The difficulty of playing with the Pygmalion/My Fair Lady trope is that in its original form, it’s inherently mean. Making bets on whether you can change a person to pass for gentry, even if the author is doing it to make fun of the ridiculousness of the British class system, is still making someone the butt of a joke. Happily, Frampton seems to understand this, and made a conscious choice not to make anyone the target of a joke, or the perpetrator of that joke.
Instead, she writes a charming, sweet story about Genevieve, who unexpectedly becomes a duchess in her own right (an exceedingly rare turn of events, but not impossible) after a childhood wherein she was ignored by her family and raised by servants. She realizes right away that she has NO idea how to be a duchess – her father knew she would become the duchess upon his death but didn’t tell her or prepare her for the job – nor does she know how to function in society or run a household or pretty much anything. So she writes to her godmother asking for help, and her godmother sends Archibald Salisbury, her steward and a retired Army man, to help.
Now, Archie is HOT. Like, to the point that Genevieve writes (but does not send) a note asking him to please tone down his attractiveness because it’s distracting. He is handsome and capable and immediately starts working out how to tackle the problem. He also notices that she is giving him pants feelings and palpitations, and he tries REAL HARD to keep it all professional, to limited success.
I was making Good Book Noises all the through this book, y’all. And the cheery yellow cover is just so cheery!
One of the major obstacles to the two of them getting together is that while Archie is gentry – his father is a viscount, though Archie was disowned for (gasp!) joining the army and then (gasp!) getting a JOB because rent must be paid – he is also working for Genevieve. He’s her employee, and in fact her lady’s maid points out that Genevieve has all the power in this relationship. Genevieve, who had been thinking about it in terms of men and women and the power men have, was taken aback at realizing that she could ruin his life and livelihood with a wave of her hand.
I love a good “how do I adult” story, and I also love it when people recognize that they don’t know what they’re doing and ask for help (maybe if I read enough of these stories, I’ll be better about asking for help myself!) (I tell funny jokes).
Genevieve is smart, and she also collects a family. Part of her journey is making actual friends for the first time and finding joy in that process. She also needs to learn how to act like a duchess, like she outranks everyone in the room, despite her discomfort with the benefits her privilege gives her. She also has a bit of social anxiety: she’s not used to lots of people, and she’s not used to being the focal point of a mass of humanity in the room. There’s a lovely moment at her first Society outing where her hostess leads her to a seat in the middle of the room, and Genevieve hesitates just a fraction of a second, and her hostess immediately leads her to a less central seat. No questions, no comments.
But the thing that made this book for me occurred early on. Archie arrives and they bang heads a bit. Then they exchange snarky letters (from three doors down the hall!), and they both write letters that are full of inappropriate thoughts that they do NOT send. We love snarky letter exchanges around here.
And then the six words that define the book happen:
“Let me help.”
“Yes, thank you.”
That’s the arc right there.
It reminded me of a bit in The Young Victoria when Victoria and Albert, in the very early throes of courtship, are playing chess, and Victoria is musing that everyone wants her to get married to someone who will play the Game for her, and Albert is like, no: “You want someone who will play it with you.” This is what Genevieve needs: to learn how to stand on her own and understand the game, and a partner who will be a partner and not take her life over for her.
The ending is a bit rushed, but that happens a lot. And the resolution of the Big Misunderstanding and the complications that are keeping Genevieve and Archie apart is pretty simple, in the end. That said, I enjoyed this SO MUCH. “Learning how to figure your shit out” stories are a particular favorite of mine at this point in my life, and this was a great read.
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OMG! Sooooo much Catnip here! You got me at the snarky letters from 3 doors down :)) Click!
WANT!!!!
I always thought Henry was a douche in My Fair Lady and it’s not my favorite trope. HOwever, i like what this one does to mitigate the casual cruelty of its predecessors. And then the Young Victoria comparison did me in. I’m sold. Super sold.
Great YOUNG VICTORIA reference! Gah, I seriously love that movie and that moment – so very well done, and wasn’t Emily Blunt a force to be reckoned with as Victoria? I also really like this idea of the heroine finding a true partner in life versus looking for a dude to save her, or lead her, or just solve her problems for her. There’s such delicious agency and angst AND romance there. I haven’t read Megan Frampton yet, but this review just sold me on this one. One clicking now!
Megan Frampton is usually an auto-buy author for me because I love the humor in her books. I had back-burnered this one because of the hints of Pygmalion/My Fair Lady and the meanness usually associated with those kinds of stories. This review just moved it up in the list. Snarky letters!
I love the sound of this (with the reassurance that the Henry Higgins stand-in isn’t a complete arse), but I notice it’s part of a series. Does it work as a stand-alone? My TBR is already insane, and I’m not sure I can be motivated to start a new series just to get to #5. Anyone know?
THIS! BOOK! SOUNDS! CRACKTASTIC!
Like, can we talk about how damn fun those power dynamics are when played with class and gender? It always seems like historicals do that the best! (Is my bias showing? I bet my bias is showing.)
The fact that our author tossed the big ole rude-ass-bet out the window and made it more about employment than funnsies is damn gold.
From the sound of it, there’s just so much layered juicey goodness here.
Under my breath: “Don’t click the buy button don’t click the buy button DAMMIT WOMAN WHAT DID I SAY?!”
