La duquesa

by Danielle Steel

Traicionada. Abandonada. Invencible.

Angélique Latham no es realmente duquesa, aunque tras perder a su madre cuando era muy pequeña, se ha criado en el majestuoso castillo de Belgrave junto a su padre, el duque de Westerfield, que siempre la quiso con locura. Pero ahora su padre ha muerto, y sus hermanastros han decidido desheredarla. Está sola en el mundo.

A sus dieciocho años, Angélique es lista y muy hermosa, pero tiene mala suerte, pues, aunque consigue colocarse como niñera de una familia acomodada, un suceso desagradable e injusto la deja otra vez en la calle. Sin hogar, sin referencias ni contactos, viajará a París.

Allí, después de rescatar a una joven de una situación horrible, tendrá la clave de su futuro. Un negocio insólito y una ocupación al borde del escándalo marcarán la inesperada vida de la hija de un duque.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Historical, Historical Romance, Audiobook, Adult Fiction

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's bestselling authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include All That Glitters, Royal, Daddy's Girls, The Wedding Dress, The Numbers Game, Moral Compass, Spy, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children's books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.

Facebook.com/DanielleSteelOfficial
Instagram: @officialdaniellesteel

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

OMG...I am half embarrassed to even admit I read this book but here goes. The last time I read a Danielle Steel book has to be at least 25 years ago. However, I see this historical (almost always my first choice) highly rated (GR: 4.21 and Amazon over 4 stars) novel available to borrow as an e-book from Overdrive library. I figure what the heck, perhaps I should give Steel another chance. If I were to buy the book on Amazon it would be $14.99 so why not take the opportunity to borrow.
I should have just went with my first inclination and just stayed away. But once I started reading, much like watching a train wreck, I finished the whole book.

I don't even know where to start with my complaints. Of course, the heroine, as is the case with every Steel heroine, possesses beauty and intelligence that defies human expectations. We are told repeatedly of this extraordinary beauty and near genius like intelligence on a regular basis.

The year is approximately 1826. The 18 year old daughter of a Duke, Angelique, is left at the mercy of her half brother upon her father's death. Of course, the brother has always resented Angelique because he hated her mother, who actually died at her birth. Her father, on his deathbed, feared that Angelique would not fare very well at the mercy of brother so he gives her a bag of money for her to hold onto just in case she needs it. Steel went to great lengths to describe how this was necessary since the property and all the riches were entailed and therefore Angelique could not inherit anything and the oldest brother would become Duke and inherit everything. It does seem to me that in 1826 the father could have provided a dowry separately for Angelique or at the very least, contacted a lawyer or friend and asked them to look out for her since he didn't trust the eldest son. But then of course, we the reader would not have had the opportunity to witness the extraordinary feats of Angelique.

The evening of the father's funeral, Tristan, now the Duke, lets Angelique know that she will not be staying at the family estate. She has to leave and, in fact, the brother has secured a position as a
nanny for her. Evidently, she has no one else to turn to and with her bag of money hidden she goes off to live the life of a servant. Now she has never been around children but has to become the nanny to four children 4 1/2 years and younger. Not to worry though, Angelique excels at whatever
she faces and within a day or two has the four children firmly under control. The self absorbed mother of these children rarely sees them and Angelique comes to love them and they her (of
course). Eventually, we find out the mother is pregnant again and this time she has twins. Angelique will now have SIX children to take care of with only occasional help from another
servant. Again, the very capable Angelique who before this lived a sheltered, pampered life as a
Duke's daughter, is now a servant taking care of SIX kids.

After around a year and a half of living as a servant, Angelique is "sacked" after rebuking the
advances of one of the male houseguests and he lying and accusing her of attempting to seduce him. Now poor Angelique is on her own again. She heads to London but her attempts to secure a
new nanny position are futile because she was fired without a reference. It is suggested she try France because they might not be as strict about these things as they are in England. She is still
carrying around the 25 pounds that her father gave her but doesn't want to use it unless she has to.

Now she is in France but facing the same issue...no references so no job. One day soon after arriving, she finds a young girl lying beaten in the street. Fabienne is 18 and a prostitute who was trying to make it on her own without protection of a pimp or a madam. Angelique takes Fabienne back to her hotel room and helps nurse her back to health. Upon learning Fabienne's story, Angelique decides she will open a brothel and it will be the finest, most exclusive brothel available in Paris. Now mind you, she is not quite 20 years old at this time. But, this is Angelique, perhaps one of the most capable, did I mention beautiful, young women of all time.

