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A Lady's Lesson in Scandal
In gritty, working-class London, she does what she must to survive…
When Nell Whitby breaks into an earl's house on a midnight quest for revenge, she finds her pistol pointed at the wrong man—one handsome as sin and naked as the day he was born. Pity he's a lunatic. He thinks her a missing heiress, but more to the point, he'll help her escape the slums and right a grave injustice. Not a bad bargain. All she has to do is marry him.
A notorious ladies' man could take her from poverty to opulence…but at what price?
A rake of the first order, Simon St. Maur spent his restless youth burning every bridge he crossed. When he inherits an earldom without a single penny attached to it, he sees a chance to start over—provided he can find an heiress to fund his efforts. But his wicked reputation means courtship will be difficult—until fate sends him the most notorious missing heiress in history. All he needs now is to make her into a lady and keep himself from making the only mistake that could ruin everything: falling in love…
When Nell Whitby breaks into an earl's house on a midnight quest for revenge, she finds her pistol pointed at the wrong man—one handsome as sin and naked as the day he was born. Pity he's a lunatic. He thinks her a missing heiress, but more to the point, he'll help her escape the slums and right a grave injustice. Not a bad bargain. All she has to do is marry him.
A notorious ladies' man could take her from poverty to opulence…but at what price?
A rake of the first order, Simon St. Maur spent his restless youth burning every bridge he crossed. When he inherits an earldom without a single penny attached to it, he sees a chance to start over—provided he can find an heiress to fund his efforts. But his wicked reputation means courtship will be difficult—until fate sends him the most notorious missing heiress in history. All he needs now is to make her into a lady and keep himself from making the only mistake that could ruin everything: falling in love…
385 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 28, 2011
About the author
Meredith Duran
18 books1,776 followersMEREDITH DURAN blames Anne Boleyn for sparking her lifelong obsession with British history. She is the author of twelve novels, all published by Pocket Books. Her debut, The Duke of Shadows, has been translated into thirteen languages and was ranked among the top 100 romances of all time by NPR and All About Romance. Her other books include RITA award winner Fool Me Twice and her February 2017 release, A Lady's Code of Misconduct, which was called one of the best romances of the year by BookList and Amazon, and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, the latter of which opined: “This book weaves its spell so thoroughly that the most fortunate reader will be the one who has time to read the entire thing in one sitting.” Her next release, THE SINS OF LORD LOCKWOOD, hits the shelves on February 27, 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 467 reviews
November 7, 2011
Can you guys remember the last time you read a book really, really slowly not because it was boring but because you just wanted to pay a lot of attention to every word so you could fully comprehend what's going on? Well, I certainly can say I just can't remember the last time this happened to me. I tend to skim many parts in all my reads. I wasn't a person who did this but once I started to read more frequently it just started to happened. I may be loving a book but if it gets too descriptive or explanatory I tend to read faster so I can get to the good parts sooner,LOL. Well, this book helped me remember those first reads I had in the past, where every word had a meaning and every adjective was crucial to fully comprehend the book. I just wanted to keep reading so I could get to know better this 2 amazing characters. I'm not sure what it was but it just never crossed my mind to skip even a single word of this book. I guess I shall blame the author's writing style, because something definitely kept me trapped and didn't let me stop reading. Meredith Duran, know that you have found a new fan and I wont rest until I read more of your work. If the rest of your books are as good as this one (which is the only one I have read so far) I will LOVE you forever,LOL. I just adore to discover new authors.
The Heroine
In this book you'll find a factory girl as a heroine. Yes, a low-class working girl in a time when only money and blood would give you power and wealth. While she grew up on the lowest of the English neighborhoods, she never gave up and sold herself for money. She always worked hard and tried to get the best of every situation, praising pride before everything. She may have little in the world, but she would never surrender. Despite this, everything changed once she discovered she was the part of the noble world. She had been stolen form her home by a resentful servant while she was very young to realize what was going on, and by some crazy and wild turn of the events she discovered she was the missing heiress of one of the most wealthy families on England.
The secret about the plot
This was what I loved the most about this book. It was just 100% different form the rest of the books I have read in this genre. While we still get to read about the rich and wealthy, we get a huge POV form someone on the lowest class. We get to see how people who wasn't wealthy lived every single day of their lives, their struggles and everyday problems. And I adored this because the book was so well written I just felt transported to another time, a time where no matter what you did or how hard you tried to overcome yourself it would never happened because you had to be born fortunate. Books like this help us see how things were in the past, why so many people fought and dyed to change things and make them better. I guess it helps us to appreciate the things we have now more genuinely.
This story reminded me of Anastasia. and don't get me wrong, I just LOVE that story. Oh Ally, thank you! Thank you so much for this magnificent recommendation.
The Heroine
In this book you'll find a factory girl as a heroine. Yes, a low-class working girl in a time when only money and blood would give you power and wealth. While she grew up on the lowest of the English neighborhoods, she never gave up and sold herself for money. She always worked hard and tried to get the best of every situation, praising pride before everything. She may have little in the world, but she would never surrender. Despite this, everything changed once she discovered she was the part of the noble world. She had been stolen form her home by a resentful servant while she was very young to realize what was going on, and by some crazy and wild turn of the events she discovered she was the missing heiress of one of the most wealthy families on England.
The secret about the plot
This was what I loved the most about this book. It was just 100% different form the rest of the books I have read in this genre. While we still get to read about the rich and wealthy, we get a huge POV form someone on the lowest class. We get to see how people who wasn't wealthy lived every single day of their lives, their struggles and everyday problems. And I adored this because the book was so well written I just felt transported to another time, a time where no matter what you did or how hard you tried to overcome yourself it would never happened because you had to be born fortunate. Books like this help us see how things were in the past, why so many people fought and dyed to change things and make them better. I guess it helps us to appreciate the things we have now more genuinely.
This story reminded me of Anastasia. and don't get me wrong, I just LOVE that story. Oh Ally, thank you! Thank you so much for this magnificent recommendation.
July 3, 2011
Ι felt like this book had a lot of potential. The hero was interesting, the premise highly original and intriguing: A factory girl turned heiress is struggling to adjust from the gritty brutality of working-class London to the haughty glamour of the ton, all under the supervision of a seductive, clever aristocrat bent on marrying her. Sounds cool right? I thought so. But in the end, it all revolves around the heroine. The untrusting, obstinate, ungrateful, hypocritical,judgemental heroine.
Now I confess, judgemental people are a major pet peeve of mine in real life. I believe the world would have a lot less problems to deal with if people weren't so intolerant and learned to be more open. So I'm guessing that characteristic of the heroine grated on me considerably more than it affected other readers.
Anyway, I realise that her lack of trust and general rudeness was due to her brutal, cold upbringing in the worst part of London, with a lunatic of a mother and an abusive stepbrother. But there's no excuse for that behavior all through the frickin' book. She continuously resents and dismisses the people of her new world, despite not knowing a thing about them. When these people prove her convictions wrong (frequently, and especially the hero), she ignores it. She insults and looks down on the servants, too, just because they work for the high class.
The hero is amazing to her. And not one moment passes where she doesn't doubt him. Even when she starts warming to him, and recognizes that he's different, she still has emo moments where she goes: "He'll never understand me.He has never begged for food." If that was true, and she really wished for him to understand, she'd talk to him about her life. Obviously he'll not understand if you hide behind your discriminating thoughts, you self-righteous idiot. Apparently, in her mind, because he's rich, he'll never comprehend true unhappiness. She treats the whole ton as mindless, good-for-nothing bores on the same principle. And all the while the author tries to pass her off as intelligent by giving her clever banter and feisty declarations of individuality. But honestly, tell me, how can a person who puts a label on an entire group of people be anything but stupid?
I guess Duran was trying to mock the aristocracy's obvious rigidity and snobbery through the fresh perspective of the heroine. The effort was wasted, in my opinion, as instead of a biting social commentary, we get what comes out as bitter resentfulness.
I also think that the relationship could have been made more interesting. It starts out as lust, with a few glimmers of a real connection, which are met with denial from the heroine. By the end, a loving relationship is formed, but the how and where it was founded still puzzles me.
Also, we never do get much far in the psychological portrait of the hero, which is a damn shame, since there was a lot of emotional history there. Musicians make a fascinating kind of hero. This bothered me perhaps because I had previously read More Than a Mistress which delved into the artist's soul. So more unrealised potential in that way.
All in all, the writing was good and very realistic, the heroine insufferable, the hero and the story unsatisfyingly handled.
Now I confess, judgemental people are a major pet peeve of mine in real life. I believe the world would have a lot less problems to deal with if people weren't so intolerant and learned to be more open. So I'm guessing that characteristic of the heroine grated on me considerably more than it affected other readers.
Anyway, I realise that her lack of trust and general rudeness was due to her brutal, cold upbringing in the worst part of London, with a lunatic of a mother and an abusive stepbrother. But there's no excuse for that behavior all through the frickin' book. She continuously resents and dismisses the people of her new world, despite not knowing a thing about them. When these people prove her convictions wrong (frequently, and especially the hero), she ignores it. She insults and looks down on the servants, too, just because they work for the high class.
The hero is amazing to her. And not one moment passes where she doesn't doubt him. Even when she starts warming to him, and recognizes that he's different, she still has emo moments where she goes: "He'll never understand me.He has never begged for food." If that was true, and she really wished for him to understand, she'd talk to him about her life. Obviously he'll not understand if you hide behind your discriminating thoughts, you self-righteous idiot. Apparently, in her mind, because he's rich, he'll never comprehend true unhappiness. She treats the whole ton as mindless, good-for-nothing bores on the same principle. And all the while the author tries to pass her off as intelligent by giving her clever banter and feisty declarations of individuality. But honestly, tell me, how can a person who puts a label on an entire group of people be anything but stupid?
I guess Duran was trying to mock the aristocracy's obvious rigidity and snobbery through the fresh perspective of the heroine. The effort was wasted, in my opinion, as instead of a biting social commentary, we get what comes out as bitter resentfulness.
I also think that the relationship could have been made more interesting. It starts out as lust, with a few glimmers of a real connection, which are met with denial from the heroine. By the end, a loving relationship is formed, but the how and where it was founded still puzzles me.
Also, we never do get much far in the psychological portrait of the hero, which is a damn shame, since there was a lot of emotional history there. Musicians make a fascinating kind of hero. This bothered me perhaps because I had previously read More Than a Mistress which delved into the artist's soul. So more unrealised potential in that way.
All in all, the writing was good and very realistic, the heroine insufferable, the hero and the story unsatisfyingly handled.
February 11, 2017
(4.5 stars)
Have been reading and reviewing so much, I'm a little reviewed-out, so don't know if I will come back to write a full one. Basically, it was really good. I wasn't sure how it would be, since the plot seemed a little used and contrived, but it ended up working very well.
Duran was very realistic in her portrayals and depictions, and one knows she did research on in order to stay true to what life would have been like for Nell. Oftentimes in romance, if a main character is living in poverty at any point it's somewhat (if not very) romanticized. Reminded me of Judith Ivory's The Proposition , which is another romance that does a great job with this.
