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Bad Husbands #3

Her Grace's Passion

SHE WAS BY ALL RIGHTS A MERRY WIDOW, YET SHE FEARED HAPPINESS WOULD NEVER BE HERS...

Matilda, Duchess of Hadshire, was a virtual prisoner of a cruel husband who romanced his mistress under her nose. Her only joy was dreaming of the handsome Earl of Torridon--for he, too, was trapped in a horrid marriage and longed for love and happiness.

Though she secretly wished for his death, Matilda never imagined the guilt that would plague her when the illustrious duke was befittingly murdered by his own lightskirt! And when she turned to Torridon for comfort, she discovered a few surprises in store for both of them....

170 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 30, 1991

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About the author

Marion Chesney

150 books770 followers
Marion Chesney Gibbons
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M.C. Beaton, Sarah Chester.

Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.

Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.

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5 stars
144 (23%)
4 stars
205 (33%)
3 stars
198 (32%)
2 stars
43 (7%)
1 star
14 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Profile Image for Treece.
521 reviews154 followers
May 21, 2020
Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Rife with loads of humor and dark moments, this book walked a fine line between excess and sheer melodrama but it worked. For me anyway, the final book that fulfills the Bad Husbands series--https://www.goodreads.com/series/1091...-- where the two previous heroines make appearances, our pragmatic heroine, Matilda, had the sad misfortune to have a husband who was the most vicious and cold-hearted of the trio. Suffice to say he got more than he bargained and everything he deserved. Although Matilda was tiresome at the end with her rejection of the H , her charge, Leticia, along with her gallant, Sir Charles, saved the remainder of the book. I definitely recommend this one and the good news is that you can side-step the first two without missing a beat.
Profile Image for Tasneem.
1,824 reviews
December 1, 2011
Matilda, the Duchess of Hadshire has a miserable marriage. One day while on a lucky outing, she meets the dashing Earl of Torridon, himself a very unhappily married man. Their attraction and passion is instantaneous. But, it is only when the horrid Duke is murdered by his mistress, and the Earl's Countess by her supposedly French maid, that they have any hope of being together. But Matilda won't take on the scandal of being with the man she loves if the accusation that he killed his wife stands. And so friends come to the rescue to find the Countess' true killer and help them live happily ever after.

So is the plot, and what fun and laughter ensued as the plot is worked out. Adored the Earl, and loved Matilda, though she was a bit of a ninny on some occasions.

third reading - I do adore Letitia and Sir Charles as the two ill-matched lovers determined to find out who killed the Countess of Torridon and help the Duchess of Hadshire find true love.
Profile Image for Kate McMurry.
Author 1 book134 followers
February 14, 2020
The third book in a Regency, romantic-suspense trilogy

Matilda is a duchess in her early 20s. She has been married approximately five years to the viciously cruel, much older Duke of Hadshire. He is obsessed with collecting beautiful works of art. When he decided to marry Matilda, it was because she is also beautiful, and he regarded her as merely another piece of art for his collection. However, her strong personality and somewhat deep voice soon gave him a disgust of her. As a result, he only had sex twice with her at the very beginning of their marriage and spends almost no time in her presence. Nevertheless, he controls every aspect of her life, including what she wears, who she associates with, and what society functions she attends. In addition, at his command, she is constantly spied on by her lady's maid, his valet, and by the rest of the duke's servants as well.

Then one day, Matilda discovers a secret passage connected to her suite at the duke's country estate and uses it to sneak away for a fleeting afternoon of freedom. She hitches a ride to a nearby town and there, at a local inn, she has her first meet with the MMC, the handsome, compassionate, Scottish Earl of Torridon. It is a case of love at first sight for both of them. But the earl is as maritally cursed as Matilda. He is in his 30s and has been legally shackled for five interminable years to a woman whose frequent wild rages suggests to me that she is bipolar.

Matilda's husband is conveniently murdered fairly early in the story, and eventually, the earl's wife is conveniently murdered as well. But because Matilda is such a rabbit of a person, as she aptly labels herself, she refuses to marry the earl, even though she loves him dearly, because she is afraid of malicious gossip. The earl has been condemned by the ton as having murdered his wife in order to be free of her, even though he has a solid alibi, and the runners and the local magistrate have accepted his innocence. Matilda will not marry him until somehow the true murderer is exposed and his name has been cleared completely.

During the course of this novel, Matilda takes under her wing an adorable ugly duckling. Leticia is an 18-year-old vicar's daughter. Though she is quite lovely, the fact that she is 6-feet tall in an era when the average height for men was 5'2" has convinced her parents that she is unmarriageable. Her romantic interest is 32-year-old, wealthy Lord Charles, who is a veteran of the Napoleonic wars and currently a fashionable fribble. He has a large, domineering mother and is attracted to women who are taller than he is. Leticia is the first big woman he has been drawn to who is both kind and equally enamored of him. He is so much shorter than her, he would have to stand on a stool in order to kiss her. But the height difference doesn't bother either of them.