Fabienne rounds up around 8 more women and Angelique, now finally using some of her father's money (I'm sure he would have been so proud of her) she has been carting around for almost two
years, rents a house and next thing you know, Angelique is running the most exclusive, prosperous
brothel in all of Paris. Now Angelique is still a virgin and she plans to keep it that way. She does
none of the entertaining but men are still as enthralled as ever with her beauty and keen intelligence and they flock around her, even knowing they can't have her. It's enough to just be in
her presence I guess.

After around a year and half of this, Angelique is forced to close up the brothel and leave France. A murder occurred at the brothel and even though one of Angelique's admirers (high up in the government) did his best to hide the location and facts surrounding the murder, he advised Angelique to close up for a while and leave the country. Why this had to occur is a mystery to me because none of Angelique's employees were involved in the murder and to operate a brothel was not against the law. But of course, Angelique needs to move on and the author couldn't figure out a better way to get her to America I guess.

On the ship over to America, Angelique meets Andrew and they fall in love. He too was enthralled with her beauty and intelligence. They marry and have a son. Fastfoward six years--now this is where the author really slayed me. I'm no expert on English law but I believe the historical inaccuracy in this book was outrageous. Not only were dates and events mentioned that made no sense but the final craziness was when Angelique heard that her brother Tristan, now the Duke, had blown through all their father's money and was going to sell the ENTAILED property. He also was willing to SELL his title. The other half brother had died so he wasn't around to protest. And to top it off, it was stated that Angelique's son would be the heir to the Dukedom. Again, I'm no expert but can the son of the daughter of a Duke inherit the title? I thought all heirs came from only the male side, unless you are talking Kings and Queens. Even so, the Duke could not have put entailed property up for sale. That is the whole idea behind making it entailed. It seems like an author with the resources available to Danielle Steel would have researched some of this. And what about her editor? I think this is sloppy work at best.

As I write this, I wonder if I am being overly generous giving it two stars. The language used was very modern and did not have the feel of a historical. I consider this book a huge disappointment and I feel bad for those who fork over $14.99 or more to read this and am so glad I only borrowed. There are so many better authors out there with worthy books and I would encourage readers to find them.

edited 2-16-19: A couple of people pointed out that I made an error when I said her father gave her a bag of money that contained 25 pounds. I checked the book out again from Overdrive and I would like to correct that amount to 25,000 pounds. Big difference! Out of curiosity, I found a conversion calculator that told me that 25,000 pounds in 1827 would be 2,511,448 pounds today (actually 2017) due to inflation. And since my brain works in U.S. dollars, I was curious as to what 2.5 million pounds would be and the answer is approximately 3,238,101 dollars. So it seems that the fact that Angelique carried over 3 million dollars around with her for a few years is even crazier than I initially thought.

[MaryannC Victorian Dreamer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally 3 Stars. A fairly quick read that I will say was Historical Fiction fluff. 18- year old Angelique Latham has just lost her father The Duke of Westerfield when her half brothers from the Duke's first marriage promptly throw her out since British Law does not entail women to inherit only the first born son. On her father's deathbed he secretly gives her a large sum of money to live by in case her greedy brothers didn't help her, with that, her newly titled brother Tristan informs her that he has secured her a position as a nanny to a rich couple with 4 children. Alone and afraid with no work experience ever she learns to take care of her charges with ease and grow to love them, all is well for a time when a lecherous male house guest tries to seduce Angelique, she refuses then is she accused of being the aggressor and later dismissed with no references. 2 years later out on her own again with no where to go and no prospects she goes to Paris where she finds and nurses back to health a young beaten up prostitute she found on the streets named Fabienne. After hearing about the unfair treatment Fabienne and other prostitutes have suffered at the hands of pimps and madams of bordellos Angelique comes up with the great idea of opening up her own bordello with the money her father gave her where the women will be smart, beautiful and attract the best men of social status. She secures a large home and lavishly furnishes the house with silks and draperies where she will be the madam but not engage in any of the sexual encounters taking place at the house named Le Boudoir. Once opened Le Boudoir attracts the sort of men she has hoped for making it a celebrated success and she and her girls are rolling in the dough, some of her customers fall in love with her, she prospers and she's only 20 years old! The premise of this book had me interested but what got me throughout it was everything just always fell into place, when she's a nanny she learns the job effortlessly, the servants in the house she works for all admire her, the kids love her and she manages them wonderfully. When she ends up in Paris she finds the perfect house, the loveliest furniture and the best girls to work for her, there's never any thought to pregnancies or diseases her girls may get everything is wonderful there are no complaints from suspecting neighbors no one beats on her door to shake her down for money and then suddenly there's a murder and political uprising that causes her to close up shop and flee. So she flees to New York where she meets a wonderful man on the ship she is sailing on and finally finds happiness in her impeccable outfits that make her the envy of other women. Ok, I won't give up any more details to what happens next, but this just didn't have any of the grittiness I thought it may have had to make me feel anything for Angelique and her dire situation, it was just a fluffy sort of read.
After much mulling over I decided to downgrade my stars to 2.75, it was ok because it held my interest but it wasn't great for me.

[Suzzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning you will just hate a lot of the characters. However, as the book goes on you are so wrapped up in Angelique's unfolding story that you can overlook the meh moments at the beginning. Redemption is beautiful!

Overall, a great lead character who you cannot help but root for. Her way of redeeming career move is one very unforgettable route!

[Jayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the spirit of trying everything at least once, I picked this up.

It was very floofy and felt like what you might get at a creative writing workshop. The premise was interesting but suffered terribly at the hands of bad writing. I'm not quite sure how or why Steel can be so popular. The whole book felt like a never-ending summary and the writing was childlike.

Am never coming back to Steel again.

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
My book club read this month was a Danielle Steel book of our choice. I selected a recent release from the worldwide bestselling author, The Duchess. I was quite taken in by the beautiful cover that features an aristocratic woman in an eye-catching hat. I was also in the mood for a historical fiction novel and The Duchess seemed to fulfil my needs.

Belgrave Castle, owned by the Duke of Westerfield in Hertfordshire, is the home to Angelique Latham. The daughter of a Duke and an aristocratic French mother, Angelique is the product of a second marriage for the Duke. When her beloved father dies, despite being schooled in managing the family estate and being her father’s protégée, Angelique is soon cast away from her childhood home by her cruel half brothers. British law in the nineteenth century prevented female offspring and younger siblings from inheriting the family fortune. Instead, Angelique leaves Belgrave Castle with a secret stash of money her father gifted to her. She is quickly forced into a position in service as a nanny to one of her brother’s friends. Work as a nanny is far removed from the life Angelique has known but she takes it in her stride. At first difficult, Angelique soon becomes quite attached to her new role. The children seem to adore her and her new employer is impressed by their new charge. However, an attempted assault at the hands of a friend of Angelique’s employer ruins everything. Angelique’s employer believes the story of the man who tried to attack her and immediately banishes her from service, with no reference. With no references, Angelique is unable to gain employment in England. Angelique decides to draw on her mother’s French roots and makes the crossing over the channel to seek employment in France. Again, Angelique is faced with the same dilemma, no employer will take her on without a reference. By chance, Angelique falls upon a young French prostitute, who has almost been beaten to death. While caring for this young woman, Angelique has an enterprising idea. Using her father’s money, Angelique establishes a business that is very unconventional for a young woman of Angelique’s background but it soon becomes lucrative and profitable. When a tragic accident occurs at Angelique’s establishment, she must cut ties and is forced to flee to the US. When love eventually comes her way, Angelique must fend off the scandal that threatens her future happiness.

The chance to read a Danielle Steel book of my personal choice via my book club this month was a welcome one and I am pleased with my selection. The Duchess is one of the best books I have read by Danielle Steel, as a few selections I have made in the past have given me mixed reactions to this author. The Duchess was a book that helped this reader see why Steel holds such long-lasting and international appeal.

I liked the historical grounding for this novel. The Duchess is set in the nineteenth century and spans a number of tumultuous years and continents (Britain, France and the United States) for the daughter of a Duke. The title is perhaps a little misleading, as the main character Angelique is never truly bestowed the title of ‘Duchess’. It is robbed from her by her unfeeling half brothers and is loosely given to her as a nickname in the business Angelique establishes for herself in the latter parts of the story. Although there is not a huge focus on specific period detail and language, I did find The Duchess a very accessible historical fiction novel. There were a few references to the shifts in royalty both in Britain and France that gave this novel some historical backdrop.