The main characters are excellently written, which is what I have come to expect from Duran. She writes very unique, three-dimensional, and compelling leading people each and every time; this book is no exception. What is interesting is that I actually disliked the heroine and didn't really have a feel for the hero for the first section of the book; I had huge doubts about whether or not the book would end up working for me, since I really wasn't feeling any connection. Oddly enough, I think in some way this made the experience better, because it allowed me to fall in love with Nell and Simon right alongside them falling in love with another. It made me that more invested in them and in their relationship.
Nell was a very, very strong heroine; tough as one would expect who grew up as she did, but also vulnerable, sensitive, and affectionate. I loved, LOVED Simon and I think he really grew through his relationship with Nell. He was definitely indifferent and somewhat uncaring at the beginning, but he becomes so much more passionate, aware, and sensitive as the story goes on. Fantastic hero and definitely ended up being one of my favs.
One of the other reservations I had regarding the plot was that I wasn't looking forward to a society-based book, where the whole thing would be about trying to prove Nell is a society girl and have her integrate with that fake and glittering world. This did not prove to be the case though, with the majority of the story actually taking place in Simon's home though, as they teach Nell all the things that as a society miss she should know. I liked this because the book was then able to focus on them getting to know one another and their developing relationship.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, but so often authors have the last obstacle / problem be of the hero's making and then he has to go and prove himself to the heroine. Which is why I absolutely love it when that's turned around and it's the heroine who takes that role. That was the case here and I commend Duran for doing it. Really accurately portrayed the difficulties in their relationship and stayed true to both characters.
Finally, I greatly appreciated that while there could have been some extreme cases of Big Misunderstandings or Things Left Unsaid, they were avoided. When authors try to keep a secret from the reader about one of the main characters, they either do a fantastic job or it's a dismal failure; Duran didn't even attempt that here and we are introduced to Nell's history as she learns it, which is another thing I appreciated. One of the "bad guys" was a little over-the-top for me in his characterization, but not a huge deal - didn't keep me up nights.
So that's that. Read and enjoy!
P.S. And as usual, 2-3 sentences turned into an actual review. Note though, that while this is a normal length review for regular people, my reviews are usually obscenely and ridiculously long, so for me it is proof that I'm somewhat reviewed out, lol ;-).
{ Favorite Quotes }
There were some great passages, especially involving Nell's humor and Simon's sarcasm or sweetness, but I enjoyed the book too much to stop and take not every time. Some I did love though:
{ Recommendations }
Based on plot or character similarities:
* The Proposition by Judith Ivory (5 stars)
* Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas (5 stars)
* Seven Secrets of Seduction by Anne Mallory (4.5 stars)
* Surrender to the Devil by Lorraine Heath (4.5 stars)
* Never a Lady by Barbara Dawson Smith (4 stars)
* Her Notorious Viscount by Jenna Petersen (4 stars)
* Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas (4 stars)
* Midnight Pleasures With a Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath (4 stars)
* Lady of Desire by Gaelen Foley (was okay)
Have been reading and reviewing so much, I'm a little reviewed-out, so don't know if I will come back to write a full one. Basically, it was really good. I wasn't sure how it would be, since the plot seemed a little used and contrived, but it ended up working very well.
Duran was very realistic in her portrayals and depictions, and one knows she did research on in order to stay true to what life would have been like for Nell. Oftentimes in romance, if a main character is living in poverty at any point it's somewhat (if not very) romanticized. Reminded me of Judith Ivory's The Proposition , which is another romance that does a great job with this.
The main characters are excellently written, which is what I have come to expect from Duran. She writes very unique, three-dimensional, and compelling leading people each and every time; this book is no exception. What is interesting is that I actually disliked the heroine and didn't really have a feel for the hero for the first section of the book; I had huge doubts about whether or not the book would end up working for me, since I really wasn't feeling any connection. Oddly enough, I think in some way this made the experience better, because it allowed me to fall in love with Nell and Simon right alongside them falling in love with another. It made me that more invested in them and in their relationship.
Nell was a very, very strong heroine; tough as one would expect who grew up as she did, but also vulnerable, sensitive, and affectionate. I loved, LOVED Simon and I think he really grew through his relationship with Nell. He was definitely indifferent and somewhat uncaring at the beginning, but he becomes so much more passionate, aware, and sensitive as the story goes on. Fantastic hero and definitely ended up being one of my favs.
One of the other reservations I had regarding the plot was that I wasn't looking forward to a society-based book, where the whole thing would be about trying to prove Nell is a society girl and have her integrate with that fake and glittering world. This did not prove to be the case though, with the majority of the story actually taking place in Simon's home though, as they teach Nell all the things that as a society miss she should know. I liked this because the book was then able to focus on them getting to know one another and their developing relationship.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, but so often authors have the last obstacle / problem be of the hero's making and then he has to go and prove himself to the heroine. Which is why I absolutely love it when that's turned around and it's the heroine who takes that role. That was the case here and I commend Duran for doing it. Really accurately portrayed the difficulties in their relationship and stayed true to both characters.
Finally, I greatly appreciated that while there could have been some extreme cases of Big Misunderstandings or Things Left Unsaid, they were avoided. When authors try to keep a secret from the reader about one of the main characters, they either do a fantastic job or it's a dismal failure; Duran didn't even attempt that here and we are introduced to Nell's history as she learns it, which is another thing I appreciated. One of the "bad guys" was a little over-the-top for me in his characterization, but not a huge deal - didn't keep me up nights.
So that's that. Read and enjoy!
P.S. And as usual, 2-3 sentences turned into an actual review. Note though, that while this is a normal length review for regular people, my reviews are usually obscenely and ridiculously long, so for me it is proof that I'm somewhat reviewed out, lol ;-).
{ Favorite Quotes }
There were some great passages, especially involving Nell's humor and Simon's sarcasm or sweetness, but I enjoyed the book too much to stop and take not every time. Some I did love though:
He smiled at her: he simply couldn't help himself. He was so glad she'd wandered into his house to kill him. (p108)
"You interest me," he said, and his tone suggested this fact itself surprised him, meant something more to him than perhaps it should: a man surprised by being interested was living a piss-poor facsimile of life, in her view. (p137)
Etiquette teacher: "'When in doubt, whenever possible, one uses a fork. The spoon is somewhat vulgar, the knife definitely so."
Nell: Then what in bloody hell was it doing on the table? (p197)
His smile faded a little, growing softer, more intimate, like the look he'd showed her in bed this morning. "You haven't learned yet when to lie." Slowly, as if the words were being dragged from him, he added: "I confess, Nell, I hope you never learn." She found herself staring at him. Unsteadying thought: there was something hot in his eyes that wasn't purely want. It was too tender, too ... affectionate. (p271)
{ Recommendations }
Based on plot or character similarities:
* The Proposition by Judith Ivory (5 stars)
* Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas (5 stars)
* Seven Secrets of Seduction by Anne Mallory (4.5 stars)
* Surrender to the Devil by Lorraine Heath (4.5 stars)
* Never a Lady by Barbara Dawson Smith (4 stars)
* Her Notorious Viscount by Jenna Petersen (4 stars)
* Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas (4 stars)
* Midnight Pleasures With a Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath (4 stars)
* Lady of Desire by Gaelen Foley (was okay)
March 23, 2017
If My Fair Lady Had A Baby With Pretty Woman
Meredith Duran Writes A Slow Build Using All Of Your Senses
You Feel The Chemistry And The Sexual Tension
The Characters Become Real
You Hold Your Breath When They Do
You Taste And Smell The Food
Feel The Touch And See The Subtle Nuances
"Now, when he sat at the piano, he did not play music for the company the notes provided him. He played the music so she might hear it, and come a little closer to him as she listened."
Hero Simon
“He’s a looker,” Hannah murmured. She was eyeing Nell queerly. “Do you like him, then? Would you want to be marrying him?” Nell leaned back. The leather seat felt like a warm, steady hand against her back, holding her up as all the butterflies came back to life in her stomach. “He’s . . . clever,” she said. “Slippery.” More than that, of course. Sorcerer’s eyes, the devil’s mouth. Smiles that came and went like quicksilver."
“Then a simple kiss should be all right with you, sterile as it is.” She opened her mouth and found herself speechless. “You’ve a twisty way with words,” she said at last. He grinned. “I think I’ll insist,” he said, and came toward her again, only this time he slid off his chair onto his knees in front of her, and his hand pushed into her hair as he brought his lips back to hers."
Heroine Nell
"I’m the factory girl, and you’re the lord."
"Uncreative schoolboys might dream of orgies featuring nuns, but the truly precocious dreamed of a woman like this: bohemian and endlessly surprising. Self-possessed and quick-witted enough to keep any man on his toes."
Rags To Riches Social Class
“These rules have no logic to them,” St. Maur said. “Were they logical, anyone might deduce them, and then how could we know whom to invite to our parties, and whom to shun."
“I’ll never belong to your world.” She spoke carefully, with all the honesty she could offer. “Even after twenty years, Simon. Or forty.” The memory of hunger would still be inside her. It would prevent her from taking good fortune for granted as he did. “But nobody belongs to that world, Nell. Nobody feels as if they belong, at any rate. They’re all watching each other—fearful of the laughter coming from across the room, wondering to themselves, are they the target? Are they the joke?”
Angsty But Worth It
Slow Burn
Meredith Duran Writes A Slow Build Using All Of Your Senses
You Feel The Chemistry And The Sexual Tension
The Characters Become Real
You Hold Your Breath When They Do
You Taste And Smell The Food
Feel The Touch And See The Subtle Nuances
"Now, when he sat at the piano, he did not play music for the company the notes provided him. He played the music so she might hear it, and come a little closer to him as she listened."
Hero Simon
“He’s a looker,” Hannah murmured. She was eyeing Nell queerly. “Do you like him, then? Would you want to be marrying him?” Nell leaned back. The leather seat felt like a warm, steady hand against her back, holding her up as all the butterflies came back to life in her stomach. “He’s . . . clever,” she said. “Slippery.” More than that, of course. Sorcerer’s eyes, the devil’s mouth. Smiles that came and went like quicksilver."
“Then a simple kiss should be all right with you, sterile as it is.” She opened her mouth and found herself speechless. “You’ve a twisty way with words,” she said at last. He grinned. “I think I’ll insist,” he said, and came toward her again, only this time he slid off his chair onto his knees in front of her, and his hand pushed into her hair as he brought his lips back to hers."
Heroine Nell
"I’m the factory girl, and you’re the lord."
"Uncreative schoolboys might dream of orgies featuring nuns, but the truly precocious dreamed of a woman like this: bohemian and endlessly surprising. Self-possessed and quick-witted enough to keep any man on his toes."
Rags To Riches Social Class
“These rules have no logic to them,” St. Maur said. “Were they logical, anyone might deduce them, and then how could we know whom to invite to our parties, and whom to shun."
“I’ll never belong to your world.” She spoke carefully, with all the honesty she could offer. “Even after twenty years, Simon. Or forty.” The memory of hunger would still be inside her. It would prevent her from taking good fortune for granted as he did. “But nobody belongs to that world, Nell. Nobody feels as if they belong, at any rate. They’re all watching each other—fearful of the laughter coming from across the room, wondering to themselves, are they the target? Are they the joke?”
