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Torquay/Bessacarr #1
The Duke's Wager
Pursued by infamous bachelors Jason Thomas and St. John Basil St. Charles, both notorious rakes, Regina Berryman realizes that the only way to preserve her honor is to turn the tables on both suitors. Reissue.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 1983
32 people are currently reading
1301 people want to read
About the author
Edith Layton
86 books103 followersEdith Layton wrote her first novel when she was ten. She bought a marbleized notebook and set out to write a story that would fit between its covers. Now, an award-winning author with more than thirty novels and numerous novellas to her credit, her criteria have changed. The story has to fit the reader as well as between the covers.
Graduating from Hunter College in New York City with a degree in creative writing and theater, Edith worked for various media, including a radio station and a major motion picture company. She married and went to suburbia, where she was fruitful and multiplied to the tune of three children. Her eldest, Michael, is a social worker and artist in NYC. Adam is a writer and performer on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Daughter Susie is a professional writer, comedian and performer who works in television.
Publishers Weekly called Edith Layton "one of romance's most gifted writers." Layton has enthralled readers and critics with books that capture the spirit of historically distant places and peoples. "What I've found," she says, "is that life was very different in every era, but that love and love of life is always the same."
Layton won an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement award for the Historical genre in 2003 and a Reviewers' Choice award for her book The Conquest in 2001. Amazon.com's top reviewer called Layton's Alas, My Love (April 2005, Avon Books), "a wonderful historical." And her recent release, Bride Enchanted, is a Romantic Times 2007 Reviewers' Choice Award Nominee.
Edith Layton lived on Long Island where she devoted time as a volunteer for the North Shore Animal League , the world's largest no-kill pet rescue and adoption organization. Her dog Daisy --adopted herself from a shelter-- is just one member of Layton's household menagerie.
Edith Layton passed away on June 1, 2009 from ovarian cancer.
Graduating from Hunter College in New York City with a degree in creative writing and theater, Edith worked for various media, including a radio station and a major motion picture company. She married and went to suburbia, where she was fruitful and multiplied to the tune of three children. Her eldest, Michael, is a social worker and artist in NYC. Adam is a writer and performer on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Daughter Susie is a professional writer, comedian and performer who works in television.
Publishers Weekly called Edith Layton "one of romance's most gifted writers." Layton has enthralled readers and critics with books that capture the spirit of historically distant places and peoples. "What I've found," she says, "is that life was very different in every era, but that love and love of life is always the same."
Layton won an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement award for the Historical genre in 2003 and a Reviewers' Choice award for her book The Conquest in 2001. Amazon.com's top reviewer called Layton's Alas, My Love (April 2005, Avon Books), "a wonderful historical." And her recent release, Bride Enchanted, is a Romantic Times 2007 Reviewers' Choice Award Nominee.
Edith Layton lived on Long Island where she devoted time as a volunteer for the North Shore Animal League , the world's largest no-kill pet rescue and adoption organization. Her dog Daisy --adopted herself from a shelter-- is just one member of Layton's household menagerie.
Edith Layton passed away on June 1, 2009 from ovarian cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
September 5, 2010
In her enthusiasm to see the sights while she's in London, country mouse Regina Berryman accidentally attends the opera on the night where mistresses and the demimonde are on display. Dressed smartly in the fancy clothes her uncle bought her, she unwittingly draws the attention of two of London's most notorious libertines - the Marquess of Bessacarr and the Duke of Torquay. When the duke approaches her to whisper a proposition in her ear, she flees the opera house in a hurry. Torquay, however, is undaunted, and becomes determined to have her as a mistress. Bessacarr, being none too fond of Torquay, becomes determined to have her as well, if only to thwart the duke. Thus begins a twisted love triangle battling to corrupt the innocent Regina.
The book is brilliant in that both men are absolutely despicable in the beginning. Early on, Regina is left completely penniless by her uncle's untimely death. Torquay and Bessacarr both exploit this to their own benefit. Torquay by getting her thrown out of her home and abducting her to try to force her to accept his offer, and Bessacarr by taking her into his home under false pretenses and abusing her trust by pretending to help her find work. One is openly trying to corrupt her, while the other is doing it stealthily. Neither is concerned one whit for what Regina wants.
Regina is a delightful character. She's penniless and powerless, but her well-developed sense of honor and self-worth prevents her from accepting Torquay's offer. She refuses to live as someone's object or pampered pet. She's determined to live an honest, honorable existence, even if she must find employment. She was educated as though she were a son by her schoolmaster father and so meets Torquay's sallies head-on, refusing to be taken as anything less than an equal. As it's all she has left, she clings tenaciously to her dignity.
Layton makes good use of dialog in the novel, using lots of it to draw out who the characters are and why they act the ways they do. Whenever the duke encounters Regina, a war of words breaks out. The two have lengthy, wonderfully written discussions where, though he becomes more and more determined to have her, Torquay also begins to wish she never compromises herself. Eventually he starts to wonder if he even wants to win this game of his. Would she still be so appealing if she consented to be his mistress? What sort of person would that make him, as well, if she did?
I just loved watching these characters grow and change. No one ends this book the way they began, not even the secondary characters. Through well-crafted, meaty dialog we watch the characters struggle with their own senses of honor and self-respect. They all make miscalculations along the way, and though all three try, only two come out better people at the end. It's a rare book that can write a character who manages to go from repulsive to endearing, but Layton pulls it off and makes it look easy.
5 stars. Easy. I couldn't find a flaw if I had a gun to my head.
The book is brilliant in that both men are absolutely despicable in the beginning. Early on, Regina is left completely penniless by her uncle's untimely death. Torquay and Bessacarr both exploit this to their own benefit. Torquay by getting her thrown out of her home and abducting her to try to force her to accept his offer, and Bessacarr by taking her into his home under false pretenses and abusing her trust by pretending to help her find work. One is openly trying to corrupt her, while the other is doing it stealthily. Neither is concerned one whit for what Regina wants.
Regina is a delightful character. She's penniless and powerless, but her well-developed sense of honor and self-worth prevents her from accepting Torquay's offer. She refuses to live as someone's object or pampered pet. She's determined to live an honest, honorable existence, even if she must find employment. She was educated as though she were a son by her schoolmaster father and so meets Torquay's sallies head-on, refusing to be taken as anything less than an equal. As it's all she has left, she clings tenaciously to her dignity.
Layton makes good use of dialog in the novel, using lots of it to draw out who the characters are and why they act the ways they do. Whenever the duke encounters Regina, a war of words breaks out. The two have lengthy, wonderfully written discussions where, though he becomes more and more determined to have her, Torquay also begins to wish she never compromises herself. Eventually he starts to wonder if he even wants to win this game of his. Would she still be so appealing if she consented to be his mistress? What sort of person would that make him, as well, if she did?
I just loved watching these characters grow and change. No one ends this book the way they began, not even the secondary characters. Through well-crafted, meaty dialog we watch the characters struggle with their own senses of honor and self-respect. They all make miscalculations along the way, and though all three try, only two come out better people at the end. It's a rare book that can write a character who manages to go from repulsive to endearing, but Layton pulls it off and makes it look easy.
5 stars. Easy. I couldn't find a flaw if I had a gun to my head.
January 29, 2018
I just read two five star HPs and I thought I’d read a palate cleanser of a Regency to cure my bookhangover.
OMG – this was a five star read, too!
#firstworld problems, I know – but still. I’ve been flying too high and I know I’m going to crash soon.
But before I do, I’ll review this one.
The Duke’s Wager is not a triangle in the traditional sense. Yes, two men are vying for the heroine, but she doesn’t know that. The heroine thinks that one is her protector and one is her pursuer. So the heroine never dithers when a choice is presented at the end. Her mind is clearly made up and this was very satisfying.
Also not clear from the title – the wager is between the Duke and the heroine – not a wager between the two men. So another strike against the triangle trope.
To add to the trope busting – both men are clearly horrible at the beginning of the story. They both see women as sex objects. They are both milking their power and privilege for all its worth. They both see the heroine as a novelty and not a person at the beginning of the story.
The heroine is a country gal who has been educated as a man. She is not the typical Regency Bluestocking spouting political gibberish about the vote or going to the slums to do good. She’s just her beautiful, intelligent self at all times. And because of this she is in peril for the entire novel.
That’s the forward momentum. Will she lose her honor to survive, and if she loses her honor, will she want to survive?
So spoilers: Or how I knew who the hero was.
Don’t read if you want to read the book. Trust me, it’s worth it not to be spoiled
This was a treat of a book.
OMG – this was a five star read, too!
#firstworld problems, I know – but still. I’ve been flying too high and I know I’m going to crash soon.
But before I do, I’ll review this one.
The Duke’s Wager is not a triangle in the traditional sense. Yes, two men are vying for the heroine, but she doesn’t know that. The heroine thinks that one is her protector and one is her pursuer. So the heroine never dithers when a choice is presented at the end. Her mind is clearly made up and this was very satisfying.
