The Duchess' Lover [Paperback]

Julie Beard (Author)

Book Description

Series: Star Wars Young Jedi, 2 | Publication Date: April 2, 2002

A breathtaking new historical romance about one night of passion between a society lady and a handsome gardener-and the consequences of falling in love.

"Julie Beard has a true gift." (Susan Wiggs)

"There is a magical quality to Julie Beard's writing that brings to life a long-ago time of pageantry and legend, yet gives us characters who are living, breathing people to care about." (Heart to Heart)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set during the late Victorian period, Beard's newest (after Very Truly Yours) is a descriptive love story that emphasizes the tensions between the social classes. Olivia Thorpe, the newly widowed duchess of Brandhurst, and Will Barnes, a garden designer and frustrated portrait painter, share a heated, spontaneous night together following the death of Olivia's husband, but it isn't until a year later that they are forced to face the consequences of their actions. Unbeknownst to many, the duke's death was not due to natural causes. He was murdered, and Olivia's power-hungry nephew intends to drag the scandal out into the open and accuse her of the deed. After all, the duke was stabbed with her letter opener, and she had plenty of motive her husband was abusive. Will, however, is determined to find the killer and salvage Olivia's reputation, even if it means giving up their love. A subplot focusing on the plight of female factory workers is woven seamlessly into the plot, and a cast of full-bodied secondary characters augment the narrative. The resulting book is a multifaceted read that paints an accurate portrait of a bygone era while tugging on the reader's heartstrings.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Readers of Victorian-period fiction know that class consciousness dictated every aspect of life, including love. So when Olivia, Duchess of Brandhurst, discovers artist Will Barnes in her garden the night of her husband's funeral, she not only seduces him but decides to learn about and experience life to the fullest. Best-selling author Beard plunges the reader into the sordid side of life in late Victorian England as her heroine moves on from gratifying her own desire and curiosity to enlisting in the noble cause of social activism, leaving the ivory-tower existence her birthright grants her to speak out for better working and living conditions for those less fortunate than herself, especially other women, including prostitutes and match-factory girls. Lynne Welch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Jove (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515132772
• ISBN-13: 978-0515132779
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,552,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making it work!, January 21, 2004

By 

C. Cox "MarineMom" (Georgetown, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Duchess' Lover (Paperback)

If you read the other reviews you should know that Oliva is in her 40's and Will, the gardner cum artist is in his twenties. Her husband dies, they get together, fall in love and he helps find a killer. Besides the murder mystery, the story looks at society's ills and examines not just the main couples relationship (although it does focus on them) but the fascinating secondary characters' as well.

What really is astounding though, is that Ms. Beard makes this whole May/December plot work. Completely.

Ordinarily, I don't really go for the older woman/younger man scenario. I have the usual hangups about it and wonder what will happen when she is 60 and he is 40. But the author really sells the whole kit and kaboddle. It's so well written and the characters are so well defined that I can picture Livie and Will falling in love. I can see them facing anything to be together. I can feel the love they share and I believe that they can each change enough to make a life together.

This is no small feat, let me tell you. ;-)

So if you're squeamish at all about the older woman/younger man scenario, please, don't be. It's a terrific book. One of the best I've ever read. I've read it many times now and it will definitely be on my keeper shelf for many years to come.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beard at her Best!, April 28, 2002

By 

maryalice (South Carolina United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Duchess' Lover (Paperback)

Julie Beard's THE DUCHESS' LOVER, is a multi-faceted, sparkling gem of a book! She deftly weaves the subplots while keeping the readers' emotions focused on the sensual, yet poignant, unfolding lovestory between a lonely duchess and her forbidden lover. Several secondary characters enliven the story with their authenticity and humor. Beard always manages to delve deeply into the dark complexities of human nature to mine out shining shards of humanity and compassion and love and hope.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful story of love against all the odds, January 17, 2004

By 

S. Reader "scibarfan" (Franklin, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Duchess' Lover (Paperback)

Beard triumphs in this well-constructed and touching tale. The hero and heroine are well-rounded and beautifully developed. Any woman who's had to or is reassessing her life will immediately relate to Olivia. Her courage is inspiring. And the hero is everything such a woman could dream of. Theirs is a powerful story of unexpected love and passion in spite of the strictures of society and differences in age and social rank.

In addition to the wonderful love story, one that had me wondering how Beard would manage to come up with a happy ending, there are a number of wholly satisfying subplots, including a secondary love story that parallels Olivia's discoveries about love and life and a who-done-it murder mystery with plenty of red herrings, possible suspects, and titillating clues. On top of all this are penetrating looks at social mores, societal ills, and personal foibles, dreams, and heartaches. The doubts, joys, and anguish experienced by the characters ring true, allowing the book to do what the best literature should do: question ourselves and the world around us, reevaluating what we believe and how we live.

"The Duchess' Lover" is a riveting book that should be on everyone's to-be-read list, reminding us that real love truly is the most important thing. This is probably a book that needs to be read periodically, just to remember all these things when the tyranny of the urgent and the expectations of others begin weighing us down.