Angsty But Worth It
Slow Burn
June 15, 2016
4.5 stars rounded up My June read for the TBR Challenge.
This month’s theme of Favourite Trope was easy. Or rather, picking the trope was easy; I needed to do a bit of searching around for a book featuring it I haven’t read yet! There are few tropes I actively dislike, but I’m a sucker for a good marriage of convenience story. I love the idea of two people who don’t or who hardly know each other being put into a situation of enforced proximity and intimacy and watching them as they come to know and understand each other and to fall in love. It’s a trope that works especially well in historicals, and my enduring love for it is no doubt partly attributable to the fact that the first historical romance I remember reading is Julia Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me which makes excellent use of the compromised-into-marriage plotline.
I’ve read a lot of MoC stories since then, and had to wonder if I had any left on my TBR pile! I went scurrying to AAR’s Special Title Listings for inspiration and came up with Meredith Duran’s A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal. I’m a big fan of this author, and as I’ve said before, I save her books for when I want to read something I KNOW will be good, so this seemed a good time to finally read it.
Nell Whitby works in an East End cigar factory and lives with her invalid mother in a tiny hovel in Bethnal Green. It’s a tough life and a hand-to-mouth existence; and making things worse, her abusive step-brother is drinking away the money that could pay for her mother’s medicine and keeps suggesting that Nell starts making money on her back to pay for it. With her dying breaths, her mother tells Nell that she must get in touch with her father – her real father – the Earl of Rushden, and raves about having stolen her in order to save part of him and to save Nell.
Homeless and grieving for her loss, Nell decides she’ll do more than contact the Earl of Rushden, whom she believes must have got her mother pregnant and then thrown her out. She breaks into his bedroom late one night intent on murder – only to discover that the earl died some months earlier. The new earl, Simon St. Maur, is a very distant relation of the previous one; he’s also a lot younger, handsome as hell and twice as hot. But while he has inherited the Rushden estates and title, Simon is pockets to let, the old earl having disliked him so intensely that he left his two million pound fortune to his twin daughters and his estates to Simon without leaving him the means to run them.
Most believed Rushden to be mad, bequeathing half his fortune to a girl long thought dead. Over the years, there have been a number of imposters claiming to be Lady Cornelia Aubyn, but after years of searching, the daughter who had been kidnapped as a young child was never found. Yet now, incredibly, here she is, a golden opportunity if ever Simon saw one. He recognises Nell immediately and realises they can help each other; by marrying her, he will gain access to half the late earl’s fortune, and at the same time, he can restore her to her proper place in society. The fact that she’s an uncouth guttersnipe doesn’t really deter him; she’s got spirit and intelligence, and will easily be able to learn how to behave properly in society. Besides, the marriage can be annulled later; they’ll reach a financial settlement and go their separate ways, both of them much better off than they started out.
Not surprisingly, Nell thinks Simon is talking out of his arse when he tells her who she really is. Having been brought up in the slums and with no expectations of ever having anything better, she agrees to go along with Simon’s scheme simply in order to placate him even as she is pricing up the silver and stashing away small items she thinks to sell when she runs off. But there are small things niggling at the back of her mind; the familiarity of a picture, for instance, and the fact that she really does look very much like Lady Katharine, her supposed twin – that sew enough seeds of doubt in Nell’s mind as to make her start to believe that perhaps she really is the missing heiress. Then there’s her growing attraction to Simon, who, she quickly realises, is very far from being the sort of brainless, selfish product of his class she assumes all aristocrats to be.
This is very much a character-driven story, and Ms. Duran has created a couple of very attractive, multi-layered protagonists in Nell and Simon. At first glance, Simon seems to be a bit stereotypical – handsome and titled, but broke and needing to marry money. And it’s true – he is and he does - but he’s much more than that, which makes him all the more appealing. Like Nell, he has been hardened by his upbringing albeit in a different way, his harsh, cynical outlook on life concealing deeply buried vulnerabilities. He is a gifted musician and pianist, but because it wasn’t the done thing for a gentleman to excel in artistic pursuits, his family belittled his talent and wanted him to suppress it. Now, however, he is one of the foremost patrons of the arts in England, and the man all of society looks to in matters of artistic taste - To disagree with the Earl of Rushden’s artistic opinions was to risk being thought a bumpkin. Yet he is as trapped by his circumstances as Nell is by hers.
Nell is understandably prickly and quick to mistrust. Her life has been a difficult one and I completely understood her reluctance to believe Simon straight away, even though it would mean escape from her old life into a life of continued luxury. She keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop, for things to go wrong and makes her plans accordingly. It’s not until some way into the book that she finally accepts that she really is Lady Cornelia and agrees to undergo the training she will need to make her fit for society. Even then, however, she fights it, denouncing all the various conventions and social mores as hypocrisy - The rules here were rotten. The quick-fire verbal exchanges between Nell and Simon are superbly constructed, showing their matched wit and their equality of mind while also highlighting the very great social gulf between them.
Watching these two wary, naturally suspicious people move around each other in ever decreasing circles is an absolute delight. The romance is extremely well-developed as the initial spark of attraction between the couple gradually strengthens and deepens into love, and the sexual chemistry between them is utterly delicious and leaps off the page. Both characters are changed by their relationship, Simon especially, as he comes to see and understand the depth of the privation faced by so many people day after day; and Nell learns to stop expecting the worst all the time and to see herself as a woman whose background doesn’t mean she is unworthy of happiness and love. Ms Duran doesn’t sugar-coat the life Nell has lived, the squalor and the degradation and the way it has shaped her, or ignore the fact that, in spite of her noble birth, Nell is never really going to be fully accepted in society and will be forever “between classes”.
But what gives the reader confidence for their future is that both of them are well aware of the difficulties they are likely to face and are prepared to face them together.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I’m sure it’s one I’ll revisit, but it isn’t without its problems. Well into the second half, Nell has a massive over-reaction to something she overhears and then refuses to believe the truth about it; and there’s a nefarious plot by those who are intent on keeping the old earl’s money for themselves which crosses the line into melodrama. But otherwise, A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is a beautifully written and intense love story with complex, flawed characters who may not always be likeable but whose motivations are clear and understandable. Their continual reappraising of each other through words and actions is masterfully done, and I was pleased that Nell ends the book as essentially the same fiercely intelligent, strong woman she started out as, but has finally learned to trust in her happiness with the man she loves. I can’t do anything other than but the book on my Keeper shelf.
This month’s theme of Favourite Trope was easy. Or rather, picking the trope was easy; I needed to do a bit of searching around for a book featuring it I haven’t read yet! There are few tropes I actively dislike, but I’m a sucker for a good marriage of convenience story. I love the idea of two people who don’t or who hardly know each other being put into a situation of enforced proximity and intimacy and watching them as they come to know and understand each other and to fall in love. It’s a trope that works especially well in historicals, and my enduring love for it is no doubt partly attributable to the fact that the first historical romance I remember reading is Julia Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me which makes excellent use of the compromised-into-marriage plotline.
I’ve read a lot of MoC stories since then, and had to wonder if I had any left on my TBR pile! I went scurrying to AAR’s Special Title Listings for inspiration and came up with Meredith Duran’s A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal. I’m a big fan of this author, and as I’ve said before, I save her books for when I want to read something I KNOW will be good, so this seemed a good time to finally read it.
Nell Whitby works in an East End cigar factory and lives with her invalid mother in a tiny hovel in Bethnal Green. It’s a tough life and a hand-to-mouth existence; and making things worse, her abusive step-brother is drinking away the money that could pay for her mother’s medicine and keeps suggesting that Nell starts making money on her back to pay for it. With her dying breaths, her mother tells Nell that she must get in touch with her father – her real father – the Earl of Rushden, and raves about having stolen her in order to save part of him and to save Nell.
Homeless and grieving for her loss, Nell decides she’ll do more than contact the Earl of Rushden, whom she believes must have got her mother pregnant and then thrown her out. She breaks into his bedroom late one night intent on murder – only to discover that the earl died some months earlier. The new earl, Simon St. Maur, is a very distant relation of the previous one; he’s also a lot younger, handsome as hell and twice as hot. But while he has inherited the Rushden estates and title, Simon is pockets to let, the old earl having disliked him so intensely that he left his two million pound fortune to his twin daughters and his estates to Simon without leaving him the means to run them.
Most believed Rushden to be mad, bequeathing half his fortune to a girl long thought dead. Over the years, there have been a number of imposters claiming to be Lady Cornelia Aubyn, but after years of searching, the daughter who had been kidnapped as a young child was never found. Yet now, incredibly, here she is, a golden opportunity if ever Simon saw one. He recognises Nell immediately and realises they can help each other; by marrying her, he will gain access to half the late earl’s fortune, and at the same time, he can restore her to her proper place in society. The fact that she’s an uncouth guttersnipe doesn’t really deter him; she’s got spirit and intelligence, and will easily be able to learn how to behave properly in society. Besides, the marriage can be annulled later; they’ll reach a financial settlement and go their separate ways, both of them much better off than they started out.
Not surprisingly, Nell thinks Simon is talking out of his arse when he tells her who she really is. Having been brought up in the slums and with no expectations of ever having anything better, she agrees to go along with Simon’s scheme simply in order to placate him even as she is pricing up the silver and stashing away small items she thinks to sell when she runs off. But there are small things niggling at the back of her mind; the familiarity of a picture, for instance, and the fact that she really does look very much like Lady Katharine, her supposed twin – that sew enough seeds of doubt in Nell’s mind as to make her start to believe that perhaps she really is the missing heiress. Then there’s her growing attraction to Simon, who, she quickly realises, is very far from being the sort of brainless, selfish product of his class she assumes all aristocrats to be.
This is very much a character-driven story, and Ms. Duran has created a couple of very attractive, multi-layered protagonists in Nell and Simon. At first glance, Simon seems to be a bit stereotypical – handsome and titled, but broke and needing to marry money. And it’s true – he is and he does - but he’s much more than that, which makes him all the more appealing. Like Nell, he has been hardened by his upbringing albeit in a different way, his harsh, cynical outlook on life concealing deeply buried vulnerabilities. He is a gifted musician and pianist, but because it wasn’t the done thing for a gentleman to excel in artistic pursuits, his family belittled his talent and wanted him to suppress it. Now, however, he is one of the foremost patrons of the arts in England, and the man all of society looks to in matters of artistic taste - To disagree with the Earl of Rushden’s artistic opinions was to risk being thought a bumpkin. Yet he is as trapped by his circumstances as Nell is by hers.
Nell is understandably prickly and quick to mistrust. Her life has been a difficult one and I completely understood her reluctance to believe Simon straight away, even though it would mean escape from her old life into a life of continued luxury. She keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop, for things to go wrong and makes her plans accordingly. It’s not until some way into the book that she finally accepts that she really is Lady Cornelia and agrees to undergo the training she will need to make her fit for society. Even then, however, she fights it, denouncing all the various conventions and social mores as hypocrisy - The rules here were rotten. The quick-fire verbal exchanges between Nell and Simon are superbly constructed, showing their matched wit and their equality of mind while also highlighting the very great social gulf between them.
