Vice

V #8

by Jane Feather

From the incomparable Jane Feather, author of national bestsellers Vanity, Violet, and Valentine, comes this enthralling new romance of daring deception and forbidden passion...Juliana drew the line at becoming a harlot. She had already begun the week as a bride...and ended it as a murderess. She was sure no one would believe that she'd hit her elderly groom with a bed warmer and knocked him dead quite by accident. So she did the only thing she could--she ran. Yet now she was in noposition to turn down a shocking proposition from the dangerously handsome Duke of that she become one man's wife and another man's mistress--his mistress. Could she play such a role? Could she live up to such a bargain? And once she had tasted the pleasures of Redmayne's bed, would she ever want anything else?From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Georgian, Adult, Fiction, Dark

449 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Jane Feather (born Jane Robotham) is a popular British–American writer of historical romance novels. In 1984 she wrote five contemporary romances under the pseudonym Claudia Bishop. She is a New York Times-bestselling, award–winning writer, and has more than ten million romance novels in print.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 4/22
Reread: 9/23/25
Setting: 1753 England

So much darker than most of her books. I loved it!

[T from Istria 💛💚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good although I have bile in my stomach throughout the book. The poor women of this time, how horrible they were treated, ill-used by everyone and how totally dependent on others they were. Heartbreaking, and very well described milieu by the writer.

The heroine was one of those spunky but naive girls (17) who happens to get into trouble every other page.
The hero is an extremely Ducal Duke who gets his way in everything throughout the book, to my great annoyance. His actions are not honorable, everything he does is for selfish reasons and I wished he would have understood heroine’s situation and been less of a blockhead. He does understand he loves her in the end so that’s good.
Also, the villain came away too easy. Otherwise a book/audio I couldn’t put down.

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Хубавото на баба Джейн е, че покрай откачените си любовни истории (тази тук не прави изключение), вкарва винаги някаква друга тема. В случая това е животът на лондонските проститутки по викторианско време. Презирани, но иначе силно търсени от високопоставени и недотам господа, те започват да осъзнават, че също са човешки същества и имат някакви права - да не ги пребиват, алчните “мадам” да не им прибират всичките пари, да могат да отидат на лекар… Точно в супер благовъзпитаното викторианско общество този занаят е в бурен разцвет - все пак доброто възпитание трябва да си намери отдушник… А момичетата от занаята не винаги са посягали към него по избор или от любов към приключенията.

Иначе съм доволна - историята започва със сватба и убийство и завършва с друга сватба и убийство, класика.

[Rainelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. I love love loved it.

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

What do you do when you accidentally kill your husband on your wedding night? If you are Juliana you run to London with no money, no contacts and hope you find a job. But suddenly you find yourself living in a bordello and “sold” to a Duke in a wild scheme that will actually make your life a lot better.

This novel was a quick and easy read and will hold your attention. The only problem is I started to immensely dislike the “heroine”. Her decision making process left a lot to be desired and it got to the point where I had to side with the duke who “purchased” her. I know many historical romance readers like “strong willed” female characters, but how can you like a character that is stubborn to the point they continue to make silly decisions which always ends in harm’s way?

As for the romance, I was a little disappointed the author did not take us on a “romantic journey”. Juliana and the Duke instantly lusted over each other, and love was barely mentioned, which I found odd. On the plus side, I did learn a lot about prostitution in Victorian London and the infamous red-light district of Covent Garden.

[Monique Takens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story begins with one of the most gripping prologue's I have ever read .But sadly what began as a 5 star story could not fulfil the promise .
This book was not much of a romance but something more of a vehicle for Jane Feather to write about the appaling life circumstances the women with no family or friends faced in those times ( 1750 a d )

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy this author when I'm in the mood for a historical romance because her characters are not weak-willed females who dither about wondering if someone loves them. Instead, she has strong female characters who find themselves in odd situations. In this novel, you will learn all about prostitution in victorian London. It is interesting and - of course - romantic.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a story of a woman in the 1700s England and how little choice they have. Juliana is a woman who is married to a man at least 30 years older than her. On her wedding night, something goes horribly wrong. She escapes to London, where there is not much choice for a single 17 year old woman, with the clothes on her back. Then she meets the Duke of Redmayne, Tarquin and her life takes an interesting turn. It is a very detail orientated story and I enjoyed it.

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Q - Secondary Character, Lord Quentin Courtney

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uncomfortable most of the time. Yet intriguing in it’s own way.

[Sheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feather tries to present some of the horrors women faced in London of the mid-eighteenth century, but it never quite seems real to me. For one thing, Our heroine is in a ritzy house of prostitution at one point, and is told that no one there gets the pox, or any other sexually transmitted disease, because they and their clients are all "very clean," which is just ludicrous. A hundred years later, a New York City study indicated that most prostitutes only lasted a decade or two, most of them taken out by disease and the "slow suicide" of alcohol and drugs, and I think it very unlikely it was better in London of the 1750s.

I like the heroine of this book, but her only real flaws are that she's clumsy and she's a soft-hearted idiot. At one point she tries to organize the prostitutes of London into a trade union, a highly impractical plan at the very least. And even though she knows there's a guy looking to grab her and haul her away for nefarious reasons, she keeps running off and getting caught by the bad guys or ending up in some other sort of trouble. The hero is one of those imperturbable and apparently heartless Dukes who always know how to manage things that populate an enormous percentage of Regencies. He's not particularly interesting but gets the job done.

I like the Duke's brother, who feels sorry for the heroine and recognizes some of the wrongs being done around him, however he's woefully worthless and can't even solve his own problems, let alone offer the heroine anything but a bit of emotional support. No, that's not entirely fair -- he does tell the hero some home truths and stand up to him, so while he doesn't solve his problems, there is a sense where he is crucial to the solution. Sadly, most of the secondary characters never rise above types, and some of the prostitutes don't even really reach that level, blending entirely in my brain into an amorphous mass.

This was one of the first romances I read and liked after I discovered the All About Romance website, which actually had legit reviews by thinking people (prior to that all the romance review sites I'd run across might as well have been advertising sites -- no longer the case, thank goodness), and a few scenes actually stuck in my brain all these years, meaning I remembered it with fondness.

And I am fond of it, for no very good reason. It pushes my buttons, for one. I like a lot of historicals where the heroine is coerced into an on-going sexual situation she does not want but decides to put up with for whatever reason; rape, by modern standards, but also a shockingly common situation for women throughout history. And I like to see a woman who was completely helpless rise above the bad guys, even if she has to rope some Duke in to make it happen.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juliana is the young bride of a grossly obese old man, who dies on their wedding night during an unsuccessful attempt to consummate the union. Thing is, when she was struggling to breathe beneath his weight, she also whacked him on the back with a hot bedwarmer, so she reckons she's going to be blamed for the death. Her erstwhile husband has an icky son who lusts after Juliana and objects to the settlement his father established for her, which he considers to be his rightful inheritance. She figures he's going to see that she burns at the stake as a murdering wife, so she runs for it.

An innocent in the rough part of London, Juliana is easily caught up in the trap of a nasty madam who gets her to spill her secret (the better to blackmail her with). The madam has her own agenda-the Duke of Redmayne has asked her to find him a virgin who can be bought. He intends to marry her off to his woman-hating, boy-loving, syphilitic cousin. The cousin is dying and as he has no issue his estate and title would go in an undesirable direction. Tarquin (the duke) plans to establish the bridal couple in his manse, where he will make the bride his mistress and sire an heir for his cousin.

Juliana wants no part of the madam's plans for her, and less part of Tarquin and his scheme, but they blackmail her into cooperation, using the prospect of being burned at the stake as leverage.

And here's where the logic falls apart. On one hand, Tarquin is adamant that, once Juliana is established as his cousin's wife, she can no longer associate with the women she befriended when she was prisoner in the whorehouse because of the associations. He wants her reputation to be above reproach. But while she was a prisoner, he had her forcibly brought to a party where she met other men of society as a whore. Trying to figure out why there was no concern that THIS would get out.

Moreover, did he not think that as the sudden bride of a man who was notoriously gay and notoriously dying of the pox, Juliana is not exactly going to be society's ideal young woman anyway? Especially when she sleeps in his house every night while her "husband" is off buggering altar boys--and she turns up pregnant? Just tryin' to sort it all out.

Anyway, despite the fact that the blackmail and original plan are pretty loathsome, at least in this case, Juliana manages to get Redmayne to see his actions through her eyes, and make him actually regret it.

Meanwhile, Juliana's stepson finds surprising allies as he tries to bring her home to burn.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a little bananas. Juliana thinks she kills her old husband during the consummation of their marriage, so she runs. She’s not about to be burned at the stake for something that was a total accident! Juliana is a tad naive and falls into the hands of a high end brothel owner. She receives the following proposition from the Duke of Redmayne: marry his cousin, but in name only. The cousin is dying from the pox, so the Duke is not cruel enough to force her into a real marriage with him. Instead, she will be the Duke’s mistress, until he impregnates her with his cousin's heir. No big deal.