Also not clear from the title – the wager is between the Duke and the heroine – not a wager between the two men. So another strike against the triangle trope.
To add to the trope busting – both men are clearly horrible at the beginning of the story. They both see women as sex objects. They are both milking their power and privilege for all its worth. They both see the heroine as a novelty and not a person at the beginning of the story.
The heroine is a country gal who has been educated as a man. She is not the typical Regency Bluestocking spouting political gibberish about the vote or going to the slums to do good. She’s just her beautiful, intelligent self at all times. And because of this she is in peril for the entire novel.
That’s the forward momentum. Will she lose her honor to survive, and if she loses her honor, will she want to survive?
So spoilers: Or how I knew who the hero was.
Don’t read if you want to read the book. Trust me, it’s worth it not to be spoiled
This was a treat of a book.
May 22, 2024
I shall set you free and you shall be as a little green-eyed fox in the forests of London. I shall keep my hounds on your traces. I shall know every moment of how you fare… But then, you must find a proper place for yourself. A safe harbor. A moral, and safe harbor. If I find that within a certain time you have done so, I shall wish you joy, and keep only these tender moments safely locked away in memory. But if you have not, I shall come for you again. And this time, Regina, you may play Sherharazade with a thousand tales of morality and honor and truth, it will not avail you. You will have failed the test. You will be mine to do with as I wish.
A regency romance starring two immoral rakes, both intent on capturing the tasty morsel that the young, virginal heroine represents, completely uncaring that it would mean her utter destruction.
The cynical, ruthless Duke was my absolute all-time favorite. He gets the best lines of the book. As cruel as he is, he is absolutely honest about his intentions from the start. Regina Berryman is a more than worthy adversary, cutting him off at the knees with her sharp words, the only weapon she has against this unrepentant rogue who has abducted countless other no-names like her throughout England and the continent, with total impunity.
Where the Duke is the lion in this tale, magnanimous enough to give Regina a head start in his hunt, Sinjin is more like the hyena who schemes and stalks from the shadows, in order to lure Regina to the elaborate trap he has set up for her.
This book was a wild ride, with surprising twists and turns, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
A regency romance starring two immoral rakes, both intent on capturing the tasty morsel that the young, virginal heroine represents, completely uncaring that it would mean her utter destruction.
The cynical, ruthless Duke was my absolute all-time favorite. He gets the best lines of the book. As cruel as he is, he is absolutely honest about his intentions from the start. Regina Berryman is a more than worthy adversary, cutting him off at the knees with her sharp words, the only weapon she has against this unrepentant rogue who has abducted countless other no-names like her throughout England and the continent, with total impunity.
Where the Duke is the lion in this tale, magnanimous enough to give Regina a head start in his hunt, Sinjin is more like the hyena who schemes and stalks from the shadows, in order to lure Regina to the elaborate trap he has set up for her.
This book was a wild ride, with surprising twists and turns, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
August 8, 2014
This review was originally posted on my book blog, http://shutupheathcliff.wordpress.com.
Warning: This review contains spoilers.
Edith Layton’s The Duke’s Wager is often cited as one of the best Regency romances ever written. I picked it up after a friend who shares my affection for Georgette Heyer recommended it enthusiastically. Alas, I can’t quite share his enthusiasm, for reasons I will explain below in exhaustive (and possibly profanity-laced) detail. The short version is that while the book is well-written, I could not get past the fact that the book takes a smart and interesting heroine and then decides that her highest purpose in life is to be the catalyst for a man’s personal growth. Especially when that man is a total [bleep]ing asshole. (See? I warned you there would be profanity.)
The book’s heroine, Regina Barryman, is a tradesman’s daughter new to London. She is exceptionally well-educated and very clever, but at the beginning of the book she makes a mistake: she attends the opera on a night when members of the demimonde (read: classy prostitutes) gather to find new clients. The beautiful Regina leaves immediately when she realizes her error, but not before she has caught the eye of (cliché alert!) one of London’s most notorious rakes, the Duke of Torquay. The Duke immediately sets out to recruit Regina as his new mistress.
When Regina refuses him, the Duke spreads the rumor that Regina has already slept with him, which results in her being thrown out of her aunt’s home. The Duke assumes she will now have no choice but to become his mistress, but Regina refuses again. Instead, she seeks out her uncle’s former business partner, the Marquess of Bessacarr, and asks for his help. Bessacarr offers his protection and even sends her to be a companion to his spinster friend Amelia. Unfortunately for Regina, Bessacar is only helping her in hopes of making her his mistress.
Unexpectedly, however, both the Duke and the Marquess find themselves challenged and changed by their pursuit of Regina.
Spoilers henceforth.
I have very strong and conflicting feelings about this book. On the one hand, it’s compelling to watch two men who are convinced that they are superior by virtue of their sex and titles deal with female, common-born Regina. Her obvious intelligence and character shakes their worldview to the core. Furthermore, Regina is a heroine to root for. Although she’s described as an “innocent,” she’s perceptive and forthright and never naïve. I also admired how skillfully the book kept us guessing about whether the Marquess or the Duke would end up with Regina.
On the other hand, oh, how I wanted this book to end with both of the guys being repeatedly kicked someplace sensitive. Neither man is anywhere near good enough for Regina. The Duke in particular really got under my skin — he spends the whole book trying to force Regina into helpless poverty so she’ll have to be his mistress or starve, for pete’s sake! Eventually we learn that he never had a good family life. You know what? Boo freaking hoo. Fetch me the world’s smallest violin, you wealthy, privileged, sociopathic jerkwad. And the Marquess isn’t any better, since he spends the book cynically trying to convince Regina that he has her best interests at heart in the hopes of getting into her pants — and thwarting his hated rival, the Duke, in the process.
I wish the book had been brave enough to end with both men realizing that they loved Regina but had lost her due to their selfish actions, and with Regina moving on to live her own life. Alas, it is not to be. As with so many “redeemed scoundrel” romances, all the hero has to do to win the woman of his dreams is to briefly stop treating her like dirt.
I think you can read this book in two ways: as the tale of a woman who rescues the man she loves from a dark and selfish existence,* or as the tale of a horrible man who convinces a wonderful woman to marry him despite treating her terribly for 9/10ths of the book. I definitely fell into the latter camp. Regina, you deserved better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* I’m reminded of Darcy’s words at the end of Pride and Prejudice. Now there’s a great book about love and redemption and forgiveness.
Warning: This review contains spoilers.
Edith Layton’s The Duke’s Wager is often cited as one of the best Regency romances ever written. I picked it up after a friend who shares my affection for Georgette Heyer recommended it enthusiastically. Alas, I can’t quite share his enthusiasm, for reasons I will explain below in exhaustive (and possibly profanity-laced) detail. The short version is that while the book is well-written, I could not get past the fact that the book takes a smart and interesting heroine and then decides that her highest purpose in life is to be the catalyst for a man’s personal growth. Especially when that man is a total [bleep]ing asshole. (See? I warned you there would be profanity.)
The book’s heroine, Regina Barryman, is a tradesman’s daughter new to London. She is exceptionally well-educated and very clever, but at the beginning of the book she makes a mistake: she attends the opera on a night when members of the demimonde (read: classy prostitutes) gather to find new clients. The beautiful Regina leaves immediately when she realizes her error, but not before she has caught the eye of (cliché alert!) one of London’s most notorious rakes, the Duke of Torquay. The Duke immediately sets out to recruit Regina as his new mistress.
When Regina refuses him, the Duke spreads the rumor that Regina has already slept with him, which results in her being thrown out of her aunt’s home. The Duke assumes she will now have no choice but to become his mistress, but Regina refuses again. Instead, she seeks out her uncle’s former business partner, the Marquess of Bessacarr, and asks for his help. Bessacarr offers his protection and even sends her to be a companion to his spinster friend Amelia. Unfortunately for Regina, Bessacar is only helping her in hopes of making her his mistress.
Unexpectedly, however, both the Duke and the Marquess find themselves challenged and changed by their pursuit of Regina.
Spoilers henceforth.
I have very strong and conflicting feelings about this book. On the one hand, it’s compelling to watch two men who are convinced that they are superior by virtue of their sex and titles deal with female, common-born Regina. Her obvious intelligence and character shakes their worldview to the core. Furthermore, Regina is a heroine to root for. Although she’s described as an “innocent,” she’s perceptive and forthright and never naïve. I also admired how skillfully the book kept us guessing about whether the Marquess or the Duke would end up with Regina.
On the other hand, oh, how I wanted this book to end with both of the guys being repeatedly kicked someplace sensitive. Neither man is anywhere near good enough for Regina. The Duke in particular really got under my skin — he spends the whole book trying to force Regina into helpless poverty so she’ll have to be his mistress or starve, for pete’s sake! Eventually we learn that he never had a good family life. You know what? Boo freaking hoo. Fetch me the world’s smallest violin, you wealthy, privileged, sociopathic jerkwad. And the Marquess isn’t any better, since he spends the book cynically trying to convince Regina that he has her best interests at heart in the hopes of getting into her pants — and thwarting his hated rival, the Duke, in the process.