Angelique is a strong, determined and enterprising young woman. Steel puts her heroine in a situation often faced by young women of this time. Steel focuses her energies in highlighting the plight of women in this era. They were often placed in a bind, unable to inherit their family estates in the case of death, with all monies going to their elder male siblings. Steel draws our attention the problems faced by those directly impacted by these inheritance laws through her novel. In Angelique’s case, she is tossed aside by her jealous older half brother and is cruelly sent to work below the stairs, as a Nanny, at a friend’s estate. To add further insult, Angelique is given the new identity of a ‘poor distant cousin’, so all ties between the siblings are severed. Angelique must sit back and watch as her brother,his wife and family alter her family’s estate, ultimately sending it into financial ruin. This is a huge point of frustration for a young girl, who under her father’s devoted tutelage was given the skill set to manage the family estate. Steel also uses this angle of the narrative to show how desperate these situations make those subjected to it become. In Angelique’s situation, her strength of spirit and enterprising mind help get her through the bad times, despite her moves being quite unconventional.

The Duchess divides its time and location three ways and I enjoyed the scandal and intrigue that followed each one. We begin with Angelique’s upbringing in the family castle of Belgrave, through to her father’s sad passing and her cruel banishment from the only home she has known. Steel then moves the action to another opulent estate in Britain as we learn about the occupation of a nanny to a wealthy family in Britain during the 1800’s. The novel moves to France after Angelique’s unfair dismissal from service. In France, the novel makes a real shift and I found this change a little confusing, especially in keeping with Angelique’s character. I couldn’t quite get my head around the fact that a young woman of Angelique’s breeding and refinement would so readily place herself at a brothel. For a virgin and woman who so fiercely protected her honour when faced with more than one sexually motivated attack, I felt a bit slighted by Angelique’s career move. On the other hand, this story does work to highlight the pure desperation faced by those placed in these situations. When the action of the novel moves to its third and final different location, New York, Steel chooses this section of the narrative to incorporate a fairytale style romance. The Duchess builds up to a fitting ending and I liked the final turn of events.

Steel has cast a memorable heroine in her 2017 release, The Duchess. This was the perfect choice for my book club read as it offered up plenty to discuss in the form of inheritance laws and the treatment of women in this era. The scandals and difficult binds lead protagonist Angelique finds herself faced with was both interesting and provided enough material for our book club to consider. Fans old and new will be sure to appreciate this light historical fiction based read from renowned storyteller, Danielle Steel.

[Jennifer Manley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story!

By the time I was finished with this I felt emotionally drained from reading about this one woman's life. So many ups and downs especially downs but when she triumphed boy did she ever. But going through her losses with her just wrung me out. I have read Steel all my life but I have to say that for some reason I related to this woman I felt her pain and suffering and I felt her joy and love and happiness. Steel just did a magnificent job with her character and she came alive for me and jumped right off the page into my heart. I was hooked from the beginning and heartbroken when it ended. Thanks again Danielle Steel for sharing your talent and heart and soul~Your loyal reader

[Maritina Mela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I originally gave this 2/5 but I'm lowering it down to 1/5 because the more I think of this, I really can't find any redeeming qualities. So hey! It's the first time I'm giving a non Greek book/writer one star!

This is the story of a young noble girl called Angelique.
Angelique is the daughter of an English duke from a second marriage to a young French noble girl who died giving birth to her. Despite her mother's death tho, she is raised by her father who adores her and their loyal servants. She is aware of her noble heritage (she is related to both the English and the French king) but she is also aware of her brothers' hatred for her. Her brothers are her father's children from his first wedding and they've always hated her mother and Angelique as well.
Her father, who's not getting any younger and whose health is getting worse and worse, knows that in case he dies, Angelique will inherit nothing according to the law, but he also doesn't trust his sons Tristan and Edward to care for her once he's gone. So a little before he dies, he gives her enough money to buy her own home and her own servants.
When he eventually dies, his eldest son moves into Angelique's house alongside his family and announces to her that she will no longer live with them and that she is going to work as a nanny for a friendly family of his.
Angelique is forced out of her home and goes on to care for six kids, all under the age of six. But just after one year after her father's death passes, a friend of the family she is working for, assaults her and puts the blame on her.
She is again forced to leave, since the family wants nothing to do with her now and goes to France. In France she meets a young girl, Fabienne, who works as a prostitute and has been beaten by one of her visitors. Angelique nurses her back to health and she decides to use her father's money to buy a house and turn it into a brothel. She hires eight girls who are not only beautiful but smart as well and together they start businesses.
Their visitors are always men of high status and Angelique becomes rich again very fast.
But when a man is murdered in her brothel, she is forced to close it and flee to America. On the ship to America she meets Andrew and the two fall in love instantly.
They marry and have a son who Angelique knows will inherit his grandfather's title of Duke.
After Andrew dies in an accident, she coincidentally finds out that her brother has wasted all of their father's money and is now selling their home. Not being able to stay in America without her husband, she packs up everything and returns to England where she buys her father's home from her brother, doing to him what he did to her when she was orphaned.
And that's how the story ends.

