Molly noticed that in Duchess In Love , Stephen Fairfax-Lacy's title is Earl of Splade, but in his own book he is the Earl of Spade. Oh dear. I have to say, "Splade" is not a very good name, and I don't know what I was thinking. At least, "Spade" is a useful garden implement!   And finally..the erratum! As soon as I’m informed of typos, I have them corrected in the next printing. But that leaves hundreds of thousands of books out there with errors. Page 149 in the first edition reads: “If Sebastian had ever seen death in another man's eye, it was in those of the marquess.” But we’re in Cam’s point-of-view, and that sentence should read: “If Cam had ever seen…” Again, on page 227, Miles is sitting with his wife Esme and the text says that “he unthinkingly clutched Gina's hand so hard that it began to ache.” But he’s clutching Esme’s hand!   I wouldn't want to say that the novel was universally loved, because it wasn't. But hiring a research assistant caused a great fall-off in the number of vituperative letters. We still let a bunch of mistakes get through though. One particularly angry (and yet rational) reader pointed out on Amazon that one of my characters talks of going "up two sizes." Oops! There were no dress sizes in those days.   And, since she bothered to type out the whole thing below, I thought I'd just put it for you to read as well, from a Reader living in a small rural village in the English midlands (and doesn't that sound intimidating to an American living in New Jersey!):   "I am the Duchess of Girton ... I have been the duchess for twelve years and I've run the estate for eight, since your father (eg the duke's father) became incapacitated." Wait a minute! The duke must have died 12 years ago for Cam and Gina to become duke and duchess - he couldn't succeed to the title just because his father was incapacitated.   She is obviously correct.     Back to Top

Duchess in Love
Book one in The Duchess Quartet
I'm the kind of writer who can't seem to think in terms of one book: I invariably design a world that takes up three or four books. This leads to a virtual web of connections between my books. So what I offer below is something of a family tree, a way of chasing the characters whom you particularly like through several books, or of figuring out why a character's name sounds so very familiar to you.

Warning! In describing relations between characters, I may wreck a book for you by making it clear who someone marries, or the outcome of a book. Please do not read about The Inside Take if you're wary of knowing who is paired with whom!

» If you’d like to see more of Carola, read the novella “A Fool Again.”  Since this book takes place after Duchess in Love, Carola and Tuppy are happily married. Tuppy doesn't appear, because he's off fishing, but Carola is happily knitting tiny booties!

» The Duchess in Love quartet should be read in this order: Duchess in Love, Fool for Love, A Wild Pursuit, Your Wicked Ways.

» In Duchess, Gina's husband Cam returns from Greece and travels to a house party with his cousin, Stephen Fairfax-Lacy. Stephen is the hero of A Wild Pursuit, the third book in the series.

» By the end of Duchess in Love, Esme is carrying a child. If that child is male, her deceased husband's nephew will not inherit his estate and title. In Fool for Love, that heir, Simon Darby, travels to Esme's estate, bringing his two small sisters with him. Simon's story makes up Fool for Love.

» I wrote most of Duchess having no idea what was inside the Aphrodite statue. It's a good way to give oneself an ulcer as a writer. But, as Stephen King writes in the incomparable On Writing: "why worry about the ending anyway? Why be such a control freak?" By the time I got to the finish it was absolutely clear that what was inside the Aphrodite would be the thing that Gina most needed, and I finally knew what that was.

» The last chapter of Duchess in Love is a direct result of going to see The Mexican with my sister. I translated a plane into a carriage and voila!

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Waldenbooks Bestseller (9,10): two weeks New York Times Extended Bestseller List (35) USA Today Bestseller (144): one week Best Romances of 2002 Oakland Press Romantic Times Top Pick & Kiss Award Romantic Times Best Regency-Set Historical Romance of 2002

"Duchess in Love is a sparkling, captivating story. The dialogue is witty, the characters appealing and the plot innovative enough to rank it among the best romances of the year."

- The Oakland Press, (posted December 15 2002)

"What a delicious Christmas present or New Year's gift Eloisa James' new book Duchess in Love would make for any romance fan on your list. It's delightfully filled with unforgettable characters that leap right off the pages into your heart... this is a book that is fun, witty, and filled with sensual romance. Duchess in Love will tickle your funny bone and wrap your heart in seductive loops."

