The Duke and I - Bridgertons, Bk 1 Author:Julia Quinn In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince -- while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable&hellip... more »;but not too amiable.
Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.
Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society -- just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.
The plan works like a charm -- at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule...« less
ISBN-13: 9780063078901 ISBN-10: 0063078902 Publication Date: 12/1/2020 Pages:464 Edition:Media Tie In Rating:
A bit late to the Bridgerton party (I might be one of the last people to not have watched ANY season of Briderton on Netflix). I told myself I would watch only after I read the book.
I enjoyed the close knit Bridgerton clan. The family tree included in the book was helpful to. Daphne was a wonderful heroine. Simon was also pretty wonderful too (even if her reasons for not wanting kids was stupid). Simon's mother died in childbirth and his father was an emotionally abusive asshole. Simon also had a speech problem (he stuttered) that affected him for most of his childhood before he learned to cope and deal with it. It took the whole book for h