Until coming here, until learning what it meant to be privileged, she’d not understood how far down St. Maur’s kind had to look in order to see hers. But here, in his own words, was the philosophy that made his lot comfortable with never bothering to look down at all.
“Money’s no virtue. It shouldn’t be an end in itself.” She gave a dry little laugh. “And neither should pleasure. If you knew any gin addicts, you’d realise that.”
Watching these two wary, naturally suspicious people move around each other in ever decreasing circles is an absolute delight. The romance is extremely well-developed as the initial spark of attraction between the couple gradually strengthens and deepens into love, and the sexual chemistry between them is utterly delicious and leaps off the page. Both characters are changed by their relationship, Simon especially, as he comes to see and understand the depth of the privation faced by so many people day after day; and Nell learns to stop expecting the worst all the time and to see herself as a woman whose background doesn’t mean she is unworthy of happiness and love. Ms Duran doesn’t sugar-coat the life Nell has lived, the squalor and the degradation and the way it has shaped her, or ignore the fact that, in spite of her noble birth, Nell is never really going to be fully accepted in society and will be forever “between classes”.
Loving him would not be easy. It would mean never again completely belonging anywhere – save with him. But she would belong with him. He would be her home, she thought.
But what gives the reader confidence for their future is that both of them are well aware of the difficulties they are likely to face and are prepared to face them together.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I’m sure it’s one I’ll revisit, but it isn’t without its problems. Well into the second half, Nell has a massive over-reaction to something she overhears and then refuses to believe the truth about it; and there’s a nefarious plot by those who are intent on keeping the old earl’s money for themselves which crosses the line into melodrama. But otherwise, A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is a beautifully written and intense love story with complex, flawed characters who may not always be likeable but whose motivations are clear and understandable. Their continual reappraising of each other through words and actions is masterfully done, and I was pleased that Nell ends the book as essentially the same fiercely intelligent, strong woman she started out as, but has finally learned to trust in her happiness with the man she loves. I can’t do anything other than but the book on my Keeper shelf.
August 5, 2021
3.5 stars
The story starts out like so many other rags to riches stories. I expected to be bored with the same lessons on how to be a lady as other books. I should have remembered that Meredith Duran rarely disappoints. She created MC that were likable and very relatable. It was nice to watch their romance develop.
All in all, The book was well written and even though some parts were predictable, I still enjoyed the journey.
A very fun read!
The story starts out like so many other rags to riches stories. I expected to be bored with the same lessons on how to be a lady as other books. I should have remembered that Meredith Duran rarely disappoints. She created MC that were likable and very relatable. It was nice to watch their romance develop.
All in all, The book was well written and even though some parts were predictable, I still enjoyed the journey.
A very fun read!
March 10, 2024
I’ve read hundreds of historical romance novels by now, and while plenty address class difference, none of them dissect it as precisely as Meredith Duran in A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal.
Nell is a desperately poor factory worker whose mother is dying and whose stepbrother is an irredeemable arse. Simon is an earl and poor, too—but in true aristocratic style, he still lives a life of luxury (on credit, of course). When he discovers she might be the long-lost daughter of the previous earl, he hatches a scheme to help her get her hands on her half of the inheritance, and of course reward himself, too. The other half of the money belongs to Nell’s twin sister (OR IS SHE). He recruits her and starts to try to transform her into a lady, Pygmalion-style, which puts them in close proximity, which is handy for him because he is an UTTER HORNDOG for her.
This is such a great examination of what’s behind all the dukes we read about — showing in living color how they use power and privilege without even thinking about it. Nell literally knows the value, in terms of food, of every item in his house: a candlestick, a doily, a spoon. Simon doesn’t even notice them. It is wonderful watching him open his eyes to his immense privilege.
It takes a lot to convince Nell that he’s a good person, though. She was pretty harsh on him, and on herself, for most of the book, and that was occasionally wearying. But overall I loved her, for her bluntness and cleverness and the fact that she was just as horny for Simon as he was for her.
I probably don’t have to say it, but Duran’s writing is exquisite throughout. Absolutely in the top five romance authors in terms of the craft.
So why not five stars? The ending. I won’t spoil it, but there was an external force that came on the scene and helped to wrap things up too easily. So much of this book is incredibly intimate; it’s character driven, and I wanted the resolution to be intimate and character driven too. It felt like one of those Sherry Thomases where you can tell she just couldn’t anymore and tied a bow on it.
But a beautiful story anyway, and Simon is 🥵🥵🥵🥵, to end on a note of sophistication.
Nell is a desperately poor factory worker whose mother is dying and whose stepbrother is an irredeemable arse. Simon is an earl and poor, too—but in true aristocratic style, he still lives a life of luxury (on credit, of course). When he discovers she might be the long-lost daughter of the previous earl, he hatches a scheme to help her get her hands on her half of the inheritance, and of course reward himself, too. The other half of the money belongs to Nell’s twin sister (OR IS SHE). He recruits her and starts to try to transform her into a lady, Pygmalion-style, which puts them in close proximity, which is handy for him because he is an UTTER HORNDOG for her.
This is such a great examination of what’s behind all the dukes we read about — showing in living color how they use power and privilege without even thinking about it. Nell literally knows the value, in terms of food, of every item in his house: a candlestick, a doily, a spoon. Simon doesn’t even notice them. It is wonderful watching him open his eyes to his immense privilege.
It takes a lot to convince Nell that he’s a good person, though. She was pretty harsh on him, and on herself, for most of the book, and that was occasionally wearying. But overall I loved her, for her bluntness and cleverness and the fact that she was just as horny for Simon as he was for her.
I probably don’t have to say it, but Duran’s writing is exquisite throughout. Absolutely in the top five romance authors in terms of the craft.
So why not five stars? The ending. I won’t spoil it, but there was an external force that came on the scene and helped to wrap things up too easily. So much of this book is incredibly intimate; it’s character driven, and I wanted the resolution to be intimate and character driven too. It felt like one of those Sherry Thomases where you can tell she just couldn’t anymore and tied a bow on it.
But a beautiful story anyway, and Simon is 🥵🥵🥵🥵, to end on a note of sophistication.
June 8, 2017
This book could easily have been another Pygmalion story but it was so, so much more.
Without getting too much into the plot, let me just say this. Meredith Duran is one of those authors I savour because she's one the best when it comes to writing style and character development. They are intense, to say the least.
There's Nell Whitby, a young woman grown up in London's slums who turns out to be the long lost, or rather long ago abducted, daughter of a nobleman. She was so young, she can barely remember it and only knows the hardships of the poor.
On the other side, we have Simon, newly entitled but poor, who upon seeing her, realises that Nell might be the missing heiress. Almost penniless himself, he needs to woo her into marriage and convince the courts that she's the former Earl of Rushden's daughter. Nell and Simon struck a bargain: convince the courts and share the money.
What I love about Duran's characters is that they're always a little morally ambiguous (very much like Sherry Thomas characters, by the way). Life has shaped them, and they're never cardboard romance characters, not automatically likable, you grow into liking them. They're layered and with each layer uncovered, we get to see their reasons and their motivations.
Nell is a wonderful character. We watch her transformation from a hardened East End factory girl to the daughter of an Earl not as girl's miracle come true. Duran shows us what it means to be confronted with the wealth the upper class lives in. Nell is fascinated just as much as she is appalled, knowing what it means to beg for money. It's painful to watch because Nell never forgets where she comes from, never lets go of her identity. She may have been wronged by the woman who abducted her, a former nurse, but she came to know this woman as her mother and her love persists even when she becomes aware that she was the one who stole Nell away from her real family. She finds it difficult to adjust to the strict rules and regulations that women of the aristocracy have to live by.
Our hero, Simon, inherited the title from Nell's father, who had become embittered and took it out on Simon. Simon had to grow up in this loveless house with only Nell's mother showing that little bit of comfort and understanding, but never enough for Simon to feel home. When he encounters Nell, he can't be sure she truly is the long lost daughter. And so begins his dilemma. He desperately needs the money, but he may end up marrying the wrong woman.
Duran's chracterisation is unique. We watch two deeply suspicious people with the same goal but they can't help feeling attracted to each other and slowly fall in love. The subplot with Nell's twin sister and her evil adviser/fiance tests the feelings that Nell and Simon have developed. There are many occasions where Duran could have built a Big Misunderstanding or We Simply Don't Talk When It's Needed trope into her story but she avoids those masterfully. Instead we are being presented with sharp dialogues in which our MC's have to face uncomfortable truths regarding their character flaws.
The question in the end is whether these two can find a space despite their completely different background and Duran's writing convinces me that they can. The end is particularly moving.
Without getting too much into the plot, let me just say this. Meredith Duran is one of those authors I savour because she's one the best when it comes to writing style and character development. They are intense, to say the least.
There's Nell Whitby, a young woman grown up in London's slums who turns out to be the long lost, or rather long ago abducted, daughter of a nobleman. She was so young, she can barely remember it and only knows the hardships of the poor.
On the other side, we have Simon, newly entitled but poor, who upon seeing her, realises that Nell might be the missing heiress. Almost penniless himself, he needs to woo her into marriage and convince the courts that she's the former Earl of Rushden's daughter. Nell and Simon struck a bargain: convince the courts and share the money.
What I love about Duran's characters is that they're always a little morally ambiguous (very much like Sherry Thomas characters, by the way). Life has shaped them, and they're never cardboard romance characters, not automatically likable, you grow into liking them. They're layered and with each layer uncovered, we get to see their reasons and their motivations.
Nell is a wonderful character. We watch her transformation from a hardened East End factory girl to the daughter of an Earl not as girl's miracle come true. Duran shows us what it means to be confronted with the wealth the upper class lives in. Nell is fascinated just as much as she is appalled, knowing what it means to beg for money. It's painful to watch because Nell never forgets where she comes from, never lets go of her identity. She may have been wronged by the woman who abducted her, a former nurse, but she came to know this woman as her mother and her love persists even when she becomes aware that she was the one who stole Nell away from her real family. She finds it difficult to adjust to the strict rules and regulations that women of the aristocracy have to live by.
Our hero, Simon, inherited the title from Nell's father, who had become embittered and took it out on Simon. Simon had to grow up in this loveless house with only Nell's mother showing that little bit of comfort and understanding, but never enough for Simon to feel home. When he encounters Nell, he can't be sure she truly is the long lost daughter. And so begins his dilemma. He desperately needs the money, but he may end up marrying the wrong woman.
Duran's chracterisation is unique. We watch two deeply suspicious people with the same goal but they can't help feeling attracted to each other and slowly fall in love. The subplot with Nell's twin sister and her evil adviser/fiance tests the feelings that Nell and Simon have developed. There are many occasions where Duran could have built a Big Misunderstanding or We Simply Don't Talk When It's Needed trope into her story but she avoids those masterfully. Instead we are being presented with sharp dialogues in which our MC's have to face uncomfortable truths regarding their character flaws.
The question in the end is whether these two can find a space despite their completely different background and Duran's writing convinces me that they can. The end is particularly moving.
