The Duke Meets His Match
George Kendall, Duke of Aylesham, and Miss Susan Jennings part from an accidental encounter enraged at each other, and the second meeting, at a ball a year later, between ‘His Loftiness’ and ‘the harpy’ confirms their intense dislike of each other. Yet a couple of days later he asks her to be his wife. Susan, unsurprisingly aghast, refuses; but when he offers to explain his motives, her curiosity is sufficiently aroused to listen: he seeks to avoid the Prince Regent’s insistence that he marry a German princess. She agrees to consider his offer.
Susan is a highly intelligent bluestocking who values her independence and at twenty-nine looks forward to spinsterhood. She remains, however, practical enough to consider the advantages of marriage. Hesitatingly, she agrees.
The challenge is to make the transition from antipathy to love believable, but Tuft succeeds magnificently: the political context is interesting, the intriguing plot moves at a brisk pace, Susan’s lingering misgivings generate suspense, the supporting cast (especially Susan’s ‘fairy godmother’) are entertaining, and, most crucially, the honorable hero and defiant heroine are both willing to learn from their mistakes. Plus, some delicious irony, with echoes of both Jane Austen and Shakespearian comedy. Highly recommended.
