A
Devil's Duke, #2
By Katharine Ashe
The Earl
by Katharine Ashe is a historical novel filled with
adventure, mystery, and sprinkled with romance. She
is a professor of History who has strong heroines that
learn from and teach the men who love them. This book
is the conclusion of the Falcon Club series and the
second book in the Devil Duke series.
All her stories are compelling and through the character’s
eyes, emotions, and conflicts, readers can learn about
the historical context. The banter of barbs, bickering,
and debating allows them to begin to understand the
other’s passion and point of view. The identity
of her heroine, Lady Justice, is Emily Anne Vale, while
Peregrine is Colin Gray, the Earl of Egremoor. They
are constantly trading correspondence and debating over
the column written about women’s issues, specifically
a woman’s marital status.
After Colin agrees to help her find her sister, who
has disappeared, they are thrown together. He imposes
one condition; they find out each other’s true
identity. At the meeting place, Colin admits he is Peregrine
and believes Lady Justice to be a man and insults her
by demanding to see her master, the real Lady Justice.
His assumptions are based on the fact that Lady Justice’s
identity was never revealed. Because of her deep disappointment
that the man she once knew as a childhood friend could
so blatantly dispel that a woman was capable of accomplishments,
Emily refused to reveal herself.
The mystery begins in Scotland. It is here they trace
her sister’s presence and are accused of killing
a local man’s wife. It seems a man who resembles
Colin and someone dressed up as a woman resembling Emily
are robbing travelers. When they are mistaken for outlaws,
they have to flee for their lives. Readers take this
adventurous journey with the characters as they try
to prove their innocence.
Emily is independent, a recluse, bookish, strong-willed,
and at times self-righteous, while Colin is honorable,
determined, witty, and chauvinistic. A quote in the
book shows how he feels entrapped, “It was thought
they were on opposite sides of a tightly locked door.
She stood firmly and proudly on the outside… while
he was inside the room, suffocating.” It is as
if he wishes he could be like Emily, comfortable in
her own skin, but instead was pressured by his father
to be someone he is not. Ashe noted, “They’ve
each built up ideas of who the other is. I wanted to
show that not all heroes have to be John Wayne. The
men important to me are intelligent, sensitive, and
emotional. Over the course of this journey they must
tear these notions apart. In the beginning they each
believe they know the truth about the other, but by
the end they realize they’ve only been partially
correct.”
Ashe says the scenes of physical intimacy are an integral
part of the characters’ story. “In the early
1800s, women of the privileged class were protected
from male sexuality. But Emily acknowledges it and tries
to come to terms with the double standard in which men
are expected to experience their sexuality while women
are not. As far as I am concerned if the sex does not
have meaning that alters the relationship, for the good
or the ill, it should not be in the novel. Physical
intimacy must be a meaningful communication. When Emily
makes sexual advances she is a woman on the front edge
of feminism during this era.”
Readers will have to wait for the next book, The
Duke, to find out what becomes of Colin and
Emily’s relationship. Ashe explained, “I
intentionally left it open ended. I want Emily to maintain
her legal autonomy, and if she married she would lose
it entirely. Yet, unless they marry, their children
would not be able to inherit Colin’s title or
property. Ultimately, it’s clear in The
Duke, which also answers the mystery of why
the Duke of Loch Irvine does not want his secrets exposed,
and whether he is indeed the devil society believes
him to be.”
This page turner has people unraveling the mysteries
of why has Emily’s sister disappeared, will Colin
discover Lady Justice’s true identity, and will
they be found innocent of the crimes accused of? The
novel is full of the contradictions men and women often
face and struggle with surrounding the issue of equality.
Reviews of other titles by Katharine
Ashe
Swept
Away by a Kiss
Captured
By A Rogue Lord
In
The Arms of a Marquess
The
Rogue (devil's duke #1)
The
Earl (devil's duke #2)
The
Duke (devil's duke #3)
The
Prince (devil's duke #4)
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