Ok, have to defend George Bernard Shaw here: HENRY HIGGINS IN PYGMALION IS ****NOT**** A ROMANTIC HERO. THAT’S WHY ELIZA DOESN’T MARRY HIM. Shaw explains what happens to Eliza and Freddy and how they open a flower shop, and have to take accounting lessons because they don’t know how to run a business, and get into debt for a while but eventually manage to pay back Colonel Pickering (who invites them a lot for weekends in the country). It’s quite sweet. The musical and movie changed this, but that was probably a mistake.
Also, not sure of the logic of “my son got a job because he needs money so I will disinherit him” works. Wouldn’t “my son needs money so I will give him an allowance” make more sense? And certain army regiments were (and are) aristocratic by tradition, so there’s no reason why joining the army isn’t a perfectly respectable thing to do. (“Duke” after all comes from the Latin “Dux bellorum” or “leader of wars” and is a military title.)
With those caveats, sounds like a cute book.
@Rebecca I don’t think RHG was saying that Higgins is a romantic hero; I think she was talking about the archetype of that character. It has been adapted as and into so many romance stories, and with that context the character is by definition a bit cruel.
As for the “giving of allowence” that probably wasn’t possible because the estate itself sounds like it was in debt. So it is likely daddy didn’t have the money to give.
I don’t really gave a comment on the army being a disgraceful employment thing. Maybe it was a characterization of his asshole parents, rather than being something seen by the general public as icky.
But all this could just be me talking out of my ass. I’ve not read the book yet so *insert shoulder shrug here* lol.
*gave = have. Damn autocorrect, and damn me for not proofreading before posting. Sigh.
THANKS to Redheaded Girl for the review! I actually didn’t realize I was writing a Pygmalion story until after I’d finished–the book was originally titled Duke Looks Like a Lady, but then my editor and I thought it might sound like a cross-dressing duke, which it wasn’t (though that idea was appealing), so we settled on My Fair Duchess. That said, it’s funny what the subconscious brain does when you’re writing, so probably part of me knew I was doing Pygmalion. Most times I don’t realize the underlying themes until I’ve gone back and reread the book.
@Megan I would pay actual cash money for this book cover as a poster with the OG title. “Duke Looks Like A Lady” IS MADE OF ALL THE LOL WIN! While I agree about the reasons for pulling it, OMG IT HURTS MY SOUL BECAUSE DUUUUDE THAT SO PUNNY!
Has anyone read Singer From the Sea by Sheri Tepper? I ask because although that’s a feminist sci-fi and not really a romance, it also has a heroine named Genevieve who suddenly gets thrust into the role of housekeeper/hostess/etc and falls for her “employee” who comes to help her out with the whole thing when she’s taken from school. Random, but I actually love the romantic subplot in that book.
Did not even notice this was part of a series – just one-clicked happily!
@emmie – Tepper is one of my favorite authors! I loved Singer from the Sea, although my favorite is Gate to Woman’s Country. Or The Fresco. Or The Visitor. Or Gibbon’s Decline and Fall. So many scary-possibilities from her pen.
@cayenne — I’ve read this book and no others in the series and did not feel like I was missing anything. It’s totally fine as a stand-alone.
@Cynthia – thank you!!
Maybe I’m wrong on this, but am I the only one who feels like every strict historical romance in a series doesn’t rely on needing to be read in order?
I mean, yes, you might find out who gets shipped with who, and okay there are a few exceptions with BIG GIANT PLOT TWISTY PLOT STUFF *cough*SarahMacLean*cough*cough* but overall? I feel like the only time series are really affected by being read out of order are in paranormals.
Or am I lone man on the opinion poll with that feel?
Yes, I bought this book as soon as I finished reading the review. But I’m not going to start reading it tonight because otherwise I’ll be up all night and I need my sleep. Things to do and all that. Yeah that’s right. Not reading it tonight. No sir!
Well maybe just one chapter…
@Caro Girl, I feel ya because THE POWER OF ROMANCE COMPELS YOU!
*whispers* HERE’S an idea, how about…TWO chapters? BE A REBEL YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE MAYBE!
Definitely added to my TBR list. But, 4 am? Sleep, woman, sleep!!
This would be a first by this author for me. Does anyone know whether she tries for some historical accuracy? I’m not a stickler by any means but I get tired sometimes of all the licenses a few authors seem to take.
@Claudia – I’ve totally enjoyed a couple of Megan Frampton’s books, and as it happens, I’m right in the middle of the previous book in this series, Why Do Dukes Fall In Love, which I picked up last week because it was recommended a recent Rec League for neurodivergent romance (the hero in that book appears to be on the spectrum).
I would say that you probably have to suspend some disbelief if you are looking for historical accuracy, but then again, that’s the case with most historical romances these days so I don’t usually let it bother me. Also, this series is set in the mid-1800’s, so some loosening of the social standards is not unrealistic. I’m much more willing to give authors of Victorians the benefit of the doubt than I am for Regencies.
Also, for the person who was wondering if this series could be read out of order, I’d say it definitely can. I’m about a third of the way through the 4th book in the series, haven’t read any of the previous ones (although I do want to go back to them!) and I don’t really feel like I’m missing anything.
Now, wait. He got disowned for joining the Army? What else is a Viscount’s younger son to do? It’s either that or the Church.
I went out and bought this book too after reading the review. This is totally my catnip – where the hero is in a class inferior to the heroine and is conscious of it throughout the book.
What does this say about me? Hmmm .. dont want to dig too deep on that one …
Under £10 on Amazon UK for the whole series, and that one click button is just so damn clicky!
Just finished the book this weekend. It was cute. I had no idea it was part of a serious, and now I’m trying to figure out how. Off to AMazon, I guess.