The Duchess in His Bed: A Sins for All Seasons Novel

Product Information

The biggest issue I had with this book is that the feelings Aiden had towards Lena simply made no sense. He just “feels different” with her than any other women before for no particular reason except “it’s different”. He’s possessive...for no reason. He wants more...for no reason. He’s dreaming about her...for no reason. They’ve not had enough happen between them for him to feel that way and I don’t think simply saying “well, this is different” is enough to get my heart involved with a book.

Given that Joan has a life that’s busier than most people’s half her age, Percy doesn’t notice the age gap at all. ‘I think what is important is not age, but how you look, feel and behave,’ says Joan, who says she still thinks of herself as a 40-year-old woman. In fact, she believes it’s ‘tremendously rude’ to ask a woman her age or discuss it. ‘My mother’s generation never did it,’ she says. ‘But you know, people have been calling me an older woman since I was 38!’ He added: "I couldn't possibly discuss the price but it's taken a lot of complex measuring to get it right. She’s also hosted numerous friends at the villa, which she bought after touring in the play Private Lives in 1990. She first fell in love with St Tropez after holidaying with Natalie Wood in 1970 and visitors to her villa have included Julian Clary, artist Tracey Emin and Liza Minnelli. Aiden was a pretty good hero. He fell for Salena without a really clear cut reason, but I was able to put that aside. Not quite insta-love, but insta-lust at least. He was honorable in his own way and cared deeply about his found family. It was interesting to see the circumstances of his birth unravel and I was happy with how all of that turned out. The romance was OK. Overall, I liked the book.

Drug and Alcohol Content

It took a while for Selena, widowed Duchess of Lushing's, purpose in coming to the Elysium Club to be revealed so I'll just "spoil" it here. (It's barely a spoiler.) Selena's husband just died and to secure the lands, the manor house, the money to provide for her siblings, she needs to have his son. However, in all the years she's been married to him, they never produced any offspring. She knows she still hasn't conceived his child when he dies, so she needs to find a man to provide her with that son she can pass off as the late duke's. She chooses Aiden Trewlove. To be honest, it would have been easier for her to have chosen someone else, someone a little less principled, probably someone who wasn't a bastard himself. We’re also invited to sympathize with Georgiana regarding her adulterous affair with Charles Grey (“Everyone has a lover,” she angrily tells her husband). Given the duke’s monstrous treatment of her, we’re tempted to rationalize, Who wouldn’t flee to the arms of a passionate soul mate in that situation?

Meanwhile, Selena is getting to know more about Aiden – his upbringing with the other bastards sent to Ettie Trewlove, his horrible relationship with his sire, his love for his family. She desperately wants to get pregnant but she is starting to see the larger ramifications of her plan. Eventually, she confesses her plan to Aiden and he must decide if he can give her what she wants.

Movie Review

This emphasis on the insignificance of rank in the face of death and tragedy is important because it shows the true depths of the difference between the Duchess and her evil brothers. They have nothing but their rank and their associated power, and so when they are faced with death, they die without courage and “leave no more fame behind ‘em than” (5.5.113) a footprint in snow exposed to the sun. The Duchess, on the other hand, by dying so nobly, leaves the mark of the her spirit behind, which ultimately allows for hope at the end in the form of her surviving son, the true “light.” Kitty and Paddy run Spring Park with Kitty's parents Peter and Di and children Billy and Gabe, and they still can’t quite believe what a beautiful place they've ended up in! They used to run two little boutiques on Falmouth's Old High Street selling homewares, vintage finds and handmade dresses, and loves anything old or vintage...