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The Duel (Signet Eclipse)

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THE DUEL by Barbara Metzger
March 11, 2005

Courtesy of WWW.LOVEROMANCES.COM

THE DUEL by Barbara Metzger was yet another fun Regency romance that this reviewer has had the pleasure to read in the past few months.

In THE DUEL, Ian, the earl of Marden, finds himself facing the husband of one of his lovers, Lady Paige, in a duel to the death. Lord Paige, fortunately, was a bad shot, but he also wasn't above cheating by shooting toward Ian's back before the count of three. When Ian's wild shot intentionally goes into the trees to scare Lord Paige, it hits a young innocent boy that happened to be riding his horse nearby. Lord Paige runs away, and Ian goes to the boy and takes him to his estate, along with the boy's sister Athena. Ian lets them stay with him while the boy, Troy, recovers from his injuries. Ian is filled with guilt and will do anything to make sure that Troy gets all the medical attention he needs.

What then follows is a complication that Ian does not need. Athena is not a girl, as Ian thought at first, but was really a young woman of nineteen years, and it becomes quite scandalous among the public knowing that she is living with a man in his home without an appropriate chaperone. Ian tries to right this wrong, but no matter what he comes up with to fix the problem, he finds himself even worse off than before. When his mother suggests that he wed the young gal to stop the ton from gossiping, he is not sure Athena will go for it.

This is the first Regency this reviewer has read by Barbara Metzger. Last year's contemporary novel LOVE, LOUISA was very enjoyable, but one can certainly see why she's won awards for her Regencies after reading THE DUEL. THE DUEL was not only funny and witty, as the best of Regencies can be, but the story line was thought out very well. There was never any scene that felt out of place, nor were there long drawn out chapters that could have been edited out. Ian's best friend, Carswell, was the icing on the cake, as he added so much comedy to the story that this reviewer could not help but chuckle. Carswell dressed in drag to pretend to be a chaperone for Athena was classic.

With that said, this reviewer highly recommends THE DUEL to all Regency fans, but also to any fan of romance novels that enjoys a little comedy in between the romance.

Things could not get worse, or so Ian, Earl of Marden thought when trying to do the honorable thing after his opponent, fired his gun before he should have during their duel of honor that morning. How could he have known that when he shot his pistol off to the side, sparing his opponents life, the ball would ricochet and hit an innocent bystander. Not only an innocent, but a young and sickly lad no less, whose main concern when he regained consciousness was that someone care for his sister. Feeling totally guilty, Ian, rushed the young lad to his own home, then promised the young lad that he would bring his sister there to him, never realizing that the `little' sister was only little in size but not in age.

Athena, whose main concern was for her darling brother, whom she'd practically raised on his own since his birth, could not help but notice how handsome and kind the Earl of Marden was after rescuing her brother. In her eyes, Ian became a hero and never did she realize that this `hero' was the rogue who practically killed him!

Soon, after discovering that the `little' sister Attie was a young woman of nineteen living un-chaperoned in his bachelor household - Ian was resolved to save her reputation. After a series of misadventures in trying to locate a suitable chaperone to stay at the house, Ian felt the best solution would be marrying her. Unfortunately, Athena would not let Ian sacrifice himself just to save her - even though all the family members involved thought it to be a capital plan!

***What can one say of another of Ms. Metzger's remarkable, totally charming, and delightful regencies that has not been said already? The dialogs are witty, and consistently fresh with protagonists that are simply made for one another. Secondary characters are always original and endearing, be they in human or animal form, and Roma, the deaf dog with a penchant for men's boots is no exception. If looking for an original, laugh out loud and charmingly romantic read, look no further than this heart warming and agreeable tale.