Okay, enough with being nice and describing the story. Let's spill the tea.

This book is boring at best.
You can also call it a bad book and you still wouldn't be wrong.

The writing: The writing doesn't strike me as "the author is an expert and has made her living out of writing."
It actually reminds me of those roleplay tumblr accounts, and not even all of them because some people who run them actually can write better.

The plot: I know the first thing that I did was to summarize the plot but while I was reading it, it didn't feel like a plot at all but like reading a diary describing Angelique's everyday life.

The characters: The only character that we actually follow is Angelique. She is described as beautiful, smart, elegant and kind. But you know what? Her only feature that the author can kind of handle is her looks. And even then, it's kinda boring and unrealistic. Every man falls in love with her, no woman is like her and that's why they're jealous and etc etc.
Her smartness doesn't shine through at all, unless you count her decision to use her father's money to open her own brothel -which I'm so sure he would be very proud of...- but you don't have to be very smart to do that, right?
And her kindness, oh my god, her kindness is shown only when she nurses Fabienne back to health (which she does only by taking her out for a coffee, wow, she should have become a nurse, not.) Other than that, she is a complete pushover with no real personality and only grows a backbone when she buys her house from her brother and makes him leave.
The rest of the characters serve only secondary roles and are either good or bad people. There is no in between. And of course, the bad ones are those who dislike Angelique and we are supposed to hate, and the good ones are those who see her as a goddess walking on earth.
Each one of them is a cartoonish imitation of a human being and of course the dialogue doesn't help them at all.

Other stuff worth mentioning: I didn't like how Angelique was telling the story of her life every five pages or so.
You also can't convince me that a seemingly innocent and naive girl who was raised up in such an aristocratic way, would come up with the plan to be a madam.
Also, the way that she was good at everything she was doing, was annoying as well. She has never cared for a child but she immediately becomes an expert nanny of six toddlers. She has no knowledge of running a brothel or a businesses whatsoever but she becomes the most well known madam and all of the people who work for her, love her and make a lot of money working for her.
The romantic and the platonic relationships in this are so basic. They lack chemistry and seem devoid of emotion and substance.
Finally, excuse me, but how can you run a brothel without any of the people living next to you knowing or at least without asking questions? And the reason she left France was stupid, since neither she nor her girls were involved in the murder and owning a brothel is legal, but hey, I guess she needed a reason to go to America!
And speaking of America, having her father in law being one of the people who had fallen in love with her in Paris was unnecessary, same as her husband dying all of a sudden. Both were added just for the sake of drama and contributed to this mess being longer than needed.

I don't know guys, I am so bummed at this that I'm starting to feel like 2 stars is too kind...

If you made it this far, congratulations!
'Til next time, take care :) :)

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 3 out of 5]

“She had no idea where the future would lead her or what it would look like, but whatever happened, she was determined to survive it.”
― Danielle Steel, The Duchess



This was a quick breezy read. It is about a young bereft girl. Betrayed by family members, she must make her own way in the world. She picks an unusual way to do it.


One thing I do not like are book snobs. I know people who flat out refuse to read Danielle Steel because of her reputation for writing romance novels. I think book snobs lose out on alot of opportunities to read good literature simply because they judge themselves and others to harshly when it comes to their reading choices.

I read everything and that includes the occasional Steel book. While I moderately enjoyed this and loved the historical aspect of the book, I had a tough time buying into the premise. That is not to say the book is bad. It isn't. It keeps you reading and I liked Angelique, finding her gutsy and interesting. But I have enjoyed other Steel books more and much of what happens in this book made me a bit skeptical.

So I would say a solid 3 star read. Not bad but not my favorite of Steel.

[Bj · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I gave this audiobook a B+ for the story and A for the narration at AudioGals*

Narrated by Gideon Emery

It has been a long time since I’ve read or listened to a Danielle Steel story. The blurb of The Duchess intrigued me though, so I thought I’d go back to try the latest from an author that used to be a mainstay on my library shelves. Interestingly, The Duchess turned out to be more historical fiction than romance, though it does have romance elements. Moreover, the plot of this story set in London, Paris, and New York in the early 19th century, seemed somewhat predictable but nonetheless enjoyable particularly given the family saga and injustice rectified angle of the listen. And if the story is not enough to get you to listen, new-to-me narrator Gideon Emery was simply magnificent and I will certainly be looking for more of his narrations in the future!