This story is the third in a trilogy about three female friends, who are each trapped in an abusive marriage, until fate intervenes early in all three stories, and the evil husband is disposed of. After that, a romance gradually develops with a handsome, wealthy, aristocratic MMC. In the case of this novel, similar to the first two books in this trilogy, there is a romantic-suspense subplot, but there aren't as many evil villains in this novel as in the first two, and Matilda herself is not put in any life-threatening situations, unlike the previous two FMCs. Similar to the structure of the first two books, Matilda does not save herself from any of the issues she faces. Instead, she is always rescued by the efforts of other characters.

Matilda and Torridon are barely on stage together 20% of this novel, and the secondary romance between Leticia and Charles has almost as much page space as the primary romance. In addition, Leticia and Charles act as a deus ex machina on behalf of creating an HEA for Matilda and Torridon by solving the murder of Torridon's wife. However, in spite of these limitations, I did enjoy both romance plots.

Compared to many other soapy, Regency melodramas that MC has written, which frequently include bizarre villains, this particular novel does not go over the top in that direction. In addition, in these three books there is not the enormous 15-to-17-year age difference between the FMC and the MMC that exists in essentially every other Regency romance that MC wrote.

I experienced this novel as an audiobook, which I checked out from Hoopla. The narrator does a fairly good job.
Profile Image for Jaimey.
Author 21 books169 followers
December 3, 2008
In a nutshell: Matilda, Duchess of Hadshire is finally free of her abusive husband when he is murdered by his own mistress. She falls in love with the Earl of Torridon, trapped in an unhappy marriage himself. When circumstances lend him his freedom, Matilda's guilty conscience will not allow her to be with him.

Ok. This is probably my least favorite of this series but I still really liked it. This heroine was more interesting as a friend of the previous two heroines in this series ( The Scandalous Lady Wright & His Lordship's Pleasure ) than as the "star" of this tale. The hero was a little of a nonentity although I was sorry for him in his choice of first wife.

But, a little over halfway through the book, a new character is introduced. Letitia is over six feet tall and quite clumsy. She is incredibly sweet, however, and incredibly loyal. Her pleasant attitude and amusing antics make the somewhat irritating main characters far more palatable. She was my favorite character.

As usual, this is very much like other Marion Chesney books. She succinctly tells a story while dropping tiny little factual tidbits about the selected time period. A light, quick read.
Profile Image for MissKitty.
1,768 reviews
February 14, 2024
Well this was just charming! Unfortunately I’m not talking about the main Hero and heroine, who are a bunch of wet blankets. No, the more charming couple are the side characters of Leticia and Sir Charles!

Leticia is a young girl from the country being sponsored by the heroine who is now the Dowager Duchess after the death of her cruel husband at the hands of his vulgar mistress (a fitting end) Letitia has so much spunk and animation it’s no wonder Sir Charles is immediately smitten ❤️

Unfortunately this story lost a star for the unnecessary angst the main couple go through. They are both in bad marriages. The heroine's husband specializes in cruelty, humiliation and the mental anguish of his wife. Fortunately, the heroine is widowed within the first chapters as her husband is killed by his vulgar mistress. At this point the Hero is still pining for the heroine but is still married so cannot do anything about it. Fortunately, again, the wife of the Hero is found dead and after initially being suspected of murdering his wife, the Hero is cleared.

You would think that after a proper time of mourning they can get together as a couple and finally find some happiness... but NO!! 🤦🏻‍♀️ The heroine cannot marry the Hero until she finds the real killer of the Hero's wife and thus sparing them all the scandal and ultimately clearing his name.

So from this point on its actually the enterprising Leticia, and her besotted beau Sir Charles who solve the mystery and make it possible for the two wet blankets to get together!

Sir Charles and Letitia do get their happy ever after as well so the book ended on a good note.
Profile Image for Julia.
212 reviews51 followers
March 6, 2015
I had skimmed part of this Marion Chesney trad regency in a used book store years ago. In my attempts to read some of the romances I read before, I read it as part of my KU trial. That vague memory didn't convey how utterly bonkers this book was. The hero and heroine were both trapped by their respective terrible marriages and their attempts to free themselves only made things worse. One spouse was killed by vengeful mistress and the other poisoned by a blackmailing lady's maid. The conflict felt external and the villains somewhat cartoonish. "If only this scandal was settled..." was repeated so often. I never had any doubt they'd sort it out.

I did love the secondary pairing Sir Charles and Letitia. Mismatched utterly (she's a "giantess" at 6'0", he's a small dandy no one takes seriously), they take over the book in the second half, investigating the death of the hero's wife. The book felt completely different, so much lighter in tone!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Helene Harrison.
Author 4 books87 followers
February 15, 2015
Review - I thought that Matilda's story was well-written and I really loved the combination of strength and vulnerability. I wish more had been heard of the aftermath of Hadshire's killer as I felt that it was left at a bit of a cliffhanger. Not as enjoyable as the first book in the series, a little more enjoyable than the second. I thought that the idea of Hadshire murdered by his own lover was interesting, but more could have been made of it.