March 24, 2021
This really was like watching Pretty Woman without the prostitution part.
This book would have been a 5 star rating to me if not for how annoyed I got with the heroine around 80% until the end.
She heard the lawyer say something to the hero and just flipped out. But I thought her reactions afterwards were out of proportion. If the hero had agreed with the lawyer, it would have been okay. But the hero said no right away, so...
This book would have been a 5 star rating to me if not for how annoyed I got with the heroine around 80% until the end.
She heard the lawyer say something to the hero and just flipped out. But I thought her reactions afterwards were out of proportion. If the hero had agreed with the lawyer, it would have been okay. But the hero said no right away, so...
August 29, 2021
Not my fav book by this author. It started off well enough, but it kinda lost steam as it went on, and towards the end I took a break before going back and finishing. Unfortunately I didn't really feel the chemistry between the two leads as much as I wanted to. Not a bad read, but not that great.
I read this for the August BOTM for the HRBC, 'Social Class Difference'.
I read this for the August BOTM for the HRBC, 'Social Class Difference'.
July 13, 2017
2nd read : 12-13 July 2017
3.5*
I liked the last 1/3 the most.
1st read: 5 May 2013
Why I DNF-ed it:
-it was boring
-didn't like either character
-the heroine was annoying in her feeling superior to everybody
-I couldn't feel the plot: long stolen daughter of a count by the crazy(might have been raped) wife's maid, found in her dead-father's bedroom trying to kill him. Too Disney mixed with Dickens for me.
-as I kept reading only one thought kept repeating: geeez, how much more till it ends?! I read the last chapter though and couldn't believe the author threw in more drama... sooooo much more.
I think my bulshit-meter is set on low this days...
3.5*
I liked the last 1/3 the most.
1st read: 5 May 2013
Why I DNF-ed it:
-it was boring
-didn't like either character
-the heroine was annoying in her feeling superior to everybody
-I couldn't feel the plot: long stolen daughter of a count by the crazy(might have been raped) wife's maid, found in her dead-father's bedroom trying to kill him. Too Disney mixed with Dickens for me.
-as I kept reading only one thought kept repeating: geeez, how much more till it ends?! I read the last chapter though and couldn't believe the author threw in more drama... sooooo much more.
I think my bulshit-meter is set on low this days...
July 11, 2011
One of the Historical romance authors I’ve come to count on for great writing is Meredith Duran. Every single one of her books have been winners for me, so much so that I’ve become a total fan girl of hers. Her words are pure poetry, where I gobble up each page as I read. Meredith’s latest, A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is her best book to date. She takes the classic Pygmalion story and makes it her own. If George Bernard still lived, I could see him praising A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal and telling his readers to go buy it.
A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal succeeds mainly because of the two main characters. This is very much a character driven novel. The heroine, Nell Whitby, is a factory girl who lives in Bethnel Green, the underbelly of London. Nell lives by her wits alone and wishes for a better life, although she knows she’ll never rise above her station. She has it rough, but then again, most of the residents of Bethnel Green have it the same. Nell lives with her dying mother and an abusive step brother. When Nell’s mother dies, she’ll be at the mercy of her stepbrother. As her mother weakens, she tells Nell that a Lord Rushden is really her father. She urges Nell to go see him after she dies. Nell thinks her mother is delusional because of her illness. But then again, Nell has seen Rushden’s daughter, Katherine, in a photograph in a print store. Katherine and she look exactly alike and it gets Nell to thinking.
Nell has no other choice to then confront Rushden (if she doesn’t, her stepbrother will force her into a life of prostitution). The resourceful girl Nell is, brings a gun and sneaks into Lord Rushden’s house. But the Lord Rushden she is looking for has died and in his place is the new Lord Rushden. Simon St. Maur has inherited the earldom but can’t touch any of the fortune thanks to the old Lord Rushden who hates Simon. When Nell holds him at gunpoint, naked, he’s humored by this slip of a girl with the gutter mouth. He eventually gets the upper hand, but won’t report her to the authorities. Instead he locks her in a bedroom. Things have turned for Simon because he quickly realizes that Nell, full name Cornelia, is the deceased Rushden’s missing daughter, the twin of Katherine. With a little smooth pushing and pulling from Simon, Nell tells him about her mother, who may have been Lord Rushden’s lover, and when he was finished with her, threw her away. For revenge she may have kidnapped the little Cornelia and was never seen again. Now in order for Simon to get everything he feels he deserves, he has to marry Nell, change her into a lady and prove to the courts and to Katherine she is the long lost Rushden heir.
Nell hates his plan. She doesn’t trust Simon. He’s too handsome, egotistical and born with a silver spoon in his mouth. She hates his ilk, the rich and privileged who have never gone hungry or begged for a simple coin. But Simon is honest and forthright and tells her that by marrying him, she can have anything she wants, beautiful clothes, money, food and him. Nell accepts because what else does she have? She also thinks she can use the money at her disposal to help old friends and buy the factory she worked at to create better conditions for the workers there. But her situation with Simon doesn’t sit right with her because it seems all too good to be true. Simon doesn’t understand why she can’t just be happy. She’s now living her dream and only has to change from the poor gutter rat she once was and become a lady of means with a husband she is slowly falling in love with, and coincidentally he with her.
Wow. Simply wow. I wanted to hug A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal and never let it go because it’s THAT good. Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn’t get any better than this. Meredith has created two well-rounded characters with Nell and Simon who are on equal footing right from the beginning. Both are sharp in the mind, but kind in the soul. Nell’s outlook on life may be bleak, but she continues to put one foot in front of the other and refuses to cower. Simon doesn’t treat her as less than a person. He admires her courage and her strong will. He falls in love with the person she is behind her blunt words and demeanor.
The two things that made this book a winner is the language and dialogue. I am simply amazing by how well Meredith wrote Nell’s cockney type accent. Every word from Nell’s mouth was intricately woven in such a way where I could hear it perfectly. Simon is honest with Nell from the moment he meets her and what he wants and expects from her. He comes across as this smooth talking, almost oily character, but we soon see he’s a victim of his situation much like Nell is. These two are perfect for one another and you want them to be happy together. Also their love scenes, as well as those nicer, tender ones where they talk have you anxious for more.
I can’t find one thing wrong with A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal. I’m was awestruck by this book and by Meredith who continually writes above par work. If there’s one book you must read this year, please, PLEASE read A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal.
A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal succeeds mainly because of the two main characters. This is very much a character driven novel. The heroine, Nell Whitby, is a factory girl who lives in Bethnel Green, the underbelly of London. Nell lives by her wits alone and wishes for a better life, although she knows she’ll never rise above her station. She has it rough, but then again, most of the residents of Bethnel Green have it the same. Nell lives with her dying mother and an abusive step brother. When Nell’s mother dies, she’ll be at the mercy of her stepbrother. As her mother weakens, she tells Nell that a Lord Rushden is really her father. She urges Nell to go see him after she dies. Nell thinks her mother is delusional because of her illness. But then again, Nell has seen Rushden’s daughter, Katherine, in a photograph in a print store. Katherine and she look exactly alike and it gets Nell to thinking.
Nell has no other choice to then confront Rushden (if she doesn’t, her stepbrother will force her into a life of prostitution). The resourceful girl Nell is, brings a gun and sneaks into Lord Rushden’s house. But the Lord Rushden she is looking for has died and in his place is the new Lord Rushden. Simon St. Maur has inherited the earldom but can’t touch any of the fortune thanks to the old Lord Rushden who hates Simon. When Nell holds him at gunpoint, naked, he’s humored by this slip of a girl with the gutter mouth. He eventually gets the upper hand, but won’t report her to the authorities. Instead he locks her in a bedroom. Things have turned for Simon because he quickly realizes that Nell, full name Cornelia, is the deceased Rushden’s missing daughter, the twin of Katherine. With a little smooth pushing and pulling from Simon, Nell tells him about her mother, who may have been Lord Rushden’s lover, and when he was finished with her, threw her away. For revenge she may have kidnapped the little Cornelia and was never seen again. Now in order for Simon to get everything he feels he deserves, he has to marry Nell, change her into a lady and prove to the courts and to Katherine she is the long lost Rushden heir.
Nell hates his plan. She doesn’t trust Simon. He’s too handsome, egotistical and born with a silver spoon in his mouth. She hates his ilk, the rich and privileged who have never gone hungry or begged for a simple coin. But Simon is honest and forthright and tells her that by marrying him, she can have anything she wants, beautiful clothes, money, food and him. Nell accepts because what else does she have? She also thinks she can use the money at her disposal to help old friends and buy the factory she worked at to create better conditions for the workers there. But her situation with Simon doesn’t sit right with her because it seems all too good to be true. Simon doesn’t understand why she can’t just be happy. She’s now living her dream and only has to change from the poor gutter rat she once was and become a lady of means with a husband she is slowly falling in love with, and coincidentally he with her.
Wow. Simply wow. I wanted to hug A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal and never let it go because it’s THAT good. Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn’t get any better than this. Meredith has created two well-rounded characters with Nell and Simon who are on equal footing right from the beginning. Both are sharp in the mind, but kind in the soul. Nell’s outlook on life may be bleak, but she continues to put one foot in front of the other and refuses to cower. Simon doesn’t treat her as less than a person. He admires her courage and her strong will. He falls in love with the person she is behind her blunt words and demeanor.
The two things that made this book a winner is the language and dialogue. I am simply amazing by how well Meredith wrote Nell’s cockney type accent. Every word from Nell’s mouth was intricately woven in such a way where I could hear it perfectly. Simon is honest with Nell from the moment he meets her and what he wants and expects from her. He comes across as this smooth talking, almost oily character, but we soon see he’s a victim of his situation much like Nell is. These two are perfect for one another and you want them to be happy together. Also their love scenes, as well as those nicer, tender ones where they talk have you anxious for more.
I can’t find one thing wrong with A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal. I’m was awestruck by this book and by Meredith who continually writes above par work. If there’s one book you must read this year, please, PLEASE read A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal.
January 9, 2018
With excellent writing, a beautiful love story, a realistic look at class differences in Victorian England, this is an HR book to relish. For me, nothing Meredith Duran has written is better than her debut THE DUKE OF SHADOWS, but this is a close second and merits 5 stars, perhaps partly because the writing is oh-so-good and I'd been reading oh-so-bad stuff lately.
Here we have Nell Whitby (aka Lady Cornelia Aubyn) raised in the slums of Bethnal Green and working in a tobacco factory, whose "mother" reveals on her deathbed that Nell is really the daughter of the Earl of Rushden. When her mother is dying, Nell sends letters to this earl, asking for his help, but with no response. After her mother's death, Nell breaks into the earl's home, seeking revenge for his disinterest. It turns out, however, that her father is the late Earl of Rushden and the new one is our hero Simon St. Maur.
Simon has inherited the earldom and everything entailed but all the late earl's money has been left to his twin daughters, Katherine and Cornelia. Cornelia was abducted at the age of 6 and taken to the slums but the late earl had continued to search for her and believed her to be alive. What serendipity for Simon to find her in his bedroom, attempting to kill him (mistakenly).
