a lot. When Adrian gets into politics it gets quite boring but those pages are easily skipped without missing any of the real story. The relationship between Adrian and Tracy is well developed.

The only real drag on the book is the inclusion of politics and Adrian's political aspirations. Had the politics stuff been omitted this book would have been a perfect read. As it is with that stuff included it's just a good read.

American Duchess
By Joan Wolf

Joan Wolf has long been one of my favorite authors. She is incredibly versatile. Two of my favorites exemplify this. One of my favorites, Summer Storm, is a contemporary short story about a baseball player and an intellectual. Another, Born of the Sun, is a long novel about a Celtic princess and a Saxon prince in 6th century England.

American Duchess is a Regency romance - a much-overworked genre. When I approach a Regency romance, I look forward to a clever twist to a well-known plot starring rakish men and clever women. That is not what I found here! Like most of Wolf's work, American Duchess is remarkably original. In it, Wolf juxtaposes the values and assumptions of Americans and English Regency nobility. Although it takes place in England during the Regency with all the expected trappings such as balls, huge houses full of servants, and daring Regency dresses, it feels like a different place and time. The result is a delight!

Book size: novella, max location 2042.

I was prepared to like this book. The story line was interesting and the reviews looked good. The other reviewers and I must have vastly different ideas on what a good romance book is because this one was pretty bad. I am going to list all the things that the others left out.

1. There are no love/sex scenes in this book at all. If you get this with the hope that it will have some you will be greatly disappointed.

2. There is a lot of politics throughout the book. And when I say there is a lot I mean there is a ton of it and I loathe politics.

3. The author should have stopped the book at the half way point because the first half was decent enough. The second half was nothing but problem after problem. Examples: Tracy feels inadequate as a duchess and is getting a lot of pressure from society. Adrian becomes distant as he spends more time at his political job. Tracy and Adrian have different views on politics and this cause some strain on the marriage. Adrian is bothered by the fact that he married Tracy for money and she married him just to make her father happy. Tracy becomes jealous of her husbands past lovers. The man Tracy was going to marry back in America shows up causing all kinds of unease in the marriage. There is more but I would be here all day writing them out.

4. Most authors when they are going to switch from the perspective of one character to another make a clear break when they do(stars,dots,line,gap). With this author you will be read and suddenly you will have gone from looking through one persons view to another. Sometimes there are several switches in the span of a few paragraphs.

5. This might have just been my Kindle but I noticed a lot of periods in the middle of sentences. I tried to ignore it but it was distracting.

If what I have written doesn't bother you then give this book a try, but I will not be getting anything else from this author.

This is the most boring book I have ever read. It started slow and never got better. By the time I finished I did not even care how it ended any longer.