REVIEW: The Secret Duchess by Jane Walsh
When the Duke of Stanmere’s will reveals a nasty secret, London Society is shocked—and so is his widow, Joan. Humiliated by the scandal, Joan flees to Inverley in disguise. Surely the quaint seaside town would be the last place anyone would look for a duchess on the run.
After her mother’s remarriage, fashionable spinster Miss Maeve Balfour must make a living with hands whose only labor has been arranging her hair into the latest style. With nowhere to turn and nothing to lose, she persuades mysterious newcomer Joan to let her stay in her manor house.
Although entranced by worldly and seductive Maeve, Joan doesn’t know if she can trust again. As Maeve learns Joan’s secrets, she yearns to protect her from the men who have sought to destroy her. But can a spinster and a widow dare to defy a dukedom—and win each other’s hearts?
Dear Ms. Walsh,
I had hoped that the next book in this series would feature Maeve whom I met when reading “The Accidental Bride.” It does and it also has the MCs from the first book “The Accidental Heiress.” New readers need not worry though as Caroline and Arabella are in this book to support it rather than hawk their own.
Joan, Duchess of Stanmere is flabbergasted to learn that her late husband, the odious Duke, has only left her £200 per year in his will. Her protests are met with scorn from the new Duke, his uncles, and his aunt. Threats are made against Joan that if she raises a stink, the late Duke’s bastards will be attributed to her even though the oldest one is only five years younger than she is. Retreating to London, she learns that all her clothes and jewels have been confiscated. When she remembers the property in Inverley she bought with money gifted to her by her late father, she knows where she can go.
Maeve Balfour is shocked when her mother remarries and leaves Maeve behind with six months worth of living expenses and advice to find a rich husband to support her. Sapphic Maeve has no intentions of doing that but how can she support herself in a world with little use for spinsters? Events cause Joan to allow Maeve to rent a room in her house and soon Maeve begins to wonder if this woman might be the love she’s always longed for but Joan has secrets that are about to upend everything.
Maeve and Joan both have flaws that actually made them well rounded if at times frustrating. Maeve has always lived in genteel society but with her means of support – her now remarried mother – gone, she realizes she’s going to have to learn to earn her own keep. Easier said than done as Maeve likes how she’s lived and doesn’t initially want to start working. Her friend’s suggestion for Maeve to sell some of her better clothes dismays Maeve as being well dressed is a part of who she is but she soon realizes that needs must. Joan is the daughter of an Earl and now a Dowager Duchess. She’s had men taking control of her life from day one and even when she did question her father about anything, he did the usual dad/man thing of that day and told her not to worry and leave details to a man. To her later regret, she did. Unused to making plans, Joan does stumble a bit.
Yes, I wanted to shake Maeve but it’s also understandable that she’d like to continue living high on the hog. Who wouldn’t? She does face reality and try gainful employment before finding a niche only to face facts about how this affects others. When Maeve is offered a position for which she’d be perfect, she’s finally embraced her new status and goes for the opportunity. Joan also has missteps as she slowly realizes what she faces from the Dukedom and how her choices could end up harming others. But she does begin to act and make decisions on her own.
When I’d finished the book, I decided that I actually believed the Sapphic historical aspect more than the general historical one. Maeve has known her sexual preferences for a long time and acted on them when she could. She is friends with two lesbian couples (Books 1 and 2 of the series) and longs to find her “someone.” Joan was sheltered and married off then endured her husband’s matter-of-fact visits to her bed but she heard other debutantes discussing things so is not surprised when Maeve carefully hints at what she wants. Joan isn’t that experienced in any type of sexual relationship but Maeve takes it slowly and I can believe that they’d be able to carry on a relationship in private. No, there’s no hot and heavy public displays of affection but women walking arm in arm was common then plus a generation of women missed out on marriage due to the Napoleonic Wars so two women living together was also accepted. Besides the two other couples, there is a male character who is described in a way that leads me to think he’s asexual.
Some of the historical aspects of the book caused me the most problems. Joan does own her home but on a mere £200 annual budget the idea that she’d be able to employ the size household she does – plus maintain a carriage and horses – stretches belief. The Dashwood women lived in what appears to be a smaller house with two (?) servants and pinched pennies on £500 per year. Then there are the issues that Joan deals with from her in-laws. As much as I hate to say it, I think they’re correct in what they say about what she owns. Still the way that Someone intervenes and gets the new Duke to call off the dogs is in keeping with how that person is written and what they know. Okay, I’ll go along with how things work out. These parts of the book are also a bit of a downer even if they do free Joan from her past and set her loose to fashion the rest of her life. So there is that.
I liked the real character growth displayed by both Maeve and Joan. Past characters don’t crowd the story. And if the Found Family, “we’re all equals” parts seem more modern than historical, they make up for the darkness to which Joan is subjected until All is Righted in the End. B-
~Jayne
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