Well, Simon needs money. This blue-blooded guttersnipe is Cornelia and entitled to half the money the late earl left to his twin daughters. What to do but prove her legitimacy, make her presentable and, of course, marry her?
It's a great love story. Not really a My Fair Lady or Pygmalion tale. It's much more than that. Beautifully written, the love story is great and the characters are very well developed. Simon, who is supposedly a rake, has the soul of a musician and the history of a heart broken in his early twenties. Nell has grown up in the lower classes and has such a different outlook on life from the snobbish ton. Neither H nor h is a typical H or h usually found in an HR. It all works together very well and supplies the romance lover with an extremely satisfying story.
Here we have Nell Whitby (aka Lady Cornelia Aubyn) raised in the slums of Bethnal Green and working in a tobacco factory, whose "mother" reveals on her deathbed that Nell is really the daughter of the Earl of Rushden. When her mother is dying, Nell sends letters to this earl, asking for his help, but with no response. After her mother's death, Nell breaks into the earl's home, seeking revenge for his disinterest. It turns out, however, that her father is the late Earl of Rushden and the new one is our hero Simon St. Maur.
Simon has inherited the earldom and everything entailed but all the late earl's money has been left to his twin daughters, Katherine and Cornelia. Cornelia was abducted at the age of 6 and taken to the slums but the late earl had continued to search for her and believed her to be alive. What serendipity for Simon to find her in his bedroom, attempting to kill him (mistakenly).
Well, Simon needs money. This blue-blooded guttersnipe is Cornelia and entitled to half the money the late earl left to his twin daughters. What to do but prove her legitimacy, make her presentable and, of course, marry her?
It's a great love story. Not really a My Fair Lady or Pygmalion tale. It's much more than that. Beautifully written, the love story is great and the characters are very well developed. Simon, who is supposedly a rake, has the soul of a musician and the history of a heart broken in his early twenties. Nell has grown up in the lower classes and has such a different outlook on life from the snobbish ton. Neither H nor h is a typical H or h usually found in an HR. It all works together very well and supplies the romance lover with an extremely satisfying story.
July 6, 2011
4 stars – Historical Romance
This is a really good romance that’s complex and honest, with a destitute, stubborn, strong lower-class heroine and a handsome, selfish, titled rake hero who sees her as the answer to saving his bankrupt estates.
I think these two lines sum up the H/H really well.
Nell’s attraction to Simon:
But oh, he was beautiful. As he took the step that closed the distance between them, his slow smile might have lured the angels from heaven, flocking noisily, arms outstretched, happy to burn for him.
Simon’s appraisal of Nell:
God save him, he’d taken a guttersnipe bluestocking to wife; what were the odds of that?
This is a really good romance that’s complex and honest, with a destitute, stubborn, strong lower-class heroine and a handsome, selfish, titled rake hero who sees her as the answer to saving his bankrupt estates.
I think these two lines sum up the H/H really well.
Nell’s attraction to Simon:
But oh, he was beautiful. As he took the step that closed the distance between them, his slow smile might have lured the angels from heaven, flocking noisily, arms outstretched, happy to burn for him.
Simon’s appraisal of Nell:
God save him, he’d taken a guttersnipe bluestocking to wife; what were the odds of that?
January 8, 2024
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻♀️🦸🏻♀️🦸🏻♀️🦸🏻♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨
First Impressions
This is the first time that I have read this author. I know I know, it probably shocks some of you on that. I am not sure why, maybe its because hardly any of her books are in audio and I always like to have a backup for historicals on the methods of reading it. But I finally bit the bullet and picked this one up and it was such fun! And wow was it authentic. The dialogue especially just made me feel like I was really in the Victorian age from the gutter snip style of dialogue to the Aristocratic style, it all worked so well together and I appreciated what the author delivered.
First Line
By the time the whistle finished shrilling, Nell was already out the door.
The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Simon St. Maur
Recently inherited an earldom. Has a good jolly sense of humor, knows how to entertain people around him, but has a deep heart that surprises others.
The Heroine: Nell Whitby
Nell is from East End, she grew up poor and is barely surviving. She is sassy and strong and independent and generous towards others
Summary
Nell Whitby finds out that a certain earl treated her mother poorly and when he rejects her letters to him of her being his daughter, she comes for him out for revenge, but she doesn't find her father, she finds a young handsome man, in the nude, who disarms her quickly and then proposes marriage to her. Well, Nell isn't one to let a good opportunity pass her by to create a better life for herself and she reluctantly agrees. Nell and Simon have mutual interests so it makes sense for them to come to a marital agreement, but there is a connection between them that goes far deeper. But there are also enemies who don't want to see them receive what they are striving for and will stop at nothing to keep it from happening...
What I Loved
This basically has everything that you need in a solid historical romance. I really enjoyed the authenticity in this story. And what really drew me in the most was the connection between Nell and Simon. They really connect in all the ways I love to see a couple bond to. They have a sexual attraction and when they get together....its empowering. Man these two could make me curl my toes without even thinking, that is how much chemistry is on the page. But there is also so much more to their relationship than that. I enjoyed how they get along with each other, the way they just "play" together and fight for each other when its needed the most.
The plot was especially fun to see. I really didn't expect there to be any intrigue really, but the way it catapults in the third act was especially thrilling.
What I Struggled With
No surprise to anyone but the heroine. Now I was drawn to some aspects of her character, but I just didn't feel the growth in her. It just felt almost superficial at times and I didn't feel the heart I wanted to from the heroine or really any type of solid redemption to really make her more likable. She was especially prickly in the beginning, but to be honest, the only reason it softens is because of the hero, not because of her character growth in any real way.
Overall View
A Lady's Lesson in Scandal was a intriguing story that brings two opposites into a mutual accord and their connection breathes fresh air into the story that makes you searching for more.
Favorite Quote(s)
Loving him would not be easy. It would mean never again completely belonging anywhere – save with him. But she would belong with him. He would be her home, she thought.
Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Historical Romance, Victorian Era
Character Types: Earl
Themes: Prickly Heroine, Class Difference, Fun Witty Banter
Tropes: Rags to Riches, Forced Proximity, Opposites Attract
Book Perspective
3rd POV
Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
A blend of both
Steam/Spice Explanations
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
July 10, 2011
:-( I DNF'd at 60%. I just didn't like the heroine as she border lined on TSTL for me, nor did I feel any genuine heat or chemistry between H/h. Too much suspending disbelief required too. I was having a hard time buying much of it. But I think my biggest problem was more to do with timing then the actual book. This was such a close storyline to the classic by Judith Ivory 'The Proposition', which I just re-read a few weeks ago and absolutely love. MD is a great writer, but her stories are becoming a hit/miss for me.
May 7, 2013
I'm really torn between giving this book a 4-star rating and a 4.5 rating, for reasons I will explain.
Meredith Duran's writing has a way to make one feel, to experience vicariously through the characters intense emotions that transcend the pages of this novel. For that, I would rate her writing and accurate but gruesome depictions of London's seediest areas a 10 stars on a scale of 5.
Duran's characters are also written with an astounding complexity and wit. Simon and Nell's thoughts are always true to their own way of thinking, Simon's as a cynical man looking for revenge, and Nell's as a sentimental realist who dreams but cannot believe her good fortunes will last. A great part of the story is completely character-driven, as the plot is a simple one: Simon discovers Nell to be the long-lost daughter of his predecessor, so he devises a marriage of convenience that will provide him with much needed wealth, and take Nell out of being a guttersnipe if she can prove her inheritance. What follows then is a battle of wills, resulting in each discovering the other's charming and irresistible sides, and realizing, not without surprise, that their circumstantial differences may indeed be too wide to be overcome by mere love.
Due to both Simon and Nell's having been raised in a rather hostile environment, they undoubtedly have trouble trusting each other. Nell's wits have been honed by years of fending for herself on the streets, serving as a facade to her vulnerability and insecurities. Simon is even tougher than Nell, having developed a harsh cynical outlook on life that does not go well with his being a nearly destitute aristocrat. Even as he begins to enjoy Nell's company, tutoring her in the ways of a lady, and succumbing to his sexual desires for her, he remains the cold, pragmatic aristocrat for most of the book.
Then, they get married, and a honeymoon period follows for a while, to only be disturbed by Nell's realizations of Simon's initial willingness to turn her out were the courts to deny her heritage. The last quarter of the book became more plot-driven, coupled with the characters' reluctance to say "I love you," which thankfully, was not prolonged. The change from Nell's trying to keep Simon due to her love, to her leaving him twice for "his own sake," heightened what I felt was the ubiquitous chasm of their stations; Simon's inability to comprehend some of Nell's behavior and beliefs, through no fault of his own but for the difference in their nurturing environment, became more apparent when he could not reconcile the depth of his feelings for Nell.
Perhaps it is the fact that Simon's confession of love to Nell seemed so visceral, so desperately made, that it loses plausibility when he had, in the span of just some pages ago, been a highly ruthless and pragmatic man, a model of Machiavellian principles. And after his earth-shattering confession, he was giving Nell the choice to leave him and pursue her freedom. While on one hand this was done as a show of trust, it appeared rather farcical given Simon's earlier exhibition of male dominance to keep Nell by his side. But, in the end, Simon resorted to noble idiocy, and gave Nell a reason to leave him while effectively trapping her to his world with her love:
"I have no interest any longer in playing the tyrant. But if you want me, you will have to take my world along with me." (p 1148/1178)
The indecisiveness of the two characters - Simon's noble idiocy and Nell's noble, but unnecessary self-sacrifice at the end of the book, appeared as an overly dramatic proving of love; a change in the book's hitherto splendid pacing.
Despite the above, this is a beautifully written story telling an incredible love that could well have served as a treatise on Victorian class differences, but for its dramatized theme -whether love can bridge the gap between class differences - I found the story's resolution too rushed and neatly done to be plausible. Nevertheless, I have so enjoyed being lured into this story by Meredith Duran's superb storytelling that I can't bear give this book any rating lower than 4 stars.
Meredith Duran's writing has a way to make one feel, to experience vicariously through the characters intense emotions that transcend the pages of this novel. For that, I would rate her writing and accurate but gruesome depictions of London's seediest areas a 10 stars on a scale of 5.
Duran's characters are also written with an astounding complexity and wit. Simon and Nell's thoughts are always true to their own way of thinking, Simon's as a cynical man looking for revenge, and Nell's as a sentimental realist who dreams but cannot believe her good fortunes will last. A great part of the story is completely character-driven, as the plot is a simple one: Simon discovers Nell to be the long-lost daughter of his predecessor, so he devises a marriage of convenience that will provide him with much needed wealth, and take Nell out of being a guttersnipe if she can prove her inheritance. What follows then is a battle of wills, resulting in each discovering the other's charming and irresistible sides, and realizing, not without surprise, that their circumstantial differences may indeed be too wide to be overcome by mere love.
