The Duke, part of the
“Devil’s Duke” series by Katharine Ashe
is part mystery, part historical, and part romance. She is
one of those writers who allow readers to get swept up in
the social, cultural, and political events of the 1800s.
Having the setting in Scotland and the West Indies allowed
for the intertwining of issues involving equality. There is
a definite connection between women of that era who became
involved with the abolitionist movement as they fought for
equality themselves. Through her main character, Lady Amarantha
Vale, readers learn how she sought not only adventure, but
also emancipation for those enslaved in Jamaica. Unfortunately,
she realized too late that her husband did not have her sentiments
as he explained, “They are incapable. Like children
and women, they lack the full capacity for reason and therefore
the ability to govern themselves rationally.”
Ashe commented, “My very first novel included details
about the West Indies slave trade, and I’ve touched
on it in other novels. In The Duke, it’s embedded
in the core of the story. Since the fight for women’s
rights in England, Scotland, and France was often intertwined
with the abolitionist movement, that plays a part in the novel
too. It was an era when women and men of all colors and strata
of society fought to change the law so that all could be treated
equally under the law.”
She made mistakes in her choices for a partner, not once,
but twice. She originally thought her first husband Reverend
Paul Garland was a libertine, someone like her father, who
respected women and who encouraged them to be independent.
The other man in her life, Duke Gabriel Hume, was seen as
a “bad boy,” a flirt, someone who took advantage
of women. Unfortunately, for her she misread their personalities,
wrong in both cases.
After hearing that Amarantha decided to go through with the
marriage to Garland, Gabriel returns to Scotland where he
becomes a recluse. Years later, now widowed Amarantha sails
to Scotland to look for her missing friend, Penelope Baker,
whose trail leads to Castle Kallin, Gabriel Hume’s highland
estate. He is known to society as the Devil’s Duke,
because of rumors about his kidnapping of young girls. Still
in love with Amarantha, he decides to allow her to be his
guest. She accepts, intent on finding out the truth about
him and her friend’s disappearance, knowing that only
Gabriel has the answers. Because he is not willing to let
her learn his darkest secret a game of wit and desire begins
between them.
As with all Ashe characters, the heroine is strong-willed,
not content to allow society to dictate her place in it, and
is very willing to speak her mind. The hero is always confident,
brave, and willing to treat the woman he loves as an equal.
Writing about the relationship, “I like my hero to respect
women entirely, from the start. He doesn’t have to be
convinced that a woman is a worthwhile partner and he doesn’t
have to be taught how to love. This is the type of man I love
in reality: men who actually believe women are equals. It’s
what my husband is like. And in this book my hero, Gabriel,
is already engaged in doing good in the world, even before
he meets my heroine Amarantha; although she spurs him on to
do even greater good. Of course there are intense emotions
of desire and passion. But also the beauty of friendship is
crucial for a couple in love, and the gentleness of understanding
another person. I like my heroes and heroines to learn to
see and love the whole other person. My heroes enjoy strong
women.”
This book beautifully blends a riveting mystery within the
historical content of the times. Ashe allows the relationship
to grow into an intimate one of unbreakable love. Readers
of her books can begin to understand how a woman can be feminine
yet possess a feminist’s attitude.
Reviews
of other titles by Katharine Ashe
Swept
Away by a Kiss
Captured
By A Rogue Lord
In
The Arms of a Marquess
The
Rogue (devil's duke #1)
The
Earl (devil's duke #2)
The
Duke (devil's duke #3)
The
Prince (devil's duke #4)
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