As I said, it’s a little outrageous, and I honestly loved every second of it! There’s kidnappings, police raids, and lots of men learning valuable lessons. My favorite part of the entire book is that Juliana takes it upon herself to essentially unionize all of the prostitutes to support one another in their industry. It didn’t take her long to notice the difference in treatment between the high class brothels and those who have to work in Covent Garden. She wanted to make it better for everyone and not through reform, but with establishing better standards and support! This was the first book I have read by Jane Feather, so if you have any favorite books of hers, let me know!

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn’t bad? And the plot about essentially
Unionizing prostitutes wasn’t bad either? Like undoubtedly trash, but very good trash to have picked up at the thrift store for a buck.

[Bookcrazy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Laut Amazon habe ich mir das Buch vor 10 Jahren zugelegt, keine Ahnung ob ich das Buch damals überhaupt gelesen habe, aber es landete irgendwie auf meinem SUB wegen meines Bücher-Ausmist-Projektes.

Ich wusste nur noch, dass ich etwas zwiegespalten bezüglich der Autorin war, also nicht wirklich begeistert....


Und jetzt nach dem Lesen, kann ich sagen zumindest dieses Buch der Autorin ist für mich nichts.
Weder der Inhalt noch der Schreibstil waren das Meine. Fast noch negativer würde ich den Schreibstil bewerten. Schwülstige Sprache, umständliche Sätze. Ja, ich hab einige Passagen überflogen.

Zum Inhalt - MIT SPOILER! :
Juliana Ridge hat nicht wie auf dem Buchrückentext angegeben den "niederträchtigen Stallburschen" erschlagen aufgrund ihrer Ungeschicktheit, sondern ihren Mann in der Hochzeitsnacht indem sie ihm eine wärmende Bettpfanne überzog.
Sie flieht und landet als Jungfrau in einem Bordell.
So kommt es, dass sie der Duke of Redmayne erblickt und nachdem er sie heimlich nackt sieht, als geeignet für seine Pläne erwägt.
Sie wird mit seinem verhassten homosexuellen bald an Syphillis krepierenden Cousin Lucien verheiratet und der Duke Tarquin will sie schwängern um den Besitz zu sichern.
Dann gibt es noch den Sohn des erschlagenen Kerls, der Juliana will und sie versucht zu vergewaltigen und zu entführen.
Und dann ist da noch Juliana, die sich mit einigen Huren angefreundet hat und diese auch als verheiratete Adelige nicht aufgeben will, was natürlich zu Problemen führt. Sie will sogar eine Art Gewerkschaft gründen. Alles ziemlich absurd für die damalige Zeit, wie generell der ganze Plot. Es kommt auch zu einer Szene wo ihr grausamer Mann (Lucien) und seine schwulen Freunde sie versteigern um Wettschulden zu begleichen, bei der sie auch fast vergewaltigt wird.
War wirklich grottig bzw. bestätigt genau die allgemeinen Assoziationen bzw. Vorurteile, die man beim Anblick eines Liebesroman-Covers hat.


FAZIT:
Wie schon erwähnt: Schlecht geschrieben. Das Buch fliegt in hohem Bogen aus meinem Bücherregal.

[elstaffe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, if you want a book where the evil scheming antagonist to the hero is a pedophile and the hero is mostly just worried about family reputation, have at this. The ridiculous stepback showing multiple events from the book was the best part of it (for me).

Quotes I noted:
"'Your passion for little boys has become something of a family liability,' he observed, withdrawing a Sevres snuff-box from his pocket. 'That rather nasty business with the Dalton boy seems to have become common knowledge.'" (77)

"'I lost interest long ago in trying to persuade you to choose another way of life,
Tarquin said. 'You are a vicious reprobate and a pederast, but I'll not have you bringing public dishonor on the family name. Which is what will happen if the parent of some other altar boy decides to bring charges against you. Take a wife and be discreet. The rumors and the scandals will die immediately.' He tapped the broadsheet with a finger." (78)

"The house had been quiet as usual throughout the morning, but in the last hour it had come to life, and Juliana had sat in her room waiting for something to happen." (84) that's a self-burn, author

[Ahopelessreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for this in a way. I wanted an old school, high drama romance with a truly slick, borderline devilish Alpha hero. Kind of tired of these perfect beta, politically correct heroes and their sickly sweet romances for the self-insert, comfort reading crowd. But as is par for the course with these old books, the heroine is a TSTL teenager and gets into too many dumb situations for me to enjoy this. I could've maybe gritted my teeth through one dumb decision, but she made multiple and I couldn't take it anymore.