Due to both Simon and Nell's having been raised in a rather hostile environment, they undoubtedly have trouble trusting each other. Nell's wits have been honed by years of fending for herself on the streets, serving as a facade to her vulnerability and insecurities. Simon is even tougher than Nell, having developed a harsh cynical outlook on life that does not go well with his being a nearly destitute aristocrat. Even as he begins to enjoy Nell's company, tutoring her in the ways of a lady, and succumbing to his sexual desires for her, he remains the cold, pragmatic aristocrat for most of the book.
Then, they get married, and a honeymoon period follows for a while, to only be disturbed by Nell's realizations of Simon's initial willingness to turn her out were the courts to deny her heritage. The last quarter of the book became more plot-driven, coupled with the characters' reluctance to say "I love you," which thankfully, was not prolonged. The change from Nell's trying to keep Simon due to her love, to her leaving him twice for "his own sake," heightened what I felt was the ubiquitous chasm of their stations; Simon's inability to comprehend some of Nell's behavior and beliefs, through no fault of his own but for the difference in their nurturing environment, became more apparent when he could not reconcile the depth of his feelings for Nell.
Perhaps it is the fact that Simon's confession of love to Nell seemed so visceral, so desperately made, that it loses plausibility when he had, in the span of just some pages ago, been a highly ruthless and pragmatic man, a model of Machiavellian principles. And after his earth-shattering confession, he was giving Nell the choice to leave him and pursue her freedom. While on one hand this was done as a show of trust, it appeared rather farcical given Simon's earlier exhibition of male dominance to keep Nell by his side. But, in the end, Simon resorted to noble idiocy, and gave Nell a reason to leave him while effectively trapping her to his world with her love:
"I have no interest any longer in playing the tyrant. But if you want me, you will have to take my world along with me." (p 1148/1178)
The indecisiveness of the two characters - Simon's noble idiocy and Nell's noble, but unnecessary self-sacrifice at the end of the book, appeared as an overly dramatic proving of love; a change in the book's hitherto splendid pacing.
Despite the above, this is a beautifully written story telling an incredible love that could well have served as a treatise on Victorian class differences, but for its dramatized theme -whether love can bridge the gap between class differences - I found the story's resolution too rushed and neatly done to be plausible. Nevertheless, I have so enjoyed being lured into this story by Meredith Duran's superb storytelling that I can't bear give this book any rating lower than 4 stars.
July 5, 2023
This was a reread for me. I previously thought A Lady's Lesson in Scandal was a lesser Duran but I was wrong and I should feel bad about it.
Nell Whitby grew up in Bethnal Green (not a nice place, according to this book!) and works in a tobacco factory. When her mother gets sick and directs her to seek help from an aristocrat, Nell realizes that she's closer to the world of the ton than she could possibly fathom. She's not a bastard, as she originally assumes, but one of the former Earl of Rushden's missing twin daughters. The former earl was unhappy with his heir, so through some intricate legal work was able to leave the entirety of his money to his two daughters. Simon, his heir, is left with a worthless estate.
Simon, who is now the Earl of Nothing, decides to teach Nell how to be a proper lady, marry her, and then reinstate her to her wealth (that he will naturally partake in). What Nell doesn't realize is that they aren't in this scheme together: if she fails, Simon will drop her like a hot potato.
I wrote this in my update, but one of the things I absolutely adore about Duran is how she imbibes her characters with an interesting meanness. Simon and Nell don't just fight-- they go for blood. It's tense and fraught and everything that I want in a high-angst historical romance.
Nell Whitby grew up in Bethnal Green (not a nice place, according to this book!) and works in a tobacco factory. When her mother gets sick and directs her to seek help from an aristocrat, Nell realizes that she's closer to the world of the ton than she could possibly fathom. She's not a bastard, as she originally assumes, but one of the former Earl of Rushden's missing twin daughters. The former earl was unhappy with his heir, so through some intricate legal work was able to leave the entirety of his money to his two daughters. Simon, his heir, is left with a worthless estate.
Simon, who is now the Earl of Nothing, decides to teach Nell how to be a proper lady, marry her, and then reinstate her to her wealth (that he will naturally partake in). What Nell doesn't realize is that they aren't in this scheme together: if she fails, Simon will drop her like a hot potato.
I wrote this in my update, but one of the things I absolutely adore about Duran is how she imbibes her characters with an interesting meanness. Simon and Nell don't just fight-- they go for blood. It's tense and fraught and everything that I want in a high-angst historical romance.
December 30, 2021
I loved this book. The heroine was such a saucy little thing and I loved the interactions between her and Simon. He was very hot. And he totally loved the heroine. My favorite part was right after they married and how much fun they were having together. It was cute. The scene where they slid down the banister was priceless. And the billiards game was great too. I just loved them. There is the bad villain Grimstone who was vile. And her supposed step brother too. But he did try and save her at the end. That amazed me. I wish she hadn't pushed Simon away at the end like she did. He totally loved her and she loves him. The sister redeemed herself too. Wish there would have been an epilogue. And I will definitely read this author again. I read Duke of Shadows years ago and I hated it so I put it on my banned authors list. But I have read two and a half new ones and they were good so I'll try some more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2024
Loved this! Full RTC.
Doing this as part of a buddy read, so going to wait for my fellow readers to catch up before I post a full review.
That said, I really need to read more of Meredith Duran's historical romance books. I loved this one and the other one I read last year too.
Full review: Loved every minute of this book. Duran really writes great historical romances with a heavy emphasis on the historical part of things. She doesn't just have women or men of the time get random notions about things when society in England was set the way it was. I loved how this played a lot into the class system at the time as well as the lack of women's rights. The love scenes didn't hurt either. I absolutely loved both Simon and Nell.
"A Lady's Lesson in Scandal" follows Nell Whitby who breaks into an Earl's home believing he may have assaulted her mother and left her pregnant with her. However, when Nell finds out that she's been stolen away by the woman she thought was her mother and is the rightful heir to a fortune, things for her turn on their head. The current Earl (Simon) proposes they marry. He has the title, but needs money, and she has plenty of it.
Most of the book follows as Nell gets her "lessons" in how to be a lady and falls for Simon and he starts to see a different side of society because of Nell.
Honestly, this was lovely. There's no big mystery going on. This isn't some bad undercover mystery that has been what I have been reading lately. It's just two people falling in love and driving each other up the wall. There is some side plot, but it's towards the end and it doesn't take away from the book at all.
Doing this as part of a buddy read, so going to wait for my fellow readers to catch up before I post a full review.
That said, I really need to read more of Meredith Duran's historical romance books. I loved this one and the other one I read last year too.
Full review: Loved every minute of this book. Duran really writes great historical romances with a heavy emphasis on the historical part of things. She doesn't just have women or men of the time get random notions about things when society in England was set the way it was. I loved how this played a lot into the class system at the time as well as the lack of women's rights. The love scenes didn't hurt either. I absolutely loved both Simon and Nell.
"A Lady's Lesson in Scandal" follows Nell Whitby who breaks into an Earl's home believing he may have assaulted her mother and left her pregnant with her. However, when Nell finds out that she's been stolen away by the woman she thought was her mother and is the rightful heir to a fortune, things for her turn on their head. The current Earl (Simon) proposes they marry. He has the title, but needs money, and she has plenty of it.
Most of the book follows as Nell gets her "lessons" in how to be a lady and falls for Simon and he starts to see a different side of society because of Nell.
Honestly, this was lovely. There's no big mystery going on. This isn't some bad undercover mystery that has been what I have been reading lately. It's just two people falling in love and driving each other up the wall. There is some side plot, but it's towards the end and it doesn't take away from the book at all.
July 13, 2011
So... this book. I'm still not sure what I think of it. I loved the heroine, and I love reading romances that feature lower-class main characters instead of just focusing on the titled elite. But this was not a pleasant book for me to read. Nell and Simon just come from such completely different backgrounds that they had no frame of reference for each others' actions. I spent a good 70% of the book completely unconvinced that there could be any sort of credible happy ending for them, and to be honest I probably would have stopped reading sooner if it wasn't written by an author I trust (most likely after the scene right at the beginning in which Simon grabs Nell by the hair and forcibly kisses her as she freezes and tries to decide whether or not to struggle, since he can change his mind and have her hanged at any moment).
This was a well-written book that packed a serious emotional punch, but it was all about power imbalances, fear of trust, and betrayals of trust, and in the end I mostly found it unsettling. I know that this is mostly a matter of personal preference and I expect that the book will be better received by a lot of other romance fans.
I don't know, maybe I would have liked it better if I was more in the mood for angsty romance.
(On a shallower note, the sex scenes are amazing. So, there is that.)
EDIT: I think I've finally pinpointed what bothered me about this book: it felt like the stakes were so much higher for the heroine than the hero. He had so much power to hurt her, much of it in ways he didn't even know about simply because he had no way of knowing what life was really like for a factory girl in Bethnal Green, whereas if it all turned out badly he would not have been any worse off than he was at the start of the book. And as someone with trust issues, when I read about a heroine with trust issues beginning to open up and trust the hero, I want to applaud her for being brave enough to set aside her unwarranted mistrust of the hero; I don't want to keep reading with my heart in my throat, praying he's not about to hurt her badly in one of the myriad ways he can do so without even realizing it. That's why this book worked so much better for me as a discussion of class issues in the Victorian era than it did as a romance.
This was a well-written book that packed a serious emotional punch, but it was all about power imbalances, fear of trust, and betrayals of trust, and in the end I mostly found it unsettling. I know that this is mostly a matter of personal preference and I expect that the book will be better received by a lot of other romance fans.
I don't know, maybe I would have liked it better if I was more in the mood for angsty romance.
(On a shallower note, the sex scenes are amazing. So, there is that.)
EDIT: I think I've finally pinpointed what bothered me about this book: it felt like the stakes were so much higher for the heroine than the hero. He had so much power to hurt her, much of it in ways he didn't even know about simply because he had no way of knowing what life was really like for a factory girl in Bethnal Green, whereas if it all turned out badly he would not have been any worse off than he was at the start of the book. And as someone with trust issues, when I read about a heroine with trust issues beginning to open up and trust the hero, I want to applaud her for being brave enough to set aside her unwarranted mistrust of the hero; I don't want to keep reading with my heart in my throat, praying he's not about to hurt her badly in one of the myriad ways he can do so without even realizing it. That's why this book worked so much better for me as a discussion of class issues in the Victorian era than it did as a romance.
July 26, 2011
Job one of the romance author, in my opinion, is to make me care, deeply, that these two characters should 1) find happiness and 2) find it with each other. Nobody right now does that more consistently than Meredith Duran.
I particularly appreciate how she takes the time to show the hero and heroine coming to know each other - there's a lovely long scene where the two are playing billiards, and while yes, it's filled with flirtation and eventually leads to a passionate encounter, it's not just a run-up to sexytimes. The small discoveries they make in conversation; the ongoing re-calibration of their opinions of one another, are drawn with just as much care as the sparking chemistry. The passion, when it comes, feels earned. Just an all-around pleasure to read.
I particularly appreciate how she takes the time to show the hero and heroine coming to know each other - there's a lovely long scene where the two are playing billiards, and while yes, it's filled with flirtation and eventually leads to a passionate encounter, it's not just a run-up to sexytimes. The small discoveries they make in conversation; the ongoing re-calibration of their opinions of one another, are drawn with just as much care as the sparking chemistry. The passion, when it comes, feels earned. Just an all-around pleasure to read.
