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The Duke
Gaelen Foley Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Duke
"

Ivy, Dec 2000, 6.50, 416 pp.
ISBN: 0449006360

    Although he never touched her, Robert Knight, the Duke of Hawkscliffe loved Lucy O?Malley from the first moment he saw her. However, the aristocrat showed appropriate behavior towards the wife of elderly Lord Coldfell. When she suddenly died, Coldfell tells Robert that he believes his heir, Dolph Breckinridge, killed his spouse, but the septuagenarian feels too old to retaliate. Robert picks up the mantel of vengeance.

    Robert decides he needs to check his facts. When he meets Lady Belinda Hamilton at Harriette Wilson?s house of ill repute, he is shocked by his attraction to her. He is even more stunned to learn how Dolph led to her ruin, rape, and her father?s jailing. They agree that he will protect her and she will help him prove Dolph?s guilt. However, neither one expected love to enter into the equation, but he is a rising politician who cannot afford the baggage of Bel as a spouse.

    THE DUKE is an exciting Regency romance that shows the power of the aristocracy to ruin almost anyone including a peer of the realm. The story line uses mystery elements that enable the plot to captivate the reader. Using Wilson as a major player provides a taste of authenticity. With two strong lead charcaters and an enticing support cast, Gaelen Foley provides the sub-genre fans with a charming prince of a tale.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

"After a suitor, Dolph, arranges for her father to be put in prison and for Belinda to lose her job she becomes penniless. Coming up short on her fathers prison fee's, Belinda begs the warden for more time. He follows her home and rapes her. Feeling that she ruined morally, she becomes a courtesan. Robert Hawkscliffe becomes her protector and engages her in a scheme to find the killer of his long lost love. He is a Duke from a very "good" family and cannot fall in love with the beauitful Belinda. But they both cannot fight the feelings that they develope for one another. Robert will be ruined if he marries a courtesan in the eyes of society."
Andrea, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Duke
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story - 19th century
Inner struggle subplot Yes
Struggle with... - (general) search for identity/new understanding

Main Male Character
Profession/status: - diplomat - champion of justice
Age/status: - 20's-30's
How sexual is this person? - very picky - several sexual encounters
How romantic is this person? - very romantic - somewhat romantic
Sex makes him - confused
Sex has good effect on him Yes
Sex makes him - less bitchy/arrogant - blissful - sensitive
Sex has bad effect on him Yes
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters - Genius
Physique - bulging muscles - average physique

Main Female Character
Age/status: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - prostitute
How sexual is this person? - frigid - over 1,000,000 served
How romantic is this person? - very romantic - somewhat romantic
effect of sexing - scared
Sex has bad effect on her Yes
Sex has good effect on her Yes
Effect of sexing - confident - obedient - a better lover - blissful - mature
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
City? Yes
Misc setting - Fancy Mansion

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death - generic/vague references to death/punishment
What % of story is romance related? - 50% - 80%
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - licking - actual description of sex - descript. of male nudity (the big P) - rape/molest (yeech!)
Part of a series? Yes
Focus of story - equally on him and her
How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
How much sexing? - 5-9 sex acts
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Gaelen Foley Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Randi Baldwin  

SCHOLARS:
Becky Lee  


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