Virginia Henley, The Decadent Duke

The Decadent Duke

Virginia Henley

Signet, Nov 2008, $7.99

ISBN: 9780451225429

Nothing short of a duke or an earl is acceptable by the Duchess of Gordon. Her success rate is perfect with one left. Her fifth and youngest daughter Georgiana has no choice in the matter; she will wed the disreputable rouge, the Duke of Bedford, Francis Russell who some insist is the father of the country as he has illegitimate children everywhere and mistresses in every corner of the nation.

To Georgiana's chagrin she is attracted to her intended's kind and caring younger brother John. However, he is unattainable at the moment; besides his sibling being the acceptable one by her family, he is married with children and though his wife is dying, both John and Georgina respect his vows and his spouse. When Francis assaults Georgiana, an ugly scandal explodes while John mourns the death of his wife.

Based on real early nineteenth century persona to include the Gordon and Russell families, Virginia Henley provides her usual superb historical romance. The key characters are fully developed with a strong look into the Ton's hedonistic activities and that of the matchmaking mamas. Fans of well written deep Regency romances will relish the fictionalized account of 'The Decadent Duke.'

Harriet Klausner