Genre - Historical / Romance

Characters - Matilda, Duchess of Hadshire / Earl of Torridon / Emma Wright / Annabelle Carruthers

Setting - London (England)

Series - Regency Scandal #3

Recommend - Yes

Rating - 15/20
Profile Image for Annie Burrows.
Author 175 books310 followers
January 6, 2015
This is the last of a loosely linked trilogy, by the author also known as M.C.Beaton, about three women who are released from unhappy marriages when their despicable husbands get murdered. The set was given to me as a Christmas present - from my husband! I really enjoyed all three stories. I know some people don't like Chesney/Beaton's style, but if you are a fan then I can highly recommend this trilogy (which includes Her Ladyships Pleasure, and The Scandalous Lady Wright)
Profile Image for Bridget Love to read Lewis.
2,716 reviews30 followers
June 16, 2019
Matilda loves an Earl

Matilda was married to an atrocious Duke who flaunted his mistress and brought her into their home! Matilda meets the Earl of Torrington who is married to a vicious harridan! Both long to be free once they realize their attraction but it seems hopeless! In this story of murder, betrayal and intrigue love does find a way!
1,263 reviews
July 3, 2017
This book is really a murder mystery disguised as a romance which is great for me because I love both. I love the characters. A fun read.
Profile Image for Diana.
1,143 reviews24 followers
July 16, 2018
Convenient murders but the protag feels guilty about it this time?

Skip.
Profile Image for kat.
630 reviews29 followers
October 7, 2025
3.5 stars. Audiobook on Spotify. I didn't initially realise this was part of a series but figured as much when the FMC's two happily married best friends descended on her. Kind of an unusual premise in historical romance (definitely in more recent HR anyway) -- the two MCs are unhappily married but have a mutual attraction, there's a bit of push-pull between them, but then The MCs kind of take a backseat in the second half to the FMCs protege Leticia (a super tall country miss whom the titular duchess is sponsoring in society) and her beau Sir Charles, a short king who is a former soldier-turned-fribble. Sir Charles and Leticia were so awesome I kind of forgot all about the main pairing. Overall it was kind of uneven because the MCs were so much less interesting than the ancillary pair, and even the main conflict between them only largely served as a mystery for Sir Charles and Leticia to solve together.
45 reviews1 follower
July 18, 2026
I want to rate this book as both 2-star book and a 5-star book. The ML was atrocious and as the FL was falling for him I kept waiting for a different man would enter the picture and save her from all the horrible men in her life, but no. She falls for the Earl.

A different man does come into the picture, but not for the FL, but for her charge, Leticia. What a breath of fresh air the Charles and Leticia were! I liked that the author didn't create a handsome and really tall man for her. It's probably the reason why they weren't the main characters to begin with. Charles wasn't perfect, he did invite and take Leticia out and about in the middle of the night, intending it to be just the 2 of them without a chaperone 😬. It definitely seemed like his motivation was primarily to catch the villainess, but still not the right call.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for eileen P crichton.
2 reviews
May 24, 2017
M C Beaton all her books are so enjoyablle

I love MC Beatons books every single one From her Regency to her modern ones like Hamish Macbeth or Agatha Raisen I just wish they would turn some of the regency ones into tv series like the modern one e d especially The Travelling Matchmaker Or A House for the Season.
Profile Image for Rhiannon Grant.
Author 11 books49 followers
May 28, 2021
Efficient... bordering on predictable, especially by the third in the series. Rather a lot of very conveniently timed murders and suicides to enable the romance plot (the final couple both start the book married to other people, and four deaths are required before they get together). It's meant to be fun, and can be read in that way, but should probably have some trigger warnings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Louise.
100 reviews8 followers
July 19, 2021
A fun read. The romances were very much love at first sight, and the hero and heroine seemed to go from "Hello" to madly in love in about ten minutes! They were more than a bit ridiculous at times, and absolutely manufactured their own drama. The B-plot pairing were great, though. Shame there wasn't more of them!
Profile Image for Barbara  Williford .
673 reviews5 followers
August 27, 2022
Matilda is in a loveless marriage to a cruel husband. Earl Torridan is married to a nagging and vicious wife. Their paths cross and they are instantly drawn together but because of their marriages they are destined to be apart until a series of unfortunate events occur. Cross between a love story and a cozy mystery. Beaton also brings her usual comedy to the story.
Profile Image for Amy Meyers.
915 reviews28 followers
February 1, 2026
DNF. Cannot recommend bc the protagonists commit emotional adultery, and therefore the book promotes disordered affections. Also the lady’s first husband brings a mistress right to his house in a disturbing but silly description that takes sin too flippantly.
7 reviews
August 8, 2020
Loved it a nice feeling read relaxing puts a smile on your face m c beat on writes the best books I've read asthma raisin Hamish mc Beth and recency love them all
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
292 reviews3 followers
December 14, 2020
Sir Charles and Leticia are the best part of this story. The other two were quote boring.
Profile Image for Bookish.
339 reviews
December 22, 2024
The second couple were so sweet and delightful with many lol moments.
Profile Image for Louise Leonard.
717 reviews5 followers
October 6, 2025
interesting premise but just didn't like the hero. secondary couple was really fun
Profile Image for Natsie Rose.
25 reviews
May 19, 2026
Too much going on and nothing given time to build up. It reads very clumsy
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews