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Duchess By Night
Book three in The Desperate Duchesses series

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!

» This is the third book in the Desperate Duchess series. Although it stands alone, there are a number of characters here appeared first in Desperate Duchesses, such as the Duke and Duchess of Beaumont (Jemma and Elijah).

» The Duchess series has a formal structure: each new book opens at the same party that closed the previous book. So An Affair Before Christmas opened with Duchess of Beaumont’s post-duel party, which closed Desperate Duchesses. Duchess by Night opens at the Duchess of Beaumont’s Twelfth Night party, which closed Affair Before Christmas (some Affair characters dance by, identified only through costume). Duchess by Night ends with one of Lord Strange’s dissolute house parties…no prizes for guessing the first scene in When the Duke Returns (the fourth book in the series).

» In each of the Duchess books, I leave one small question unanswered. In Desperate Duchesses, who is Teddy’s mother? In An Affair Before Christmas, why did Lord Strange sell only the queen in his chess set? And in Duchess by Night, Lord Strange decides to sell the rest of the set: who will buy it?You will learn more about the chess set – and Teddy’s mother – in the final book in the series when all will be answered (I admit it: I probably admire J.K. Rowling a bit too much).

» People are always praising writers for their creativity and imagination. I’m not one to turn down praise, but the fact is that many episodes in my novels have a basis in truth. When I was writing Duchess by Night, my daughter was bitten by a tick and contacted Lyme’s disease. It’s hardly as serious as rat bite fever, but I happened to be reading Robert Sullivan’s wonderful book, Rats. Before I knew it, Eugenia had rat bite fever, and I was putting all my fears for my daughter on the page.

» Lord Strange’s new secretary, Miss DesJardins, first appeared in Desperate Duchesses, where she was responsible for the ornate, yet naked, centerpiece designated for Jemma’s party (and vetoed by Elijah). Once she’s installed at Fonthill, she comes up with the Tahitian Feast of Venus with its naked, shivering nymphs. Don’t worry! I have plans for Miss DesJardins and her unusual skills; she will appear again.

» The hummingbird collection that Jem thinks of buying is real; I discovered it in a wonderful book by Judith Pascoe called The Hummingbird Cabinet: A Rare and Curious History of Romantic Collectors. If you’re interested in curiosities and their cabinets, this is a great place to start.

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FREE DOWNLOADABLE BOOKMARK!

It's a four-author extravaganza -- and it's FREE! Brand new, and available only on Eloisa's website and the websites of Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Boyle, and Laura Lee Guhrke, get the free poster of four bookmarks heralding their latest releases. Cut them out or leave the pdf whole, this is a collectors' item. Tell your friends!

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"The latest addition to best-selling James’ Duchess Georgian historical series is a lusciously sexy and wickedly witty tale of disguise, deception, and desire that will dazzle readers."

- John Charles (posted June 18, 2008)

4 1/2 stars, Top Pick! (July 2008)

"The third of the Desperate Duchesses stories is a light-hearted, sophisticated yet deeply emotional romp.  Harriet, the Duchess of Villiers, dons breeches to try to make it a man's world, but this traditional plot takes on freshness as James infuses the story with wit and passion."

- Romantic Times BOOKClub (posted June 2, 2008)

"Harriet…flirts with real danger: dressed in breeches, she poses as Harry, a mama-protected young relative of the duke's. With her characteristic wit, James details Harry's bravado as "he…revels in the freedom offered by her male identity, but her heart remains traitorously female, especially in the presence of Lord Strange, who finds himself uncomfortably attracted to the beautiful young lad. James delights with seduction, surprise and humor on every page."

- Publishers' Weekly  (posted May 1, 2008)

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I've been doing creative contests for years, and this was by far the
hardest to judge: every rhyme was funny, lively and appropriate.
Thank you so much! It was almost impossible to pick the top three
rhymes.  In fact, it was so difficult that I decided to go with
rhymes that contained puns, just because I love puns.
 
So...from among the hoardes of wonderful rhymes, here are two that I found
particularly rhythmical, funny and punning:

Cindy from CA:
 
Sly little duchess comes into Town,
Upstairs, downstairs, in a blue velvet gown,
Spying in the gardens,
Peering through the thorns,
Are all the rakes tucked in beds,
It's very nearly morn!

Alea  from CT:

That Old Mother Goose's
Costume got loose is
Reason to let down one's hair.

Trading skirts for britches
A duchess gains riches:
One gloriously Strange affair

Susan from KY:
 
Oh duchess, oh duchess,
will you be mine?
You shall not be lonely,
nor dress as a swine.
But sit on a throne
with me at your feet.
Dressed like a queen,
your heart complete.

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From Chapter One of
Duchess By Night

In which Cinderella Dresses for the Ball
And her Fairy Godmother brings a Goose instead of a Pumpkin

January 6th (Twelfth Night), 1784
A Costume Ball
The Country Seat of the Duke of Beaumont

Nursery tales are full of fascinating widows, although they aren't always the nicest characters.  Cinderella's stepmother likely put on a dazzling gown for the prince's ball, even if her daughters did inherit her big feet and sharp tongue.

Harriet, Duchess of Berrow, realized soon after her husband died that there are glamorous widows, and then there are widows who live in shoes with too many children, like poor Loveday Billing. There are widows who dance all night with younger men, and then there are dowdy widows who are offered only pinched smiles.

Harriet had no illusions about what kind of widow she was. She was the kind who lived in a shoe, and never mind the fact that she had no children and her estate was much larger than a shoe.

Her husband had been dead for two years and no younger – or older – men were lining up to ask her to dance. Most of her acquaintances still got a tragic sheen in their eyes and promptly moved away after greeting her, as if sadness was catching.

Apparently, if one's husband committed suicide, one automatically became the unappealing type of widow.

Partly it was her fault. Here she was at the Duchess of Beaumont's impromptu costume ball – but was she dressing as a glamorous character? Or even an evil one?

"Who are you?" her friend Jemma (the aforesaid Duchess of Beaumont) asked.

"A nursery rhyme character. Can you guess which one?" Harriet was wearing a motherly nightgown of plain cotton that her maid had recruited from the housekeeper. Underneath she had three petticoats, as well as four woolen stockings in her bodice. Just to show off a bit, she arched her back.

"A nursery rhyme character with big breasts,” Jemma said. “Very big breasts. Very very –"

"Motherly breasts," Harriet prompted.

"Actually you don’t look motherly as much as wildly curvaceous. The problem will be if one of our houseguests lures you into a corner and attempts a cheerful grope. Wasn't there some nursery rhyme about lighting the way to bed?"

"I'm not on my way to bed," Harriet said, somewhat deflated. “And no one ever tries to grope me. What character are you?"

Jemma's gown was made of a clear pale pink that looked wonderful with the dark gold color of her unpowdered hair. There were small silk poppies sewn all over her skirts, and poppies tucked in her hair. She managed to look elegant and yet untamed, all at once.

"Titania, Queen of the Fairies."

"I'm Mother Goose. Which fairly sums up the difference between us."

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