Customer Reviews

The Bedeviled Duke

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoy Judith Lansdowne's regencies because they are funny, light, warm, appealing characters and enjoyable reads. This one was a delight. I loved Abbercrome. What a darling of a man. His children are a delight and reading about Olivia with them is fun. I took this book out of the library to read it and had to buy it in the end. It is a keeper

I usually enjoy Judith Lansdowne's regencies because they are funny, light, warm, appealing characters and enjoyable reads. This one was a delight. I loved Abbercrome. What a darling of a man. His children are a delight and reading about Olivia with them is fun. I took this book out of the library to read it and had to buy it in the end. It is a keeper

I first read this a couple of years ago and recently re-read it to sustain me through a rotten bout of flu. I liked it just as much the second time around and here are some comments on it.

This author is one of my favourites and I think this particular book is at the top of her list. Briefly, it's the story of a young, thoughtless and somewhat wild marquess who takes the blame when someone else accidentally kills of one of his closest friends. He suffers, you see, from terrible guilt thinking he has caused his friend to become addicted to opium. He must leave the country but, as a friend of the king, he is given a mission to spy for the crown as Europe sinks into war with France. And, a very successful spy he becomes, known as The Rogue.

To the surprise of our hero, his arranged marriage evolves into one of deep and abiding love and loyalty and his wife duly presents him with four sets of identical twins. Wonderful characters, these children, who add much to the story.

Returning to England after 22 years of exile, now a duke and widowed, he gradually picks up the threads of his life, reacquainting himself with family and friends whilst enduring the opprobrium of those of the ton who don't know the full story.

The Duke of Abbercombe has allowed his guilt over the death of his friend to colour much of his life but the greatest triumph in his existence is his eight children and the loving, generous, kind and supportive relationship he has with them. This man is a father amongst fathers, bringing up his family following the death of his beloved wife with patience and love.

Miss Oliva Willburton-Smythe, an independent, wealthy woman of 31 meets the duke and, on seeing how patient and kind he is with his twins, decides to support him in his social regeneration. Of course, she eventually falls deeply, madly and passionately in love with him!

Then, a nicely handled plot of spies, missing officers, and unhealed old wounds allows everything to come right and for everyone concerned to find a loving partner. A neat and tidy conclusion brings everything together and you know this family will enjoy much happiness and joy in the years to come.

I really liked this - a keeper for me - and a jolly fun read with very sympathetic and well drawn characters.

If you like this author this out of print book is worth looking for. Judith Lansdowne creates such likeable characters. This book has some of her best. I very much enjoyed a heroine who was quite content with her "lot" as an on the shelf spinster, until she got involved with the hero, of course. And talk about unusual and humerous heros - this is the first Regency hero I can remember "encumbered" with 8 children. I loved the entire family, they all come alive in this heartwarming story.

This is a Regency with unique characters and alot of humor. Like Brummel I was mesmerized by Cash also. His eight children are delightful and the mysteries and drama enlivened the book. This is what a Regency should be.

An unforgettable book. The characters come alive.Romance, comedy and intrigue all rolled into one great book. This one should be reprinted. It was truely enjoyable reading.

This is truly one of the best books I have read. I did not wish for it to end.

This book is all-round charming: a charming style, charming characters, even a charming plot. The duke of Abbercombe returns to England a pariah, only to discover he has too many friends, all of them determined to protect him from all harm...thus leading to an infinity of hilarious scrapes.

The duke himself is a very well-fleshed out character - he is both vulnerable and suave, sly and forthright. An excellent father, a competent spy, a proper gentleman. He's easy to like, has an excellent sense of humor, and a very strong protective instinct.

The problem is that Olivia, the heroine, plays a fairly minor role in the romance. In fact, given the truly vast number of engaging secondary characters, consisting of all 8 of the duke's children, an old friend, a brother, a valet, the new serving staff from butler to abigail, the two sons of his old enemy, the heroine's lovely sister and her fiance...well, Olivia herself really gets no more face time than any of them. I didn't feel like I knew her at all.

Even odder, when you get down to it the duke and Olivia don't really see very much of one another during the book...they have a few short meetings here and there, that's it. It's not enough to convincingly develop a relationship between them.

To me, the duke's first wife - Celia - stood out much more than Olivia as a character. Over the course of the novel, her strength, pride, whimsy, loyalty & humor came to life with more clarity than any of Olivia's qualities.

Despite all this, it was an enjoyable, well-written book. I wouldn't hesitate to read another by Lansdowne.

Judith Lansdowne's regencies are fun and even this had its moments. I liked Abbercrombe. Seems a doll of a man but to describe his nose as twice broken, with two twists on the way to the end is silly. Even back then a nose could be set, while it might not end up perfect. And having a nose as described by Ms. Lansdowne would have him look comical, malformed. If she wanted to create imperfections for his appearance, why make him so perfect looking to begin with? Having his age be 45 is okay but what was the point of making him so old? His eldest child(ren) was 18. Logically, he could have married at 22 or 24ish and he would only be in his late 30's early 40's. It would have been more logical to have him be in his late 30's because Judith made Olivia 31. 45 to 31 is almost 15 years between them. Or make Olivia older. That works, too. Why make her so young anyway? If it was to leave open the possibility of more twins, fine. But then the story needed an epiloge to complete the story with more children. An epiloge would have also completed the story with the Duke's re-entry into society and government on a non-spy basis. He was so completely bared from society you have to wonder how he was welcomed him back. He and the Earl were enemies. Did they just show up together at a ball and all was well? Ms. Lansdowne does have a tendency to not finish her books all the way and they are not short to begin with. I think she needs a better editor.