April 9, 2024
Yes and yes to this book!
Lately I’ve been so busy and tired I could not type proper reviews and even though this book deserves, I apologize ahead. It will be short.
After few introductory chapters the book opened with a bang which I did not expect but was totally in for it.
Even though there was attraction between our MCs (Nell and Simon) from the beginning, they were not acting like fated obsessed mates (which drives me nuts most of the time).
We were constant reminded that they don’t know each other and what they know of each other is not pretty and on top of that they are from vastly different social background.
Knowing that Meredith Duran loves Judith Ivory’s books I was wondering if this was a play on her Proposition book but with the plot reversed not just in gender but evolution of the story.
Anyway I enjoyed it even though Nell’s previous poverty was stretched and overplayed ad nauseam.
Lately I’ve been so busy and tired I could not type proper reviews and even though this book deserves, I apologize ahead. It will be short.
After few introductory chapters the book opened with a bang which I did not expect but was totally in for it.
Even though there was attraction between our MCs (Nell and Simon) from the beginning, they were not acting like fated obsessed mates (which drives me nuts most of the time).
We were constant reminded that they don’t know each other and what they know of each other is not pretty and on top of that they are from vastly different social background.
Knowing that Meredith Duran loves Judith Ivory’s books I was wondering if this was a play on her Proposition book but with the plot reversed not just in gender but evolution of the story.
Anyway I enjoyed it even though Nell’s previous poverty was stretched and overplayed ad nauseam.
March 31, 2024
Fascinating. Complex. Vivid characterizations. A brilliant plot that was almost perfectly paced—it slowed just a little too much with Nell’s internal struggles right when everything was going to hell in a hand basket—or maybe I only thought it did because I had my heart in my throat over her making the wrong decisions and retreating to what was familiar instead of what she really wanted.
And the writing. Holy cow, the writing. From a scene in which Nell, who was so used to hunger she had wrestled bread from rats in her previous life, is finding table etiquette especially baffling:
Her plate nearly clean, Nell had moved on to the accompanying vegetables when Mrs. Hemple struck again. “No, my lady! That is asparagus!”
Nell looked up. “Aye—yes,” she amended, “so it is.” And she meant to eat it. It was slathered in butter and cream sauce. The kitchen wouldn’t be having it back.
“One doesn’t eat the stalk,” said Mrs. Hemple.
Still giddy on the flavor of the tenderest meat she’d ever tasted, Nell stared across the candlelit table at a woman who’d clearly eaten more than her fair share in this life. “That’s…nonsense.”
And in just a handful of sentences, the author draws a clear picture between the life of want Nell has experienced and the glittering world of excess with all its attendant rules and waste.
I could not put this down. Meredith Duran at the top of her game.
And the writing. Holy cow, the writing. From a scene in which Nell, who was so used to hunger she had wrestled bread from rats in her previous life, is finding table etiquette especially baffling:
Her plate nearly clean, Nell had moved on to the accompanying vegetables when Mrs. Hemple struck again. “No, my lady! That is asparagus!”
Nell looked up. “Aye—yes,” she amended, “so it is.” And she meant to eat it. It was slathered in butter and cream sauce. The kitchen wouldn’t be having it back.
“One doesn’t eat the stalk,” said Mrs. Hemple.
Still giddy on the flavor of the tenderest meat she’d ever tasted, Nell stared across the candlelit table at a woman who’d clearly eaten more than her fair share in this life. “That’s…nonsense.”
And in just a handful of sentences, the author draws a clear picture between the life of want Nell has experienced and the glittering world of excess with all its attendant rules and waste.
I could not put this down. Meredith Duran at the top of her game.
July 19, 2021
Another splendid read from MD - she always manages to write her books a little bit angsty, a little bit uncomfortable, and with sharp dialogue. They are sexy and romantic, and with just enough charm to sugar it all. Such a lovely combination.
- He might have taken her inscrutability to mean there was no depth to her, but even their short acquaintance proved otherwise. Conversely, she might be opaque because her depths were so foreign, so purely lower class, that he simply had no hope for getting a grip on them without prolonged exposure.
Well. It seemed he'd turned into a snob, which made this next bit all the more ironic.
'You'll do it very simply,' he said. 'Marry me.”
- She was a sharp-toothed tiger wrapped up in silk. “I think I’ll make you pay for that taunt.”
“Will you, now! And what price for your arrogance, me pretty lad?”
He looked up from the chalk, smiling slowly. “I am pretty, aren’t I? High time you noticed.”
- “His smile faded a little, growing softer, more intimate, like the look he'd showed her in bed this morning.
'You haven't learned yet when to lie.' Slowly, as if the words were being dragged from him, he added: 'I confess, Nell, I hope you never learn.'
She found herself staring at him. Unsteadying thought: there was something hot in his eyes that wasn't purely want. It was too tender, too ... affectionate.”
- He might have taken her inscrutability to mean there was no depth to her, but even their short acquaintance proved otherwise. Conversely, she might be opaque because her depths were so foreign, so purely lower class, that he simply had no hope for getting a grip on them without prolonged exposure.
Well. It seemed he'd turned into a snob, which made this next bit all the more ironic.
'You'll do it very simply,' he said. 'Marry me.”
- She was a sharp-toothed tiger wrapped up in silk. “I think I’ll make you pay for that taunt.”
“Will you, now! And what price for your arrogance, me pretty lad?”
He looked up from the chalk, smiling slowly. “I am pretty, aren’t I? High time you noticed.”
- “His smile faded a little, growing softer, more intimate, like the look he'd showed her in bed this morning.
'You haven't learned yet when to lie.' Slowly, as if the words were being dragged from him, he added: 'I confess, Nell, I hope you never learn.'
She found herself staring at him. Unsteadying thought: there was something hot in his eyes that wasn't purely want. It was too tender, too ... affectionate.”
August 3, 2021
I really enjoyed the lost twin story that had a plausible story line. Nothing much to add to the previous reviews.
I reread this for book of the month. Not enough time has passed to really change much. Still enjoyed it. The writing is what makes the book good. No new territory that has not been done before.
I reread this for book of the month. Not enough time has passed to really change much. Still enjoyed it. The writing is what makes the book good. No new territory that has not been done before.
April 26, 2024
4.5 stars
December 30, 2014
A Lady's Lesson in Scandal
4 Stars
Living under the thumb of her odious stepbrother in the slums of London’s East End, Nell Whitby resigns herself to a life of poverty and hardship. However, on her death bed, Nell’s mother imparts a secret regarding her daughter’s true identity that sends Nell to the upper echelons of London society and into the arms of Simon St. Maur, a notorious rake who immediately recognizes the value of the woman in front of him.
One of those rare historical romances that actually presents the social realities of the Victorian age - slums, child workers, dirty factories and the selfish and decadent ton.
The story is a charming mix of Cinderella and Pygmalion with Nell’s transformation from dirty ragamuffin to elegance personified. Nell is stubborn with an acerbic wit and her banter with Simon makes for lively reading. My one nitpick concerning her character is the rather silly misunderstanding toward the end of the book, which results from her refusal to confront Simon over something she overheard. Nevertheless, considering her brutal upbringing, it is not surprising that Nell has trust issues.
Simon is an exceptional hero. Although he starts out as rather mercenary in his plans for Nell, his obvious affection and growing attraction for her results in some excellent chemistry and an entertaining love story.
The secondary suspense plot is well-developed with an exciting climax and resolution.
In sum, A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is a well-written romance with appropriate attention to historical accuracy for the time period. I will be on the lookout for more books from this author.
4 Stars
Living under the thumb of her odious stepbrother in the slums of London’s East End, Nell Whitby resigns herself to a life of poverty and hardship. However, on her death bed, Nell’s mother imparts a secret regarding her daughter’s true identity that sends Nell to the upper echelons of London society and into the arms of Simon St. Maur, a notorious rake who immediately recognizes the value of the woman in front of him.
One of those rare historical romances that actually presents the social realities of the Victorian age - slums, child workers, dirty factories and the selfish and decadent ton.
The story is a charming mix of Cinderella and Pygmalion with Nell’s transformation from dirty ragamuffin to elegance personified. Nell is stubborn with an acerbic wit and her banter with Simon makes for lively reading. My one nitpick concerning her character is the rather silly misunderstanding toward the end of the book, which results from her refusal to confront Simon over something she overheard. Nevertheless, considering her brutal upbringing, it is not surprising that Nell has trust issues.
Simon is an exceptional hero. Although he starts out as rather mercenary in his plans for Nell, his obvious affection and growing attraction for her results in some excellent chemistry and an entertaining love story.
The secondary suspense plot is well-developed with an exciting climax and resolution.
In sum, A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is a well-written romance with appropriate attention to historical accuracy for the time period. I will be on the lookout for more books from this author.
August 28, 2021
This is probably a 3.5 star for me.
There should be some uncomfortableness on the power dynamics here. Simon clearly has a lot of power over Nell. However, it never quite crossed a line for me. It certainly flirted with that line, though. I liked the class differences and main characters.
I may need to mull on this some.
There should be some uncomfortableness on the power dynamics here. Simon clearly has a lot of power over Nell. However, it never quite crossed a line for me. It certainly flirted with that line, though. I liked the class differences and main characters.
I may need to mull on this some.
December 8, 2011
4 stars.
I don't know what it is about Meredith Duran but whenever I finish one of her books I'm left with a feeling of detachment. I could describe reading one of her books as though I'm reading it through a pane of glass. She obviously puts a lot of thought and research into her work; but perhaps so much at times that I can't feel connected to the characters.
I was pretty excited starting this one because Duran set the scene so deliciously and Nell and Simon seemed like original, vibrant characters. Then it turned into such a slow narrative that only the thought of a HEA could keep me 100% interested.
I often find that while Duran has such fabulous settings and characters that the flow of her storytelling can be stilted as was the case here.
Simon and Nell kept me enchanted though - even if Nell had to overcome some of her own melodrama towards the end. It was believable for her to go through those feelings but you know what I'm like...
All in all I rate this one a 4 for the characters and how they came together... a lovely tale of two people from opposite sides of the social spectrum who found their missing pieces in each other.
I don't know what it is about Meredith Duran but whenever I finish one of her books I'm left with a feeling of detachment. I could describe reading one of her books as though I'm reading it through a pane of glass. She obviously puts a lot of thought and research into her work; but perhaps so much at times that I can't feel connected to the characters.
I was pretty excited starting this one because Duran set the scene so deliciously and Nell and Simon seemed like original, vibrant characters. Then it turned into such a slow narrative that only the thought of a HEA could keep me 100% interested.
I often find that while Duran has such fabulous settings and characters that the flow of her storytelling can be stilted as was the case here.
Simon and Nell kept me enchanted though - even if Nell had to overcome some of her own melodrama towards the end. It was believable for her to go through those feelings but you know what I'm like...
All in all I rate this one a 4 for the characters and how they came together... a lovely tale of two people from opposite sides of the social spectrum who found their missing pieces in each other.
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