*** Marilyn, for www.historicalromancewriters.com ***

A Barbara Metzger regency is generally a fun and entertaining read. Her style of writing is funny, clever and cute. That is true of this story some of the time but I find I am rather tired of regencies that employ the stragegy of the "big misunderstanding" to be central to keeping said hero and heroine apart. Ian is a sweetie, rake and all. However, how bad a rake can he be with all his charities? He is a good-looking man who is 30 so would not one expect him to have bedded a few women? The premise of the duel gone wrong was a good way to start but once Ian lied to Attie, well, you knew she would find out the truth and it would become an issue between them. I find as a reader that if I know from the beginning of the story the "truth" about the mystery of said misunderstanding or lie than it becomes rather tedious to the extreme waiting for the other foot to drop. Also, I hate when authors do not finish their stories!!!! There were so many lose ends in the story that could have benefited from completion. Perhaps 50 pages of our hero and heroine being torn could have been deleted and the stories resolved. For instance, did Rensdale have the a long awaited son or not? Is Troy still the heir? Did Ian's Mom get together with Attie's Uncle who liked her? What about Lady Doro and Carswell? Also, since the club foot is an inherited trait with the men in Attie's family, was it passed on to hers and Ian's children? These would have been things readers who are smart would want to know. The least an author can do for their readers is complete a story to its proper end.

Sweet and amusing characters but I found myself skipping larger sections of story. There was a lot of exposition, narration, and the character's internal. It almost seems like a serial that was stretched and padded to produce a 100K novel.

Originally the plot was intriguing. The hero, Ian, accidentally shoots a teenaged bystander, Troy, during a duel. Stricken with guilt, Ian brings the gravelly injured boy to his home and fetches the boy's sister. Ian thinks the sister (Athena) is a child, so he does nothing to provide a chaperon. Later he realizes that Athena is 19, and in desperation Ian orchestrates a few madcap schemes to camouflage the fact that he has had a 19 year-old-girl living unchaperoned at his house. But all of his antics are to no available. He realizes that he must marry Athena or she will be ruined in the eyes of society. At this point (half-way through the book) the story starts to fizzle. Even the knowledge that Ian was the person who shot her brother causes very little conflict or tension. In truth, throughout the whole book, there is nothing keeping the hero and heroine apart except personal misconceptions and misunderstandings.

I also found that the writer left several loose ends. The fact that physical debilities run in Athena's family (club feet) is mentioned but never expanded. Also, what happened with the romantic subplots between Ian's friend (Caswell) and Ian's sister, what happened between Ian's mother and Athena's uncle? What happens to Athena's brother Troy, what about Athena's older brother (does he get the heir he was hoping for)? Lots of loose ends that a short epilogue would have answered.

As with the previous book, the "danger" was too easily resolved. Aside from a few slow scenes and a bit of repetetiveness, that's all the bad that can be said about this novel.

Ian is otherwise a compelling hero (his guilt is only a problem in its being drawn out), and Attie, who understandably mothers her little brother and nearly hero-worships Ian at first, is fresh and winsome. The secondary characters are well differentiated and fully developed. Although there's a lot of exposition, it rarely drags and usually adds much to the understanding of the characters and action. The topical quotes at the beginning of each chapter are interesting and humorous.

All in all, a good book that leaves me wondering when her next will be out.

As always with this writer, you get a clever plot, endearing main characters supported by a cleverly written supporting cast and sharp, witty writing. Although perhaps not her very, very best story, nevertheless I'm giving it 5 stars because it's way ahead of the competition!

Others have summed up the plot which turns around a silly duel and the aftermath comedy of errors that ensues. Ian, Earl of Marden thinks he has accidentally shot a young lad and so takes him and his sister into his home to help along the boy's recovery. However, mistaken identities, churlish knaves and the obligatory Metzger pooch move the story along at a cracking pace.

The best thing about a Metzger story is her stylish and clever writing. Here is a short excerpt to give a flavour: Our hero has just been told that the heroine, Athena, has met his discarded mistress, Lady Paige:

"Athena's smile faded as she put down her fork (they are at dinner). 'Did you not like her? She seemed everything polite and charming.'