I wish the book had been brave enough to end with both men realizing that they loved Regina but had lost her due to their selfish actions, and with Regina moving on to live her own life. Alas, it is not to be. As with so many “redeemed scoundrel” romances, all the hero has to do to win the woman of his dreams is to briefly stop treating her like dirt.
I think you can read this book in two ways: as the tale of a woman who rescues the man she loves from a dark and selfish existence,* or as the tale of a horrible man who convinces a wonderful woman to marry him despite treating her terribly for 9/10ths of the book. I definitely fell into the latter camp. Regina, you deserved better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* I’m reminded of Darcy’s words at the end of Pride and Prejudice. Now there’s a great book about love and redemption and forgiveness.
May 23, 2019
This is no simple romance but has nuances of a psychological thriller, with the mcs making chess-like moves. For the men, it’s about winning - the woman and against each other while for the h it’s a matter of trying to live her life on her own (very modest) terms. And it certainly sent chills down my spine, once or twice.
This is one book with a true triangle and three clearly defined mcs. Not just in the ‘love’ sense but in the dynamics of power, game play and importance of characters.
*Major spoilers*
But, yes this book’s a winner - a tenner and is immensely unforgettable!
This is one book with a true triangle and three clearly defined mcs. Not just in the ‘love’ sense but in the dynamics of power, game play and importance of characters.
*Major spoilers*
But, yes this book’s a winner - a tenner and is immensely unforgettable!
June 4, 2015
This book gave me deep and complicated feelings! Premise: two noblemen proxy-fight with each other by attempting to seduce into mistresshood a young lady who has nobody to protect her.
In a lot of historical romances, the heroes have sexual and romantic codes that in reality would be fairly repugnant - but they are glossed over with THE ROMANCE. (I enjoy rake-y heroes, so I'm definitely the problem here.) In this book, these types of heroes are presented as I think they would be in real life. They cause irreparable harm. Their behavior harms their own souls (this is not a inspirational or anything - but boy, it really makes a powerful argument that certain types of behavior, no matter what you're telling yourself, cause harm. To you, to the lady, to your community.) - it makes them fundamentally untrustworthy, it makes all of the stuff they say about being "gentlemen" at best lies of omission, and at worst... phew. Really, really bad.
So overall I could not say that I enjoyed this book "as a romance". Indeed, I was frequently really, really angry at the heroes. Angry at the heroine for not walking away - while at the same time full of fear for her, and completely understanding that she could not really "just walk away", because in this time and this place, a woman needed men to a) agree she was worth protecting and then b) actually protect her, and if you didn't have those things, you were really adrift and vulnerable.
It reminded me more of a morality play. Which makes it sound stiff and preachy and awful! But it wasn't. It was excellently written. Just excellent. Heroes (if you can call them that) who were really and truly what the men she was writing about would have been like, I think. Yes, it's fun to say "rake" and really mean "a basically very nice man who is sowing some wild oats before settling down", but in reality, men with the traits many "rake-y" romance heroes have would have been dangerous and bad and generally terrible people. And that's who these men are. They have a veneer of gentlemanliness, but they are predators who prey on the weak, the defenseless, the female. So if it's morality play, it's a deep-feminist one, I think, that explores what really happens when you give rich men all of the power and women none of it, when you make sexual purity an obsession that only applies to some people, and so on. This type of patriarchy would have been (and still is, in some places and some subcultures) a very, very dangerous place for almost all women, and indeed for the souls of many men.
(I feel like saying "soul" in a review of a romance novel makes me sound ridiculous, but that is really what it was about for me - these types of behaviors that focus on immediate personal pleasure at the expense of others, I think in real life they DO cause the victimizer harm, even if you don't realize it at the time.)
I found this novel to be both VERY VERY GOOD and totally upsetting, something I have very unlikely to ever want to read again.
In a lot of historical romances, the heroes have sexual and romantic codes that in reality would be fairly repugnant - but they are glossed over with THE ROMANCE. (I enjoy rake-y heroes, so I'm definitely the problem here.) In this book, these types of heroes are presented as I think they would be in real life. They cause irreparable harm. Their behavior harms their own souls (this is not a inspirational or anything - but boy, it really makes a powerful argument that certain types of behavior, no matter what you're telling yourself, cause harm. To you, to the lady, to your community.) - it makes them fundamentally untrustworthy, it makes all of the stuff they say about being "gentlemen" at best lies of omission, and at worst... phew. Really, really bad.
So overall I could not say that I enjoyed this book "as a romance". Indeed, I was frequently really, really angry at the heroes. Angry at the heroine for not walking away - while at the same time full of fear for her, and completely understanding that she could not really "just walk away", because in this time and this place, a woman needed men to a) agree she was worth protecting and then b) actually protect her, and if you didn't have those things, you were really adrift and vulnerable.
It reminded me more of a morality play. Which makes it sound stiff and preachy and awful! But it wasn't. It was excellently written. Just excellent. Heroes (if you can call them that) who were really and truly what the men she was writing about would have been like, I think. Yes, it's fun to say "rake" and really mean "a basically very nice man who is sowing some wild oats before settling down", but in reality, men with the traits many "rake-y" romance heroes have would have been dangerous and bad and generally terrible people. And that's who these men are. They have a veneer of gentlemanliness, but they are predators who prey on the weak, the defenseless, the female. So if it's morality play, it's a deep-feminist one, I think, that explores what really happens when you give rich men all of the power and women none of it, when you make sexual purity an obsession that only applies to some people, and so on. This type of patriarchy would have been (and still is, in some places and some subcultures) a very, very dangerous place for almost all women, and indeed for the souls of many men.
(I feel like saying "soul" in a review of a romance novel makes me sound ridiculous, but that is really what it was about for me - these types of behaviors that focus on immediate personal pleasure at the expense of others, I think in real life they DO cause the victimizer harm, even if you don't realize it at the time.)
I found this novel to be both VERY VERY GOOD and totally upsetting, something I have very unlikely to ever want to read again.
February 24, 2018
3.75 stars.
I’m very conflicting with this book.
I like and hate it at the same time! 😬
I can’t write the review right now, currently I’m in Geneva airport, we fly to U.K. this afternoon, midterm holiday here:) 😘
Have a great weekend ladies, see you later tonight:)
I’m very conflicting with this book.
I like and hate it at the same time! 😬
I can’t write the review right now, currently I’m in Geneva airport, we fly to U.K. this afternoon, midterm holiday here:) 😘
Have a great weekend ladies, see you later tonight:)
August 31, 2017
This historical regency romance was damned near perfect.
I admit, however--this book is not for everyone. First of all, if you don't enjoy a villain (or man with very questionable morals) as a main love interest, then this isn't your bag. According to previous reviews, this element of the story has apparently angered and annoyed some readers. These are (finally!) the real rakes, people. Consider yourself warned. There is also very little action and sexy times, the "heroes" are often deplorable in their treatment of the heroine, and the dialogue is lengthy and almost Shakesperean in its style.
Personally, I loved it for these reasons. It all fuses together into something brilliant.
Layton's writing is masterful, her character studies fascinating. I loved watching how they struggle, change, and grow as the novel progresses. It's amazing what she is able to accomplish--the chemistry, nuances, and depth--in so short a book. It may be on the smaller side, but it packs a punch. A true testament to Layton's skill as an author. It was a deeply moving read for me, and I even cried a little at the end (no easy task).
And, despite his villainous intentions and hedonistic lifestyle, you simply cannot help but falling in love with Jason, Duke of Torquay. He is tormented, hilarious, and sexy as hell. I dare you not to ;)
I admit, however--this book is not for everyone. First of all, if you don't enjoy a villain (or man with very questionable morals) as a main love interest, then this isn't your bag. According to previous reviews, this element of the story has apparently angered and annoyed some readers. These are (finally!) the real rakes, people. Consider yourself warned. There is also very little action and sexy times, the "heroes" are often deplorable in their treatment of the heroine, and the dialogue is lengthy and almost Shakesperean in its style.
Personally, I loved it for these reasons. It all fuses together into something brilliant.
Layton's writing is masterful, her character studies fascinating. I loved watching how they struggle, change, and grow as the novel progresses. It's amazing what she is able to accomplish--the chemistry, nuances, and depth--in so short a book. It may be on the smaller side, but it packs a punch. A true testament to Layton's skill as an author. It was a deeply moving read for me, and I even cried a little at the end (no easy task).