Not for me.

[Nessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

ORIGINAL BUT IT STILL LACKED SOMETHING. The characters and their passion seemed a little flat, or maybe it was just my preference. The plot was a little predictable, and it was a very long novel for one without much of a drive. I enjoyed the age-gap pairing but, I couldn't help but feel very distant from the main hero, like he was a cardboard man instead of flesh and blood. I think the writing didn't quite speak to me. And the heroine acted her 17 years, sometimes a little too hot-headed for my taste. There's SPUNK, and then there's JUST SPUNK.

FULL REVIEW TO COME.

[Angelica Morado-Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning, I did not like the story. Then I started to think, is it possible that women had to live this way? Maybe they did as life was hard and often very difficult for women with no support from family or friends. Toward the end, the main characters find their way. And then troubling issues are resolved .

[Sally taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never would have picked this up, but I had a challenge to read a book with the same title as one of Brad Pitt's films. This book is NOT the same as the movie. I really liked this book. It did have some problems the age difference got to me a little, the abuse of sex workers and woman in general was hard to read at times, but mostly I liked it.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

TW: pedophilia / pedophilia cover ups

So here's a thought, maybe DON'T structure the plot of your romance novel around the need to cover up a pedophile in the family! First off it's morally reprehensible full stop. But at the VERY LEAST you've got to realise that leaves the reader with zero sympathy for the hero (who is attempting the cover up of his cousin)??
This novel had a promising premise but I don't know if I can go much further now that I've realised that's what is at stake, because it's just sickening.

Edit: I did end up finishing it, lol.

[Su · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good language. However, all book was about a serial of rescue operations. Hero saved heroine from dire situations five times. And heroine also saved another woman once from a possible death hole too.

[Desi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leído en Marz 2011

[Reagan Heckathorn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not really like it :/ very enlightening about the horrors of 18th century prostitution though! the romance was not believable at all, unfortunately, but I still love you forever, Jane Feather.

[Chelsea ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very epic

[Kim Love · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't with this book, the FMC was basically tstl, the whole plot hinged on her doing stupid impulsive things

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this for a second time. Juliana lived a life of unhappiness, and married an elderly man - much to her distaste - whom she accidentally kills on her wedding night. She does the first thing that comes into hear head and runs. So begins a tale of fear, excitement, and a new world that Juliana has never experienced.

Enter Tarquin, the handsome Duke of Redmayne who has a proposition for Juliana, that she seems she has no choice but to accept to assist in her escape from her past and George - her obsessed step son who wants revenge for his fathers death, and who also lusts for her.

Juliana falls for Tarquin and so begins a relationship which is totally different for Tarquin, as he becomes emotionally involved - something that he had never experienced previously. Their encounters are filled with exotic desires and intimacy, something that Juliana finds to be amazing. Juliana's strong personality also adds for some great adventures along the way!

I felt that JF could have elaborated more on Juliana's and Tarquin's romance, but definitely worth a read!!

[Brenda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm never ever going to go against my better judgment and ignore reviews again. Seriously, the notes I made throughout this whole book mostly consists of 'stupid, stupid, STUPID'. Everyone in the book keeps going on about how smart and quick-witted the heroine is, but I failed to catch even a single example of a reasonably well-thought-out decision, much less anything particularly clever. Her lack of self-awareness is appalling; she has completely no notion of her own faults and barely grows as a character by the end. Then again, I can't blame her because it seems everyone else in the book is just as blind to her silliness. This book is full of idiots.

Nasty personalities as her previous guardians had been, I wondered for a moment if they didn't have something there in their distaste for the heroine.

[penelopewanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had actually read this one years ago, but as I was getting ready to list it on bookmooch I realized I didn't remember it at all so have picked it up again. My cover is a bit different but I can't seem to find my edition.

Interesting. Seems I forgot this once before. This had been stored and just before making it available for trade I thought I'd read it again. I remembered having read it, but not what actually happened. Julianna is pretty irritating with her insistance on having her own way- more pigheaded than independent really - bit of a miracle she comes out of it all as well as she does.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a little different than what I normally read but it was better than I expected. It had a good hook to find out how the book was going to end. The book ended amazingly which was really unexpected because it didn't seem like it was going to end up the way it did. As you can tell I really liked the ending of the book. I knew that Redmayne was going to do the right thing in the end. He made the story that much better because he was a total gentlemen even though he didn't have to be but he was intruded with Juliana which made sense because she was a really good main girl character.