"Ian would wager she did. The poisson turned to poison on his plate. The asparagus spears pierced his innards. The mousse was a noose and the boeuf was a buffet to his head. `Lady Paige?' he choked out...."

And finally, I did enjoy the chapter headings - a series of quotations from Anonymous and Mrs Anonymous:

"A man teaches his wife about lovemaking" (Anonymous)

"A wife teaches her husband about love" (Mrs Anonymous)

A great read - a light-hearted way to pass an afternoon.

Ian knows he is an idiot for dueling with Lord Paige over cuckolding the man's wife as killing or being killed is not worth what could happen to his mother and sister if they lack his protection. Paige fires early but misses. Ian fires at a tree, but the bullet ricochets and hits a fifteen year old bystander. Feeling guilt, he takes Troy Reshow into his home and brings the lad's sister Attie to his house explaining an accident happened during target practice.

Attie thinks Ian is a hero with his treatment of her ailing sibling. However, Ian is stunned when he realizes the pint sized Attie is nineteen and needs a chaperone to stay with him. Ian's mom says he must wed her. Carswell says Ian must wed her. Butler and valet make it clear that Ian must wed her. Her stepbrother Spartacus arrives and says Ian must wed her. Finally his sister Dorothy arrives and says she does not need to wed him as she can stay with her. Ian knows what he must do as he wants to wed Attie, but fears her reaction when she learns the truth about the duel. He also worries that someone wants to hurt Attie and Troy.

This Regency romance contains a powerful cast starting with the strong lead couple and ably supported by a fabulous ensemble. The suspense comes late as much of the tale is focused on Ian feeling guilty while Attie worships her champion. Though the culprit is too easily stopped, fans will appreciate this fine historical tale.

Harriet Klausner

this is the first book i've read by metzger and i am looking forward to reading the rest of hers. i loved ian...he cracked me up with his thoughts...but he was still a romantic :) i liked ian's friendship with carswell, and how the story progressed. i understand the other viewer's concerns about loose ends or everything isn't tied, but it didn't bother me completely. i found myself liking and then disliking viscount rensdale. i also liked how the story wasn't overly sensuous (sp?). stories with too much of that loose their appeal to me.

Barbara Metzger is one of my favorite authors. She is excellent at writing humorous situations and characters. The charactes are all so likeable, especially the badly behaved dog who was deaf!

In many ways I liked this book, lots of good dialog, amusing comments, and warm relationships. However the lead characters are just not quite what I prefer in either the male or the female. For me there is nothing better than a decisive rakish powerful man - Ian was nothing like that - he vacilated back and forth with truly no plan - in fact one moment he has absolutely not a thought about doing the right thing by Attie then her uncle comes to town and he is going to marry her - what changed - he always knew the uncle was going to come - he should have realized immediately as most "gentleman" during this time that he had to offer marriage - it came as an afterthought - then he starts acting like he wants to and might actually enjoy it. And for a man that had bedded so many women and been in duels where were his lustier thoughts and cravings - he was not very big in the romance department - at least that is the way this book was written. When the marriage is finally concimated it is described after the fact - what kind of lusty sizzle is that? As for Attie well she really was sweet, very dedicated to her brother but she did seem to me very young acting. And her way of dealing with Ian after the marriage was like a spoiled little child. How many nights does a newly married wife keep the door locked - and for what reason. The first lie seemed to be cleared up, then she kept him out because he did not treat her with respect and equality - she was acting like a child - he should have beat the door down - a real man would and swept her off her feet. Such a tempid romance! The most indearing character was Troy - he seemed to have a bigger depth of character and heart than anyone. Also there were plenty of loose ends - many have mentioned - although I am not sure I actually cared enough about most of these things to wrap them up. None would have added to the other things missing in this book. This book was ok for 1 read but it is not one I will ever reread - the characters were just not that interesting!