- Suzanne Coleburn, Reader to Reader (posted December 15 2002)

"Duchess in Love lovingly honors Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer in a novel that took me back to much earlier Regency reading experiences. Relying on character and dialogue to move the story has become something of a scarcity in historicals set during this period. And that's just what James does so well in her newest effort. She successfully intertwines the stories of multiple characters with wit and intelligence as they interact and intersect at a house party."

Grade: B+

- Jane Jorgenson, All About Romance (posted December 14, 2002)

"An intriguing plot, witty narrative and dialogue, and well-developed characters make Duchess in Love a thoroughly enjoyable read. Love, passion, a bit of suspense, and a dash of farce are deftly blended into an entertaining look at the peculiarities (to our modern sensibilities) of aristocratic marriages. Don't miss this enjoyable tale!"

- HOST EBK Susan, Romance Fiction Forum Team Captain, America Online's Romance Fiction Forum (posted December 2002)

"Well-rounded characters, lively narrative and dialogue, and excellent plotting make Duchess in Love another thoroughly enjoyable romance from this talented author. It beautifully combines romance, passion, suspense and wit (with occasional touches of sophisticated farce), amid the peculiarities of Regency marriages. Don't miss this winner. "

- Jane Bowers, Romance Reviews Today (posted December 2002)

Starred Review
"Fresh and witty, this high-spirited Regency-era romance gives a tried-and-true formula a merry spin...Chatter among Gina and her friends has the modern ring of a Sex and the City episode, and James's cheeky, sometimes sly humor makes for frequent laugh-out-loud moments. Avoiding easy stereotypes, James fleshes out all of her characters and gives them depths of emotion that romances seldom allocate to supporting characters. Though each chapter is headed by a droll description of the events to come, readers may find themselves too caught up in the snowballing action to take much notice. "

- Publisher's Weekly (posted November 4, 2002)

4 1/2 Stars and a Top Pick
"Eloisa James knows her time period well and has turned this fairly typical plot into a delightful and witty romance centering on Gina and Cam. She also includes several secondary romances and plenty of sizzling dialogue and love scenes, all told with thoroughly modern sensibilities."

"I found these engaging characters' intelligence and compassion refreshing, and while the plot may not be new, the characters are far from stereotypical, tedious or ordinary. The amusing, witty dialogue will make you smile as you follow Cam's schemes to capture Gina's heart. A unique and delightful tale."

- Romantic Times BOOKreviews (posted October 2002)

"Reminiscent of a French farce, Duchess in Love is a delightful read. Ms. James perfectly captures the nuance of the Regency era as she reveals the underlying sadness of the failure of these arranged marriages"

- Old Book Barn Gazette, (posted December 2002)

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We have an amazing Special Feature for Duchess In Love: an extra chapter, a chapter that doesn't appear in the printed book, and never will. No, we won't tell you what it's about -- just that readers begged Eloisa for it. It's a gift from Eloisa to her readers...

Camden William Serrard, the Duke of Girton, walked into the ballroom flanked by Tuppy Perwinkle and his cousin, Stephen Fairfax-Lacy. He looked about impatiently, hoping to see Gina. But there was no sight of her anywhere. A long winding line of dancers was slowly bouncing their way along a diagonal. Just then a gap in the line of dancers widened and he saw a gorgeous woman laughing up at her husband. Her body was so indicative of desire, bending toward the man like a willow toward the sun, that he felt a matching burn in his chest. She shook pale red hair over her shoulder and it fell like rose silk down her back.

"My God," he said appreciatively, "who is that beautiful woman?"

"Which?"

"The one over there, dancing with her husband."

Stephen leaned to the left so he could see and chuckled.  "Why do you ask?"

"She'd make a lovely Aphrodite," Cam said dreamily.  "She's a scandal, though, isn't she?  I think she's going to eat her husband alive, right there on the dance floor."

Stephen straightened and the humor disappeared from his face. "That isn't her husband," he said flatly.

"No?"

"No."  He cleared his throat.

"You are her husband."

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