And, despite his villainous intentions and hedonistic lifestyle, you simply cannot help but falling in love with Jason, Duke of Torquay. He is tormented, hilarious, and sexy as hell. I dare you not to ;)
August 2, 2019
Don’t judge a book by its (Kindle) cover. The Duke’s Wager is a very memorable and pleasant Regency to get stuck into. Regina, a merchant’s daughter, goes to the Opera on the night when the lads are out with their ladyloves. She ends up being mistaken for a scandalous woman by the Duke of Torquay who immediately sets his sights on her, going so far as to get her kicked out on the street in what is undeniably the best scene of the story. Unfortunately for him, she calls on a gentleman that her merchant uncle knew for help. It is none other than John Basil, the Duke of Torquay’s younger rival. John Basil also decides to grab Regina from under the Duke’s nose. And while he doesn’t stand a chance against Torquay, it's still a fun read. There is like, one kiss, maybe two in the entire story. The ending was a bit off because it ends with John Basil standing at the window for a long time after the coach takes off with the H+H. A bit of a damper. Anyway, more heroes like Torquay, please!
March 8, 2021
Wow! What can I say?
A true manwhore and hedonistic H who is nevertheless honest about his intentions; according to his estimation, he is a bad man and has no qualms about it
OM is gorgeous and outwardly decent but inwardly plotting and a nasty piece of work
And a h who is caught up in circumstances not of her own making; she is manipulated by both men throughout the book
I had to constantly remind myself that this was a historical romance and not reality because h's desperation was all too real and if this was real life, well, I would probably rush to help her out of her poor situation and explain the facts of life to her
By showing the contrast in H's dealings with the h and then with his daughter and his former governess, the author only highlighted one thing; that the H was irredeemable
For both the H and OM; it's like women of their class and family were to be kept safe while all other women were fair game
At the end, for all his pretty declarations of love, I really did not buy H's change in behavior because he drove the h to the very edge of her dignity;
h is not a doormat but she is very innocent and not at all worldly; and she is caught up in circumstances that are way beyond her understanding and experience
All I can say is; thank God this is fiction and that he fell in love (or whatever his version of love is) so she is safe; if this was reality, I shudder to imagine where this h would have ended up ...
A true manwhore and hedonistic H who is nevertheless honest about his intentions; according to his estimation, he is a bad man and has no qualms about it
OM is gorgeous and outwardly decent but inwardly plotting and a nasty piece of work
And a h who is caught up in circumstances not of her own making; she is manipulated by both men throughout the book
I had to constantly remind myself that this was a historical romance and not reality because h's desperation was all too real and if this was real life, well, I would probably rush to help her out of her poor situation and explain the facts of life to her
By showing the contrast in H's dealings with the h and then with his daughter and his former governess, the author only highlighted one thing; that the H was irredeemable
For both the H and OM; it's like women of their class and family were to be kept safe while all other women were fair game
At the end, for all his pretty declarations of love, I really did not buy H's change in behavior because he drove the h to the very edge of her dignity;
h is not a doormat but she is very innocent and not at all worldly; and she is caught up in circumstances that are way beyond her understanding and experience
All I can say is; thank God this is fiction and that he fell in love (or whatever his version of love is) so she is safe; if this was reality, I shudder to imagine where this h would have ended up ...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2019
Fair warning: I get a bit ranty and a bit longwinded in this review. I also get spoilery. But this book deserves it without the protection of any actual spoiler tabs.
I knew going into this that Edith Layton was an old school author whose books were slowly being reissued on Kindle. If I hadn’t known that before I started reading, however, I would have guessed as much. We have here the two hallmarks of an old school author:
Good writing.
Tehhhrible everything else.
Let’s start with (1).
Deep, layered and sometimes complex descriptions of characters and moments between them are present throughout this book. Layton isn’t detailing the intracies of attending the opera in the Regency. It’s heavily focused on character and their interactions but it’s very well done and achieves the purpose of painting a complete picture of the (awful, terrible) main players in this novel.
”He stood in the outer hallway, tall and immaculate in his evening wear, his broad shoulders encased in a close-fitting jacket, his slender waist tapering down to muscular legs, his black hair swept back and cut expertly to accentuate the fine high planes of his face, every visible carefully designed part of him signaling the epitome of the man of wealth and fashion. He stood at the top of his world, by birth, by sex, by fortune and education. And his world was the only world that he cared about.” (loc 117)
I mean, as descriptions of (in this case the secondary) hero goes, that’s pretty dang on the money and finishes with a summation of his character that absolutely holds true. He cares only about his world and about himself.
These potted characterizations carry on throughout and very well. Miss Beskins, our heroine Regina’s governess, who never appears on page is described thus, ”For the family, unknowingly, had hired a serpent to lie in its bosom. The plain faced, sensible looking woman had been a bluestocking and a woman of radical opinion”. Serpent to lie in the bosom - so excellent and it gives you an immediate impression of the woman who has educated our heroine Regina which you would hope (vainly, as it turns out) informs her character in due course. Where is Miss Beskins book, I ask? Is she busy educating some starchy widower with a brood of young charges on her radical approach to enlightened children’s education? That’s the book I want.
Some of the moments between our H/h are a little charming and revealing, ”He regaled her with stories about the society he traveled in, till tears stood in her eyes and she gasped with laughter. He entertained her with anecdotes, he charmed her with rumors, he quoted poetry and when she capped his verse with the next line, he capped her quotation once again. He showed her a glittering treasure-house of a mind, by he showed her not one glimpse of the shadows within.” (loc 1728)
Now for (2).
Everyone and everything in this book is awful.
How the women are treated is awful. The men are awful. The woman are awful. Everyone is stupid. Everyone is a stereotype.
I have spent the better part of the day since I finished this trying to work out why on earth people read books like this on a regular basis for pleasure. To an extent, I think people didn’t know better. There was no Courtney Milan in 1983. Hell, there was no Lord of Scoundrels in 1983. There is still ten years until Lord of Scoundrels: we are through the looking glass here, people. Perhaps everyone and everything needed to be awful to make the HEA seem more magical or more earned. Maybe men in the 80s were even bigger assholes than men in 2019 and so authors felt the need to show, through romance that even those total 80s assholes could be tamed by the love of a good, perfect woman? I really have no idea, but boy am I glad they don’t write ‘em like this anymore.
Let’s start with our ‘hero’. Duke, notorious rake and all round horrendous human being, Jason (bloody awful name which I shall cease using from here on out).
Let’s examine what The Duke does to out heroine Regina:
a.) Approaches her at an opera at which she clearly should not be in attendance (it’s an opera for London’s more ‘experienced’ women) and says something horribly inappropriate to her (off screen but presumably about sex).
b.) Had her followed after the opera.
Stations his man outside her house as if to abduct her so she cannot go out.
c.) After her uncle dies unexpectedly and her sole protector is gone and she is left with distant relations, he visits her at home. She tells him repeatedly to leave. He doesn’t leave. She tells him she is probably to be married to her cousin. He doesn’t care and he still doesn’t leave.
d.) When he hears her aunt coming, he draws her into a kiss which is then witnessed. Bad enough?! Nope! Then he directly states she is already pregnant with his baby and that she had called him to the house but that he declines to take her back but ”Your cousin looks like a good enough chap. Take care not to damage your future any further my girl. For I will not acknowledge the child.”
e.) Her family throw her out. The only family she has left (although they, like everyone in this novel, are literal shit). He abducts her outside the house.
f.) Regina baffles him by apparently saying clever things about human nature and he agrees to let her go and to try and ‘make it on her own’ betting that she won’t make it . He does this thinking that she is penniless and hopeless and that wits alone rarely sustain a woman in this time period. So he leaves her. On the street. With nothing.
g.) When she does manage to get help (from the secondary hero - long story, the plot’s not bad). He follows her and constinues to insinuate himself in her life despite the fact that she’s winning the wager at that point.
h.) When she is forced to flee Sinjin’s house he follows her and watches her humiliating attempts to pay her way to her governesses new school. One night he actually lets her sleep outside, alone in the cold. He does all this knowing that he has already paid the governess to leave the county.
She is so wrought out by these experiences that she basically conceded the wager - she will become his mistress. But then we get out surprise ‘happy’ ever after. Because don’t worry Regina, the Duke has come to love you and will marry you. So, I guess ~ yay?
I mean, the man is a ~villain. This is ~abusive. And if the Duke is to be redeemed it’s going to take some serious writing to achieve it. Don’t get me wrong, we are supposed to perceive that the Duke is changing. He goes back to his Estates for the first time in years and spends time with his daughter. He hires his old governess. He spends time in some puzzled thought. His life is ~different but in a somewhat nondescript woolly way that the reader has to puzzle out.
When he hears Regina has picked Sinjin over him he’s obviously distraught, “No one in the room, no, no one I the world, could have guessed at the cold fear that gripped him, or the sick dread anticipation of failure, and some other emotion that he dared not name, which caused him to sit awake the unblinking hours in the Squire’s finest guest room, while the whole house, save for the steadily working serenata, slept peacefully through the last hours of the remaining night.”
These are some snippets of redemption but that’s all they are, and perhaps worst of all they happen entirely absent Regina. His redemption should come from the heroine so she can see and (even better) definitively shape the redemption. There’s none of that here. She’s just a paragon of perfect virtue around which his slight character changes take place.