Angelique Latham’s ultimate future was in question from the minute she was born. Born the daughter of the Duke of Westerfield in Hertfordshire by his second wife (a French woman with French nobility blood), she was left motherless at birth, and never secured the love of her half-brothers, who hated her mother and by extension her. So, it is no surprise that when her father passes away and the dukedom goes to her older brother, she is left with no benefactors and doomed to find her own way in the world.

Fortunately, her father had the foresight to see the true nature of his children, and he loved Angelique so much (the daughter who stood by his side until his death when she was only 18) that he set her up with 25,000 pounds that he kept hidden from his sons. Her father’s bed was not even cold when her brother swoops in to claim his birthright and forces Angelique to go work as a nanny, claiming she wouldn’t want to be “a burden” on him and his family. Too embarrassed to share his despicable nature with Angelique’s employers, her brother tells them she is a distant cousin, not his sister (a fact which makes this cruel act even more egregious).

Angelique, however, makes do with what life has handed her and carves out a somewhat happy existence with her new charges (6 children in all, with only her as nanny), even if her employers are callous and indifferent, even when it comes to their own children. When, two years later, a man changes her fate yet again (by accusing her of something she didn’t do), she is quickly fired and left homeless again.

With no recommendation, no one will hire her in London, so she makes her way to Paris. Again, even though she is fluent in French, no one will take a chance on her without a recommendation, so she is left adrift until she stumbles upon a woman of the night who has been badly beaten. Showing the compassion no one has showed her, she takes the woman in and as she helps slowly nurture her back to health, Angelique comes upon a plan to change both her and other downtrodden women’s plights. With her new friend’s help, she will open up a bordello unlike that that ever existed before: one that caters solely to the upper class and provides that upmost discreetness, while at the same time treating the women who work there fairly and ensuring their health and safety. Meanwhile Angelique will function as the madame who entertains the men with conversation and manages the establishment’s affairs – she vows to never “go upstairs” with the men.

It is in this venture that Angelique becomes known as “The Duchess” for her high-class manner and second to none conversation skills, not to mention management of Le Boudoir. The establishment features the most exotic and beautiful women who men come from all over the world to visit. She quickly attains many admirers (including men of supreme political influence), all of whom aspire to make her theirs (especially given that she refuses to take any of them “upstairs”). But even with many good choices among the men, Angelique refuses to compromise her virtue or settle for anything less than love. Could there possibly be a HEA in the cards for Angelique now that she is viewed in society’s eyes as a “ruined” woman?

See the full review at AudioGals.

[Betsy Wolfenden · Rating 2 out of 5]

For such an accomplished author, this book was awful. The plot was thin, predictable and the character development was poor at best. Why does the author feel she needs to tell us what the characters think. Why not reveal it through better dialogue.

Don't waste your money or your time....

[Aaron Anstett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best/only Danielle Steel I've read!

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly, the story did not live up to expectations. The most interesting part of the story was Paris and that just felt rushed and was completely lacking the details and time it deserved. By the time she got to New York, I just didn't give af anymore what happened.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect escapism. I enjoyed it.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

In typical Danielle Steel fashion, we have lifestyles of the rich and famous, but around the times of the French Revolution. "The Duchess" basically goes from riches to rags . . . will she get back to riches? Read to see how this inspiring and entrepreneurial young woman makes lemonade out of lemons! Enjoyable read - 6 out of 10.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is a little far fetched. But the main reason I just started to skim through it, was that many things were very repetitive. I really got tired reading the same thing over and over.

[Ruthie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Danielle Steel is the best selling author ALIVE and the 4th best seller of ALL TIME according to Wikipedia. Can 650 million people be wrong? I asked myself, my eye being caught by the attractive cover at the hospital book shop.

It seems they can.

And my dear, sweet GoodReads companions, you have scored this novel 4.04. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!

I'm sorry but you need to be told, this is a truly poor book and, whilst all respect to Ms Steel for building up such a huge readership whilst raising 9 kids, I think readers of romance deserve better.
Apparently Steel says it takes her 2 and half years to produce a novel. Maybe it takes that amount of time to go from outline sketch of the story to the shelf. But she churns out about 6 novels a year. There's no getting round the maths: that means each book takes less than 2 months of her time.

And it shows. The book reads like a first, may be second draft.

What is it that I object to?
The hackneyed plot which takes a bit from Pride & Prejudice (the estate is entailed away from the female line), a bit of Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair, mixes it with other bits & pieces and yet has not a single surprise?
The one-dimensional characters? (two dimensions would be overly generous).

