The Duke’s Stolen Bride by Sophie Jordan is about a young woman who wants to be a courtesan in order to support her siblings and needs a foxy duke to give her sex lessons. It’s not erotic, per say se, although I will say it’s hotter than a fair amount of historicals, and while I felt the hero and heroine had a ton of chemistry, I also thought the book relied too much on external conflict. That was a fairly minor gripe, though, and overall I thought the novel was a lot of fun.
Marian Langley was the daughter of a successful doctor, but when her father passed he didn’t leave behind any provisions for his children. That means that Marian has to find away to support herself and her younger sisters. When the book opens she’s doing her best to stave off debt collectors and still keep food on the table.
Marian knows she has the option to marry–but doing so may put in her the same position again. As a married woman she won’t have control over her finances, she’d have no guarantee that her husband will support her sisters, and she’ll spend the rest of her life expected to be subservient to him. She wants independence, and she thinks the best way to get it is to become a courtesan. So she does her research.
She seeks out the counsel of one of her father’s former patients, Mrs. Ramsey. Everyone in town knows that Mrs. Ramsey isn’t really a widow, but she’s still largely accepted and leads a very comfortable life. Marian asks her about her former profession:
Mrs. Ramsey continued, “Indeed, I am comfortable. That was my goal. Comfort. Independence. I wanted a home of my own with a handful of servants to attend to me. I do not require wealth. Merely security and sustainability.”
Marian nodded. She well understood that. She wanted the same things in life.
“As to the work…the tasks that were required of you…” Marian’s voice faded. She did not know the precise language to use, which presented some difficulty. She wanted an honest discussion. If she was to go down this path, she wanted no confusion at the onset.
“The shagging? Is that what you mean, dear?”
“Yes,” she said, grateful for the help. Her shoulders sagged with an expelled breath. “Is the…shagging…difficult? To endure?”
Mrs. Ramsey stared at her, her expression turning thoughtful. It was some time before she answered.
[…]
Mrs. Ramsey nodded as though reaching some decision. “I was very good at shagging, Marian. Often I even enjoyed it. It’s always better when you enjoy it. Naturally.” A faraway look entered her eyes. “I’ve had a few paramours who were quite pleasing. They could make me forget that shagging was something I did out of necessity.”
Mrs. Ramsey goes on to explain to Marian that as a courtesan she’ll need to use her intellect as much as her body to make herself irresistible to her clients. That said, she’ll also need to be good at sex.
Marian needs sex lessons so she turns the most obvious choice in a historical romance: a duke. England was just full of hot, sex-proficient dukes, I guess. Nathaniel, The Duke of Warrington, is known as the Depraved Duke because he entertains courtesans at his estate. Nathaniel is young, handsome and a bit of a curmudgeon (I love a curmudgeonly hero). He’s attracted to Marian, and while initially surprised at her offer, agrees to teach the art of lurrrve.
Nathaniel is largely closed off from the world. He was married previously, and after his wife and baby died in childbirth, he was in so much pain that he chose to never open himself up to love again. He relies on the aforementioned courtesans for sex and occasional companionship since they won’t expect him to commit to them emotionally in any way. His has a strained relationship with his mother, step father, and step brother who are all selfish people.
At first Nathaniel comes across as yet another over-sexed duke that Regency England was apparently awash in, but to call him a rake would be a shallow interpretation. He is actually a profoundly lonely man, and his grouchiness stems from the fact that he never processed his grief over his wife or his disappointment in the rest of his family.
So when Marian and Nathaniel hook up, even though it’s supposed to be purely physical, and when he finds himself finding comfort in her company, it feels like a profound shift for him. As much as this book is about Marian finding her independence and her sexuality, it’s also about Nathaniel coming out of a shell of grief and self-imposed isolation. Even though Nathaniel is closed off, he’s never cruel, and I really wanted him to make that journey to happiness.
The sexiness of this book, for me, was that it focused largely on foreplay rather than making intercourse the most important part of sex (Marian is planning on saving her maidenhead figuring she’ll be able to get a lot of money for it). So much attention is given to kissing, petting, and frottage, and it’s all done with explicit consent and ongoing conversation. It’s a celebration to all the small acts that make sex joyful and fun. I read so many books where the emphasis is on intercourse, that it was a breath of fresh air to read a scene devoted just to the pleasure of kissing.
The chemistry between Nathaniel and Marian is intense, borderline nuclear, so when Marian decides she’s ready, Nathaniel offers to be her first exclusive client.
While I enjoyed the chemistry between them, I did feel their relationship lacked emotional intimacy (which I guess is fair since they were both fairly explicit about their relationship being purely physical). It’s outside conflict, namely a toxic dude who is mad Marian won’t marry him, that forces them to eventually enter into a marriage of convenience. Marian and Nathaniel move from a relationship that’s mostly sexual to one with an emotional connection fairly quickly and near the end of the novel, which felt a little abrupt. Most of that transition happened within the timespan of a single carriage ride when Nathaniel finally reveals all his past traumas to Marian. If Nathaniel had sprinkled some of these details about his life (he was bullied at school, his wife and child died, his mom is awful) into their relationship earlier, maybe during some pillow talk, it would have felt more believable.
Also that toxic dude I mentioned felt a little bit like a cartoon villain as well, and
I want to warn readers that there is an attempted rape in this book.
While I wanted more time spent on the couple’s emotional journey, it was mostly because I enjoyed Marian and Nathaniel so much as characters: an independent heroine and a curmudgeonly hero are basically my catnip. Plus there were so many fun sex scenes. I wanted more time with the two of them. The Duke’s Stolen Bride wasn’t perfect, but it worked well for me.
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Thanks!
“per say”?
@MsCellanie: Oops. Thanks. Alas, sometimes errors make it through editing.
It’s good to see Jordan’s rebounded somewhat; her last few historicals have been wretched.
I guess the premise would make more sense to me if she wasn’t worried about supporting her siblings. I am assuming she wants a respectable life for her two younger sisters and her brother. One younger sister’s romantic interest was called off when their father died and she had no dowry, what would her chances be if her sister was a courtesan? And BTW, the brother (13) is at Eton while they are literally starving and dodging creditors. It’s okay for the females to suffer as long as the boy gets the best chance at life?