I was unconvinced. He’s a villain. A cheating, awful villain. And if Regina has sense she would run very, very far away from him.
Then there’s Sinjin, the plot foil. The rival for dear Regina’s affection. He’s an Earl. He’s awful. He treats Regina abominably. Burns her letters to her Governess. Only takes her in with a view to making her his mistress. He’s horrible to her Uncle whose only sin is being in trade and helping him to remake his fortune (through, amongst other pursuits, the slave trade - which, I suppose has the merit of being at least realistic for the time period if pretty unedifying for a future romance hero). Every woman (except Regina, dear special flower Regina) is reduced to her looks:
For now he thought, she was well enough, but a slight plumpness clung to her outline, and he was almost sure that in a few years she would balloon as alarmingly as her so charming mother had.”
”[He] now watched only with amusement as he saw how her father elongated breasts moved independently of each other as she paced towards him. Too much, he thought to himself eyeing her rounded abdomen and the deeply defined bulge of her pubis… All the mystery of her, he found, was gone. He could only feel a certain small sorrow for the confused looking woman who surely was running to a premature stoutness, and who fading dark good looks would soon take her to other sorts of establishments, far from this fashionable street.” (Loc 2820) I don’t even understand the point of this paragraph. It makes Sinjin seem awful. It’s grotesquely worded (by which I mean it’s well written, but grim to read). Plus, it just seems to ignore the fact that there is a person behind all this - the woman Sinjin had made his mistress only weeks before. What does this description achieve?!
Even on his friend Amelia who is the woman he has always felt close to and able to talk to he says, “it was unfortunate, he mused, as he invariably did when seeing her, that her fine brown eyes should be the seat of the trouble. For Lady Amelia had, since early childhood, been afflicted with a peculiar physical characteristic where one eye was perfect, brown and deep and intelligent, while the other was won’t to wander slightly out to the side… For the question of dalliance had never arisen in his mind. He knew that he could never be attracted any female with any physical defect, and had, over the years, developed an easy, sexless amiability with her.” (Loc 519)
Honestly. I hate this guy.
In modern romance Sinjin and Amelia would be the H/h of the next book. He’d see the error of his ways when Amelia got herself engaged to a handsome young soldier who saw all her brilliance. Sinjin would be reformed and we’d all forget that he used to be The Literal Worst. But from what I gather looking through the rest of the series on GR we don’t get any such book. Poor Amelia is just left on the heroine shelf, probably still pining after Sinjin.
Sinjin also treats Regina dreadfully. He burns her letters to her former Governess. He keeps her around only hoping to make her his mistress. He makes her lie to his close acquaintances. Even when he realises he loves her he revelation comes about because he decides he can’t treat her like all those other awful mistresses and sluts because she’s ~special. So we have a realization of love that is (a) completely absent Regina and (b) manages to shit on other women.
The characterisation of our male leads is typical of the entirety of this book. Men are rich rakes. Or money grabbing tradesmen. These are the two types of men.
Women are either sluts or working class (i.e. slovenly, rude, sluttish) or our heroine, Regina.
Regina is billed as the only good woman amongst the bunch. She’s terribly naive and stupid and speaks like a paragon of perfection and virtue and she has no discernible character to speak of and I wanted to slap her but we are definitely meant to think she’s the perfect woman. I mean, by the end of the book she has two rakes willing to renounce their rakedom forever and marry her and she’s only a tradesman’s daughter, so she must be perfect, right?
We are told Regina is clever and wonderful and ~unique amongst woman kind~. We’re told (as set out above) that she is raised by a bluestocking. But she never shows it. She’s never actually clever or unique. She trusts Sinjin and keeps being drawn back to the Duke despite all the awful things he has done ^^^^ when all the signs ^^^^ are that she should run far away from both.
Instead, she is ping ponged between the Duke and Sinjin like a mere plot device. She forgives them their terrible sins and thinks they might change and learns nothing. If she had any good sense at the end of the book she’d have told the Duke to shove his offer of marriage taken his money and tried to find a normal man who didn’t act like an entitled prick. Alas, poor Regina doesn’t have any good sense.
So, yeh. This book. Not a winner for me. 1 star is all I can reasonably give here, but I do want to be clear - I finished this book, although I was more hate reading by the end. And I wasn’t bored. So perhaps by rights this should get two stars. I just can’t bring myself to do it though.
This was a trashfire of characters and events and, unless you’re studying the development of the romance genre I cannot recommend it.
I knew going into this that Edith Layton was an old school author whose books were slowly being reissued on Kindle. If I hadn’t known that before I started reading, however, I would have guessed as much. We have here the two hallmarks of an old school author:
Good writing.
Tehhhrible everything else.
Let’s start with (1).
Deep, layered and sometimes complex descriptions of characters and moments between them are present throughout this book. Layton isn’t detailing the intracies of attending the opera in the Regency. It’s heavily focused on character and their interactions but it’s very well done and achieves the purpose of painting a complete picture of the (awful, terrible) main players in this novel.
”He stood in the outer hallway, tall and immaculate in his evening wear, his broad shoulders encased in a close-fitting jacket, his slender waist tapering down to muscular legs, his black hair swept back and cut expertly to accentuate the fine high planes of his face, every visible carefully designed part of him signaling the epitome of the man of wealth and fashion. He stood at the top of his world, by birth, by sex, by fortune and education. And his world was the only world that he cared about.” (loc 117)
I mean, as descriptions of (in this case the secondary) hero goes, that’s pretty dang on the money and finishes with a summation of his character that absolutely holds true. He cares only about his world and about himself.
These potted characterizations carry on throughout and very well. Miss Beskins, our heroine Regina’s governess, who never appears on page is described thus, ”For the family, unknowingly, had hired a serpent to lie in its bosom. The plain faced, sensible looking woman had been a bluestocking and a woman of radical opinion”. Serpent to lie in the bosom - so excellent and it gives you an immediate impression of the woman who has educated our heroine Regina which you would hope (vainly, as it turns out) informs her character in due course. Where is Miss Beskins book, I ask? Is she busy educating some starchy widower with a brood of young charges on her radical approach to enlightened children’s education? That’s the book I want.
Some of the moments between our H/h are a little charming and revealing, ”He regaled her with stories about the society he traveled in, till tears stood in her eyes and she gasped with laughter. He entertained her with anecdotes, he charmed her with rumors, he quoted poetry and when she capped his verse with the next line, he capped her quotation once again. He showed her a glittering treasure-house of a mind, by he showed her not one glimpse of the shadows within.” (loc 1728)
Now for (2).
Everyone and everything in this book is awful.
How the women are treated is awful. The men are awful. The woman are awful. Everyone is stupid. Everyone is a stereotype.
I have spent the better part of the day since I finished this trying to work out why on earth people read books like this on a regular basis for pleasure. To an extent, I think people didn’t know better. There was no Courtney Milan in 1983. Hell, there was no Lord of Scoundrels in 1983. There is still ten years until Lord of Scoundrels: we are through the looking glass here, people. Perhaps everyone and everything needed to be awful to make the HEA seem more magical or more earned. Maybe men in the 80s were even bigger assholes than men in 2019 and so authors felt the need to show, through romance that even those total 80s assholes could be tamed by the love of a good, perfect woman? I really have no idea, but boy am I glad they don’t write ‘em like this anymore.
Let’s start with our ‘hero’. Duke, notorious rake and all round horrendous human being, Jason (bloody awful name which I shall cease using from here on out).
Let’s examine what The Duke does to out heroine Regina:
a.) Approaches her at an opera at which she clearly should not be in attendance (it’s an opera for London’s more ‘experienced’ women) and says something horribly inappropriate to her (off screen but presumably about sex).
b.) Had her followed after the opera.
Stations his man outside her house as if to abduct her so she cannot go out.
c.) After her uncle dies unexpectedly and her sole protector is gone and she is left with distant relations, he visits her at home. She tells him repeatedly to leave. He doesn’t leave. She tells him she is probably to be married to her cousin. He doesn’t care and he still doesn’t leave.
d.) When he hears her aunt coming, he draws her into a kiss which is then witnessed. Bad enough?! Nope! Then he directly states she is already pregnant with his baby and that she had called him to the house but that he declines to take her back but ”Your cousin looks like a good enough chap. Take care not to damage your future any further my girl. For I will not acknowledge the child.”
e.) Her family throw her out. The only family she has left (although they, like everyone in this novel, are literal shit). He abducts her outside the house.
f.) Regina baffles him by apparently saying clever things about human nature and he agrees to let her go and to try and ‘make it on her own’ betting that she won’t make it . He does this thinking that she is penniless and hopeless and that wits alone rarely sustain a woman in this time period. So he leaves her. On the street. With nothing.
g.) When she does manage to get help (from the secondary hero - long story, the plot’s not bad). He follows her and constinues to insinuate himself in her life despite the fact that she’s winning the wager at that point.
h.) When she is forced to flee Sinjin’s house he follows her and watches her humiliating attempts to pay her way to her governesses new school. One night he actually lets her sleep outside, alone in the cold. He does all this knowing that he has already paid the governess to leave the county.
She is so wrought out by these experiences that she basically conceded the wager - she will become his mistress. But then we get out surprise ‘happy’ ever after. Because don’t worry Regina, the Duke has come to love you and will marry you. So, I guess ~ yay?
I mean, the man is a ~villain. This is ~abusive. And if the Duke is to be redeemed it’s going to take some serious writing to achieve it. Don’t get me wrong, we are supposed to perceive that the Duke is changing. He goes back to his Estates for the first time in years and spends time with his daughter. He hires his old governess. He spends time in some puzzled thought. His life is ~different but in a somewhat nondescript woolly way that the reader has to puzzle out.
When he hears Regina has picked Sinjin over him he’s obviously distraught, “No one in the room, no, no one I the world, could have guessed at the cold fear that gripped him, or the sick dread anticipation of failure, and some other emotion that he dared not name, which caused him to sit awake the unblinking hours in the Squire’s finest guest room, while the whole house, save for the steadily working serenata, slept peacefully through the last hours of the remaining night.”
These are some snippets of redemption but that’s all they are, and perhaps worst of all they happen entirely absent Regina. His redemption should come from the heroine so she can see and (even better) definitively shape the redemption. There’s none of that here. She’s just a paragon of perfect virtue around which his slight character changes take place.
I was unconvinced. He’s a villain. A cheating, awful villain. And if Regina has sense she would run very, very far away from him.
Then there’s Sinjin, the plot foil. The rival for dear Regina’s affection. He’s an Earl. He’s awful. He treats Regina abominably. Burns her letters to her Governess. Only takes her in with a view to making her his mistress. He’s horrible to her Uncle whose only sin is being in trade and helping him to remake his fortune (through, amongst other pursuits, the slave trade - which, I suppose has the merit of being at least realistic for the time period if pretty unedifying for a future romance hero). Every woman (except Regina, dear special flower Regina) is reduced to her looks:
For now he thought, she was well enough, but a slight plumpness clung to her outline, and he was almost sure that in a few years she would balloon as alarmingly as her so charming mother had.”
”[He] now watched only with amusement as he saw how her father elongated breasts moved independently of each other as she paced towards him. Too much, he thought to himself eyeing her rounded abdomen and the deeply defined bulge of her pubis… All the mystery of her, he found, was gone. He could only feel a certain small sorrow for the confused looking woman who surely was running to a premature stoutness, and who fading dark good looks would soon take her to other sorts of establishments, far from this fashionable street.” (Loc 2820) I don’t even understand the point of this paragraph. It makes Sinjin seem awful. It’s grotesquely worded (by which I mean it’s well written, but grim to read). Plus, it just seems to ignore the fact that there is a person behind all this - the woman Sinjin had made his mistress only weeks before. What does this description achieve?!
Even on his friend Amelia who is the woman he has always felt close to and able to talk to he says, “it was unfortunate, he mused, as he invariably did when seeing her, that her fine brown eyes should be the seat of the trouble. For Lady Amelia had, since early childhood, been afflicted with a peculiar physical characteristic where one eye was perfect, brown and deep and intelligent, while the other was won’t to wander slightly out to the side… For the question of dalliance had never arisen in his mind. He knew that he could never be attracted any female with any physical defect, and had, over the years, developed an easy, sexless amiability with her.” (Loc 519)
Honestly. I hate this guy.
In modern romance Sinjin and Amelia would be the H/h of the next book. He’d see the error of his ways when Amelia got herself engaged to a handsome young soldier who saw all her brilliance. Sinjin would be reformed and we’d all forget that he used to be The Literal Worst. But from what I gather looking through the rest of the series on GR we don’t get any such book. Poor Amelia is just left on the heroine shelf, probably still pining after Sinjin.
Sinjin also treats Regina dreadfully. He burns her letters to her former Governess. He keeps her around only hoping to make her his mistress. He makes her lie to his close acquaintances. Even when he realises he loves her he revelation comes about because he decides he can’t treat her like all those other awful mistresses and sluts because she’s ~special. So we have a realization of love that is (a) completely absent Regina and (b) manages to shit on other women.
The characterisation of our male leads is typical of the entirety of this book. Men are rich rakes. Or money grabbing tradesmen. These are the two types of men.
Women are either sluts or working class (i.e. slovenly, rude, sluttish) or our heroine, Regina.
Regina is billed as the only good woman amongst the bunch. She’s terribly naive and stupid and speaks like a paragon of perfection and virtue and she has no discernible character to speak of and I wanted to slap her but we are definitely meant to think she’s the perfect woman. I mean, by the end of the book she has two rakes willing to renounce their rakedom forever and marry her and she’s only a tradesman’s daughter, so she must be perfect, right?
We are told Regina is clever and wonderful and ~unique amongst woman kind~. We’re told (as set out above) that she is raised by a bluestocking. But she never shows it. She’s never actually clever or unique. She trusts Sinjin and keeps being drawn back to the Duke despite all the awful things he has done ^^^^ when all the signs ^^^^ are that she should run far away from both.
Instead, she is ping ponged between the Duke and Sinjin like a mere plot device. She forgives them their terrible sins and thinks they might change and learns nothing. If she had any good sense at the end of the book she’d have told the Duke to shove his offer of marriage taken his money and tried to find a normal man who didn’t act like an entitled prick. Alas, poor Regina doesn’t have any good sense.
So, yeh. This book. Not a winner for me. 1 star is all I can reasonably give here, but I do want to be clear - I finished this book, although I was more hate reading by the end. And I wasn’t bored. So perhaps by rights this should get two stars. I just can’t bring myself to do it though.
This was a trashfire of characters and events and, unless you’re studying the development of the romance genre I cannot recommend it.
February 26, 2014
This is one of those books in which the hero(es) featured is a villain.
When the book opens up, it's from the viewpoint of the Marquis, who despises the Black Duke for being depraved and licentious. They both spy a beautiful young girl attending the opera on the night in which courtesans seek new protectors. The Duke makes an immediate move towards her, but the Marquis doesn't.
What happens then is that the Duke doesn't give up. He's sinister in his pursuit of Regina and sets a carriage outside her house so that she's unable to leave the premises. Her uncle, when he finds out about this, requests help from the Marquis on the basis of their many years of secretive, exclusive, and profitable business dealings. However, the uncle then passes away, leaving his sister (?) and nephew.
When the book opens up, it's from the viewpoint of the Marquis, who despises the Black Duke for being depraved and licentious. They both spy a beautiful young girl attending the opera on the night in which courtesans seek new protectors. The Duke makes an immediate move towards her, but the Marquis doesn't.
What happens then is that the Duke doesn't give up. He's sinister in his pursuit of Regina and sets a carriage outside her house so that she's unable to leave the premises. Her uncle, when he finds out about this, requests help from the Marquis on the basis of their many years of secretive, exclusive, and profitable business dealings. However, the uncle then passes away, leaving his sister (?) and nephew.
January 24, 2022
This isn't your typical HR, but I was hooked from Page 1.
It's a lust triangle of sorts, with two noblemen battling it out for a young, hard-on-her-luck woman, who they've mistaken for a courtesan. Each wants to be her protector, and neither comes off smelling like roses by the end of the book.
If you don't mind flawed heroes who push the limits of morality, and love triangles, you'll like this one.
It's a lust triangle of sorts, with two noblemen battling it out for a young, hard-on-her-luck woman, who they've mistaken for a courtesan. Each wants to be her protector, and neither comes off smelling like roses by the end of the book.
If you don't mind flawed heroes who push the limits of morality, and love triangles, you'll like this one.
February 21, 2022
Meh! I had quite high hopes going into this and although the heroine did not disappoint...a sensible, sweet and caring mc who is thrust into a difficult situation by two douche bags. The men though were selfish, creepy and not worthy of the heroine at all.
June 21, 2025
The Duke’s Wager (1983) … utterly enthralled with this little book. I remember years ago avoiding these Signet Regency Romance books at the public library because of the covers … thought the stories would be prim, proper and boring. Give me a Rosemary Rogers or a Bertrice Small! As a librarian I should have known better than to judge a book by its cover. Tis a joy to have HR friends on Facebook who recommend books like this one!!
Regina, from the middle class who’s led a sheltered life in the country, is relentlessly pursued by two men who view her as a competition. James Edward Thomas Duke of Torquay, and St. John Basil St Charles Marquis of Bessacar are the most debauched hedonist rakes in London. They’re selfish, despicable, and disregard Regina’s feelings.
The author has a superb understanding of human emotions as she delves into the characters pasts, and then how they begin to truly understand themselves. The story isn’t really a love triangle but as it continues there’s a focus on the redemption of one man as the heroine sticks to her principles… especially her honor. He’s been loved and desired by many women, but he discovers the love FOR a good woman makes all the difference in the world.
Overall, a squeaky clean romance that nevertheless sizzles with passion and romance. Brilliant!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Regina, from the middle class who’s led a sheltered life in the country, is relentlessly pursued by two men who view her as a competition. James Edward Thomas Duke of Torquay, and St. John Basil St Charles Marquis of Bessacar are the most debauched hedonist rakes in London. They’re selfish, despicable, and disregard Regina’s feelings.
The author has a superb understanding of human emotions as she delves into the characters pasts, and then how they begin to truly understand themselves. The story isn’t really a love triangle but as it continues there’s a focus on the redemption of one man as the heroine sticks to her principles… especially her honor. He’s been loved and desired by many women, but he discovers the love FOR a good woman makes all the difference in the world.
Overall, a squeaky clean romance that nevertheless sizzles with passion and romance. Brilliant!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
February 16, 2016
I wanted to like this book based on the glowing reviews but unfortunately I could not bring myself to finish it. The heroine was the meat in an unsavoury sandwich, the innocent victim caught up in the cruel, chest-thumping game of two powerful, narcissistic men. Men, who could only seek proof of their own worth through the oppression of others, and who had no consideration for the consequences of their actions beyond the immediate satisfaction of their whims and the attendance of their pleasures. I gather one, if not both, will eventually reach the elusive epiphany before the end of the story and redeem themselves, but I did not care enough to waste my next few hours reading about their egocentric disregards for others before the inevitable enlightenment. I also did not like the fact that the author devoted equal time for both these hedonistic, unappealing sorry-excuses-for-men, too much time dwellling on their unpleasant ways and their cold, uninvolved,sociopathic mentalities. The story sounds less of a romance than the redemption of these 2, and I can't imagine how they can redeem themselves within the not-so-lengthy length of this novel.
August 1, 2024
Read about 10 years ago. Re-read, yesterday & today.
Gave it 4 stars.
Country-bred Regina lived w/ her merchant Uncle George
in London. He made no provisions for her future in the
event of his demise.
She met both Jason (a duke) and St. John (a marquis) at
the opera. She had no escort and Jason propositioned her.
She was NOT a 'lightskirt.' St. John, George's silent
business partner, promised to keep Regina safe.
After Regina's uncle died, Jason abducted her. She got
away, but he wanted to seduce her. Both men competed
for her. They appreciated her face and form, but learned
she was well-read and interesting. Each man became
introspective. She showed wisdom beyond her years.
Story had romance, adventure, clever dialogue and depth.
Gave it 4 stars.
Country-bred Regina lived w/ her merchant Uncle George
in London. He made no provisions for her future in the
event of his demise.
She met both Jason (a duke) and St. John (a marquis) at
the opera. She had no escort and Jason propositioned her.
She was NOT a 'lightskirt.' St. John, George's silent
business partner, promised to keep Regina safe.
After Regina's uncle died, Jason abducted her. She got
away, but he wanted to seduce her. Both men competed
for her. They appreciated her face and form, but learned
she was well-read and interesting. Each man became
introspective. She showed wisdom beyond her years.
Story had romance, adventure, clever dialogue and depth.
March 30, 2022
Oh yes. A proper intelligent grown-up historical romance. Not in a X-rated sense, but because there are messy emotions, people who are not black & white, and a glorious sense of language and structure that comes as balm to the soul! And wit and humour into the bargain.
Unusually for the genre, the story is told mainly from a male POV - and not just the hero's. Indeed, it's hard to say which of the two main male characters is the hero in this as it's not entirely clear until near the end just who the heroine will end up with. A couple of reviewers have commented that the heroine is too good for either of her suitors, and that's certainly true, but I think to appreciate this book you need to look at it the other way round.
The end is a little understated - and I would love to have seen just a little more of Regina and the duke together - but hey. This is a classic, and I'll go back to this again and again.
Unusually for the genre, the story is told mainly from a male POV - and not just the hero's. Indeed, it's hard to say which of the two main male characters is the hero in this as it's not entirely clear until near the end just who the heroine will end up with. A couple of reviewers have commented that the heroine is too good for either of her suitors, and that's certainly true, but I think to appreciate this book you need to look at it the other way round.
The end is a little understated - and I would love to have seen just a little more of Regina and the duke together - but hey. This is a classic, and I'll go back to this again and again.
March 2, 2014
I'm not quite sure how to review this. I gave it 4 stars, but it was difficult for me to read. I'm intentionally writing this without reading any other reviews because I feel the need to be honest about my feelings here. And I'm afraid I will be influenced by what others have previously written.
First of all, her writing style is more complex than I am used to. It required concentration. Often I read at work or in front of the TV. I could not do that with this book. Many times I had to reread passages because I totally lost the train of thought. But her characterizations were quite complete. I knew I did not like any of the male characters, at all, from the beginning.
Jason, the Duke, is seeking Regina for his latest mistress mistaking her for a courtesan at the Opera where he first saw her. His rival, St. John, a Marquis, spotted her at the same event. When Regina's uncle dies, he tells her to seek out St. John for protection if need be. Jason kidnaps her and they enter into a game of conquest. Regina immediately goes to St. John who takes her in to spite Jason whom he has always been in competition with.
As I stated earlier, I didn't like either party or her uncle who left her penniless. The story is really about the two men and their machinations to see who wins this game. The ending is quite fulfilling but very abrupt. Somehow fitting for this book.
First of all, her writing style is more complex than I am used to. It required concentration. Often I read at work or in front of the TV. I could not do that with this book. Many times I had to reread passages because I totally lost the train of thought. But her characterizations were quite complete. I knew I did not like any of the male characters, at all, from the beginning.
Jason, the Duke, is seeking Regina for his latest mistress mistaking her for a courtesan at the Opera where he first saw her. His rival, St. John, a Marquis, spotted her at the same event. When Regina's uncle dies, he tells her to seek out St. John for protection if need be. Jason kidnaps her and they enter into a game of conquest. Regina immediately goes to St. John who takes her in to spite Jason whom he has always been in competition with.
As I stated earlier, I didn't like either party or her uncle who left her penniless. The story is really about the two men and their machinations to see who wins this game. The ending is quite fulfilling but very abrupt. Somehow fitting for this book.
April 2, 2017
If this is truly a classic of regency romance, then the genre needs serious help. The whole thing made me feel gross.
July 10, 2021
The Duke of Torquay and the Marquis of Bessacarr are both trying manipulate Rachel Berryman into being their mistress. The Duke takes the direct approach: ruin her in front of her family, get rid of her job opportunities, and loom behind her in his carriage, waiting to snatch her up.
The Marquis goes more Dangerous Liaisons with it. He pretends to be Rachel's friend and savior, meanwhile he's sabotaging her so she has no one else to turn once she's truly penniless. Even though the duke's actions are the most obviously evil, the book takes the point of view that there is a sort of morality in being upfront about how wicked you are. (Anne Stuart villainous love interests rejoice!)
I didn't care that much about the love story or about who would win over Rachel in the end, but the duke is a loquacious weirdo and I loved it. He does not speak, he opines. His inner dialogue is flowery prose about how debauched he finds himself to be, and he finds pleasure in everything. While he's reminiscing on a woman he finds repulsive, he gives the caveat that he could have found something to enjoy in the new shapes and textures. Shapes and textures!
The Marquis goes more Dangerous Liaisons with it. He pretends to be Rachel's friend and savior, meanwhile he's sabotaging her so she has no one else to turn once she's truly penniless. Even though the duke's actions are the most obviously evil, the book takes the point of view that there is a sort of morality in being upfront about how wicked you are. (Anne Stuart villainous love interests rejoice!)
I didn't care that much about the love story or about who would win over Rachel in the end, but the duke is a loquacious weirdo and I loved it. He does not speak, he opines. His inner dialogue is flowery prose about how debauched he finds himself to be, and he finds pleasure in everything. While he's reminiscing on a woman he finds repulsive, he gives the caveat that he could have found something to enjoy in the new shapes and textures. Shapes and textures!
July 11, 2023
I can’t even remember how this book ended up in my KU library, but I was in the mood for a traditional Regency. This was my first Edith Layton, and wow - I went into it blind and am so glad I did.
Her writing is incredible and her plotting ingenious. I honestly wasn’t sure who the heroine, Regina, would choose until maybe 85%, although I had my suspicions. That was so refreshing.
This was quite a dark, twisted tale, featuring a smart but naive young woman and two morally gray rakes who have bad reputations—in one case, seriously bad.
We get third-person POVs from all three, which helps build on the feeling that it could be anyone’s game—or no one’s.
This kind of reminded me of Heyer’s Justin Alastair in These Old Shades. Not in plot, but in the slightly sinister hero(es) and the mannered, dark language.
I looooooooved it.
Her writing is incredible and her plotting ingenious. I honestly wasn’t sure who the heroine, Regina, would choose until maybe 85%, although I had my suspicions. That was so refreshing.
This was quite a dark, twisted tale, featuring a smart but naive young woman and two morally gray rakes who have bad reputations—in one case, seriously bad.
We get third-person POVs from all three, which helps build on the feeling that it could be anyone’s game—or no one’s.
This kind of reminded me of Heyer’s Justin Alastair in These Old Shades. Not in plot, but in the slightly sinister hero(es) and the mannered, dark language.
I looooooooved it.
August 4, 2012
This book was simply great. I loved the twists and turns and surprises. I had a guess at the outcome, but it kept me guessing til almost the last page.
April 26, 2017
Regina the damsel in distress and her two lustful suitors; Jason (the Black Duke Torquay) and Sinjin (the Marquess of Bessaccar).
This isn't really a love triangle, because the Sinjin and Jason just want to get in her pants and she isn't interested in either of them... well not at first. For the first 3rd of the book I really wasn't sure which man would be the winner.
EL spends a lot of time setting up the plot and characters and it was great reading, but kind of sad in a way. Both men were so selfish and dissolute, you couldn't really cheer on either. Then slowly the author peels away the myths and posturing to reveal the true men.
Regina's father and uncle have died without leaving her a penny. Sinjin and the Duke have a wager who she will choose to be mistress to. But Sinjin has the 'in' of being her uncle's choice to go to for help. He uses it deceitfully. The Duke lies outright to everyone but Regina. With her, he is always honest, yet ruthlessly beguiling.
I loved the description of the Duke. Unlike your usual H, he is not tall and muscular. He's slight and almost beautiful. He's much older at 35, with a hoarse raspy voice. Sinjin is tall and younger and full of pride.
All three characters learn a lot about themselves over the course of the story. Things they had willfully never thought about before. Especially the two men.
The story is safe (well I assume so), and pretty PG. Just some kissing. Yet it was so very romantic I read the ending twice!
This isn't really a love triangle, because the Sinjin and Jason just want to get in her pants and she isn't interested in either of them... well not at first. For the first 3rd of the book I really wasn't sure which man would be the winner.
EL spends a lot of time setting up the plot and characters and it was great reading, but kind of sad in a way. Both men were so selfish and dissolute, you couldn't really cheer on either. Then slowly the author peels away the myths and posturing to reveal the true men.
Regina's father and uncle have died without leaving her a penny. Sinjin and the Duke have a wager who she will choose to be mistress to. But Sinjin has the 'in' of being her uncle's choice to go to for help. He uses it deceitfully. The Duke lies outright to everyone but Regina. With her, he is always honest, yet ruthlessly beguiling.
I loved the description of the Duke. Unlike your usual H, he is not tall and muscular. He's slight and almost beautiful. He's much older at 35, with a hoarse raspy voice. Sinjin is tall and younger and full of pride.
All three characters learn a lot about themselves over the course of the story. Things they had willfully never thought about before. Especially the two men.
The story is safe (well I assume so), and pretty PG. Just some kissing. Yet it was so very romantic I read the ending twice!
February 4, 2015
I picked this up on the recommendation of a book blogger that I follow - I was curious enough to see why this had been so popular back in the day.
The characters were well written, especially several of the secondaries (and that is the reason for the 2 star rating) but the entire premise of the storyline-the duke's wager-kind of left me wondering why the heck I was spending my precious reading time on this book. In fact, the whole thing left me feeling like I almost need to shower.
I read the kindle version which has terrible cover art - at least with the hard copy book you would have better art to look at.
I don't recommend this.
The characters were well written, especially several of the secondaries (and that is the reason for the 2 star rating) but the entire premise of the storyline-the duke's wager-kind of left me wondering why the heck I was spending my precious reading time on this book. In fact, the whole thing left me feeling like I almost need to shower.
I read the kindle version which has terrible cover art - at least with the hard copy book you would have better art to look at.
I don't recommend this.
October 7, 2014
5 stars for The Duke's Wager. What an awesome story, and what beautiful writing! Totally different from anything else I've ever read in the romance genre. The 2 "heroes" are both quite disgusting each in their own way, but only one of them redeems himself enough to be worthy of the heroine, even though he is the one who initially, and literally, destroys her life.
This story is so superior to anything else I've read by Edith Layton (e.g. the "C" series) that it's hard to believe that they were written by the same person.
This story is so superior to anything else I've read by Edith Layton (e.g. the "C" series) that it's hard to believe that they were written by the same person.
March 25, 2020
I could not rate it higher, the Heroes (yes there are 2) fighting over the heroine, are both evil and manipulative. I felt so bad for her and the situation she found herself in.
They are both hateful and vile and practically destroy her spirit. The end is not nearly satisfying enough.
They are both hateful and vile and practically destroy her spirit. The end is not nearly satisfying enough.
February 7, 2017
Regina Berrymore goes to the Opera on an inappropriate night and gets mistaken for a lady-bird by a Marquis and a Duke. When she is cast out of her home due to the Dark Duke's evil machinations to get her in his bed, it puts Regina in the middle of their longtime feud. Who will come out the victor in this battle to the bedroom?
1. I honestly didn't know what to make of this book at first. Both the Marquis and the Duke are douche-bags??? But they're the 'heroes', allegedly, of the book? They're both extremely predatory, both mired in dissolution, both selfish. The only difference is that one of them recognizes his assholery as such; the other is hiding it even from himself. So it's an interesting dynamic--made more so by the realization that this is probably a more realistic portrayal of what a 'rake' truly is, rather than using it as a shorthand for a well-experienced lover.
2. I did spoil myself on the ending (I HAD TO) and it's to Layton's credit that while I was at first like "SAY WHAT" by the time I finished the book, I had not only full come around to the resolution but was straight rooting for it. This is one book I would have appreciated an epilogue for: I wanted that gooey happy ever after crap ALL OVER THE PLACE.
3. Regina was an interesting mix of interesting and bland. She is exquisite; she is brilliant; she is intelligent; she communicates like a man! It's all very well and good, but so boring: first, because it allows for some disgustingly dated sexist shit about how much better than any other woman of any other class she is, and secondly because those sort of heroines are so unique in their particular novel but a dime a dozen in the genre.
4. Overall, I liked this even while struggling with it. It doesn't do a particularly great job of 'fixing' its hero; it presents the heroine as a means to an end; it offers none of the fizzy, effervescent joy I was looking for (which is my problem). It's a story of its time, and it does a decent job of capturing the claustrophobic world available to a women without family, friends, means or skills.
3.5 stars
1. I honestly didn't know what to make of this book at first. Both the Marquis and the Duke are douche-bags??? But they're the 'heroes', allegedly, of the book? They're both extremely predatory, both mired in dissolution, both selfish. The only difference is that one of them recognizes his assholery as such; the other is hiding it even from himself. So it's an interesting dynamic--made more so by the realization that this is probably a more realistic portrayal of what a 'rake' truly is, rather than using it as a shorthand for a well-experienced lover.
2. I did spoil myself on the ending (I HAD TO) and it's to Layton's credit that while I was at first like "SAY WHAT" by the time I finished the book, I had not only full come around to the resolution but was straight rooting for it. This is one book I would have appreciated an epilogue for: I wanted that gooey happy ever after crap ALL OVER THE PLACE.
3. Regina was an interesting mix of interesting and bland. She is exquisite; she is brilliant; she is intelligent; she communicates like a man! It's all very well and good, but so boring: first, because it allows for some disgustingly dated sexist shit about how much better than any other woman of any other class she is, and secondly because those sort of heroines are so unique in their particular novel but a dime a dozen in the genre.
4. Overall, I liked this even while struggling with it. It doesn't do a particularly great job of 'fixing' its hero; it presents the heroine as a means to an end; it offers none of the fizzy, effervescent joy I was looking for (which is my problem). It's a story of its time, and it does a decent job of capturing the claustrophobic world available to a women without family, friends, means or skills.
3.5 stars
August 10, 2018
I expected more, I think, hence the low rating.
I wanted a bit more of a redemption for the Duke and Marquis. They were both such dissolute characters: the former was more open and honest about it (up to a point), and the latter was very secretive of it.
The long and short of it was that Regina was a woman alone in the world, so a lot of the machinations towards the end made sense . It seems awful and realistic that she could lose so much of her agency, seeing as how she had so little means at her disposal.
Further, the ending did nothing for me. While I was hoping for a huge gesture (and his gesture was pretty grand, but it by no means balanced out what he had already set in motion in the first place), it seemed a bit too inconclusive for me.
I really didn't care for the book at all.
I wanted a bit more of a redemption for the Duke and Marquis. They were both such dissolute characters: the former was more open and honest about it (up to a point), and the latter was very secretive of it.
The long and short of it was that Regina was a woman alone in the world, so a lot of the machinations towards the end made sense . It seems awful and realistic that she could lose so much of her agency, seeing as how she had so little means at her disposal.
Further, the ending did nothing for me. While I was hoping for a huge gesture (and his gesture was pretty grand, but it by no means balanced out what he had already set in motion in the first place), it seemed a bit too inconclusive for me.
I really didn't care for the book at all.
May 15, 2016
A very enjoyable book! Games , games, games !
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