No, in the end it is the sheer AWFULNESS and SLOPPINESS of the prose.

Page 54: "He and Mrs. Allbright appeared to be thick as thieves, and kept them all on a short leash. They ran a tight ship." That's three cliches in just 23 words! Must be some sort of record.

Or page 281: "He was anything but exciting, or imaginative." Literally three sentences later Steel writes "Edward had been anything but charming or fun." This is the sort of poor writing that the second draft should weed out.

I was puzzled by the endless and somewhat bizarre repetition of the plot until a friend said to me "my gran reads loads of Danielle Steel." At which point the penny dropped. She's writing for elderly readers who can't remember what's happened or who's who. Yes, I know that's condescending, and who knew there were 650 million of them buying these books, but I stand by my earlier comment: readers deserve better. No matter how gaga you are, you should be treated with the respect of a book has got beyond it's second draft.

Phew! rant over.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angelique Latham, daughter of the Duke of Westerfield, is thrown out of the castle she'd grown up in. She nannies several children, then, unfortunately, looses her job. Angelique moves to Paris, but can't find any employment. Rescuing a young woman fleeing an abusive madam, gives her an idea. Open a brothel.

When I first read the description of the book I nearly put The Duchess back on the shelf. (I like clean reads.) I wasn't disappointed. Angelique stayed true to her honorable self, through out her life, and Danielle Steel didn't go into the bedroom.

One couldn't help but love Angelique, rooting for her as she sought to make it in a "man's world." Not only making it but thriving, even when unfairness threw spears at her.

Nineteenth-century England was quite interesting. President Andrew Jackson, President, when Angelique moved to New York City. (The book transported the reader to that time period.)

The omniscient point of view was perfect for this story. The book flowed so smoothly, leaving me with an experience, I'll not soon forget.

Absolutely a great read.

[ℨαrα · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

The Duchess is is certainly a heart wrenching tale, and it has a very strong beginning and ending in my opinion — easily worth 4-5 stars. And that was very nearly the rating I would’ve given it.

However, after the high (you know the high and amplified emotions you experienceright after completing a book) had passed, I found myself unable to ignore the problems during the middle portion of the book, during which there is a certain element that I felt justified something because of the main character’s circumstance. Running a brothel and providing a means for men to cheat on their wives — no matter how well you treat the ladies working for you — was not handled well in my opinion. Despite her being pushed into a corner, I did not like the way in which Angélique began to view her business in the slightest.

This is a huge pity, because like I said, I found the first half and the ending to be amazing.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Steel's The Duchess started off regally but had a pauper continuance. I felt the overabundance of misfortune that fell-upon Angelique Latham took away from the novel and at one point I even said "enough already!" The final chapters made up for the lackluster middle but I was disappointed in the read and was surprised to find others giving it such high marks. Although my favorite Steel genre is when she takes on historical matters such as in "Echoes" I felt this one was a noble intent but without lasting valor.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable enough. However a little too much telling with long sections of prose. Just felt a tad lack of character development or something. I liked the main character but felt a step removed from her.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

predictable, but a good read anyway.

[KYReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regular Danielle Steel. Heroine is battered by life. Makes it through tragedy after tragedy. Finally happy and husband dies. Gets back at everyone who's wronged her.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either, definitely not my favourite Danielle Steele that I’ve read! The story was quite dry at times and only really picked up and got interesting towards the end. I thought the main characters decisions were a little unbelievable and it affected my enjoyment of the book quite a bit. Her decisions led to interesting parts of the story but I just couldn’t get past how illogical and unlikely it was.

[lacy white · Rating 4 out of 5]

DS's latest books have really been hitting the mark lately! A woman, who is a duchess with royalty on both sides of her family, owning a brothel after being a nanny? She has never written something like that! Or if she has, I haven't read it yet. She is on a roll and I'm really glad I picked up her books again.

The story of Angelique was so heartbreaking and maddening. I can't believe the way nobility treat their own flesh and blood. I hated the way nobility treated their servants. i was just so mad at the injustice of it all. Angelique was amazing in the fact that she was just trying to do the best she could. I loved her courage and bravery. Not a lot of people would be able to live with what she went through.

I think the most interesting part of this book was Angelique running a brothel. It was fascinating to read about and to learn about all the work that goes into running one. Obviously DS didn't go into super minute detail but I still got the message about what really goes on in one of those things. Regardless, it was one of the most interesting times of her life. I wish it could have been a little more expanded but I'm happy with what I got.

Overall, I couldn't be more thrilled with the way DS is taking her writing. I am relieved that she is finding more creative plots and interesting characters. It reminds me a lot of her older work from the 80's, which I thought was some of her best. If she continues on this path, I will more than happy!

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angélique es la hija de un duque, su madre murió en el parto y su padre la quería con locura lo que hace que sus hermanastros mayores la odien. Su padre tiene miedo de que al morir el su hijo mayor que es su heredero vaya a dejar en la calle a su hija y efectivamente es lo que ocurre, al morir el duque su hijo mayor no tarda en echar a su hermana que sólo tiene 18 años y la lleva a trabajar de niñera para unos conocidos.
Angélique tendrá que adaptarse a su nueva vida pero cuando menos se lo espera ocurrirá algo que la hará irse de Londres a París y comenzar una nueva vida y hacer algo que nunca habría creído que pudiera hacer.
Me ha encantado el personaje de Angélique que al principio parece frágil pero acaba demostrando que es fuerte y que no necesita nadie que la ayude, es un personaje que ves como va evolucionando a mejor y florece del todo.
He odiado a muchos personajes como los hermanos de Angélique, su cuñada y sus sobrinas que gentuza todos, también el matrimonio que la contrata de niñera son insoportables sobre todo la mujer que no quiere ni a sus hijos solo le importa el dinero y los lujos.
Me ha gustado lo bien reflejada que está esa época en la que sólo hereda los bienes el hijo mayor y las mujeres no tienen derecho a nada.
El libro es entretenido, se lee rápido, no tiene mucho romance (esperaba más) pero algo tiene y se agradece porque le da alegría a la historia, tiene partes tristes y un final que me gustado muchísimo, lo mejor de todo sin duda el final.

[V.R. (V.R. Jimenez) Jimenez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Particularmente, no había leído antes a Danielle Steel en histórica y me ha resultado preciosa y muy bien llevada la forma en como plasma el entorno y los detalles de acompañan a Angélique. Estamos en una época en donde la posición de la mujer es muy difícil, pero nos hace reflexionar en que actualmente no es muy diferente. Superar adversidades y labrarse un camino por si misma es el centro de esa trama y quede encantada con ella ya que hay mucho drama y mucha reflexión.

Para entrar en este libro tenemos que saber que no es una novela romántica. Es de una narrativa sentimental y drama que nos cautiva de una manera muy amena. Angélique es una protagonista que pasa por muchas penurias y lo que nos cautiva de ella es su entereza y fortaleza. En mi opinión le ha faltado un poco más de expresividad en ciertos momentos, pero creo que como protagonista ha dado la talla. El final, lo he odiado con toda mi alma. Es por esto que prefiero la novela romántica. Los finales abiertos o en donde el camino queda, en mi opinión casi inconcluso, me llena de frustración.

[Emmy Hermina Nathasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating 3.5/5. Sigh, it's been a while since I read a Steel. It warms my heart, the plot reminds me of Harlot TV series. A good read on a cold day with a warm tea, I'd say.

[Foxy · Rating 4 out of 5]

have not read any Danielle Steele in a while, and I completely loved it. the storyline wasnt stalling and was quite interesting to follow.

[Axie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una buona lettura di intrattenimento. Voto 7

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actual rating: 1.5 stars.

I'm doing a fair bit of travelling at the moment and I've seen The Duchess a lot in airport bookshops. I have heard of Danielle Steel before but haven't read any of her books so when I saw that this one was available from my online library I thought I would give it a go. The thing is, I actually thought it was okay for about 60% of the book but then all of a sudden I couldn't stand it.

• The writing is extremely basic, naive and kinda juvenile. This is a very easy read. I don't know, maybe that's why it appeals to the masses. But it didn't appeal to me.
• The whole story is designed to convince the reader how perfect Angelique is. And she is perfect, I guess, but that is just soooo boring. If anything it made me dislike Angelique more and more with every passing chapter. She's always the most beautiful female in the room and everything she owns is much more elegant than anyone else. She likes expensive things but isn't extravagant, of course. She becomes the madame of a brothel at the age of 21 for Christ's sake but deserves respect because she doesn't actually sleep with any of the clients and keeps her virginity in tact. This kind of goody-two-shoes character is just so bland to me.
• Angelique's backstory is mentioned about a million times. Not only are we reading everything as it happens but we also have to read it again every. single. time. she tells someone about her past.

I was hoping for a story that was a bit more exciting but The Duchess was extremely detached. I'm glad to have finished this book and probably won't pick up anything by this author again, tbh.