Lawson’s review of The Dangers of Deceiving a Viscount by Julia London
Historical Romance released October 23, 2007 by Pocket

Blurb:

Lady Phoebe Fairchild is well aware that the ton would be appalled to learn of a young lady of quality involved in a trade. Therefore, she resorts to selling her beautiful handmade gowns under a fictitious name: Madame Dupree. So when circumstances force her to visit the estate of William Darby, the Viscount of Summerfield, to design ball gowns for his sisters, she assumes Madame’s identity. Phoebe’s discomfort in her new position as hired help is nothing compared to her visceral attraction to the viscount himself. Heathenishly handsome and shamelessly seductive, Will invites her to be his mistress — and Phoebe is shockingly tempted to accept. But as their desire for each other grows and the risk of exposure becomes even greater, Phoebe is in dire danger of losing her reputation, her livelihood — and her chance of becoming the bride of the man whose passion has claimed her forever.

Read an excerpt.

Lady Phoebe has made gowns the last few years to help support her sister and her cousin since their stepfather won’t let them have their inheritance. Though Phoebe doesn’t need to make gowns anymore since her sister and cousin are comfortably married and can support her, she contiunes her masquerade as Madame Dupree.

Until she’s blackmailed and decides this will be her last commission. Sent off to make new wardrobes, Phoebe struggles with maintaining her disguise while falling for Summerfield. Forced back home after years of wandering, Will Darby, Viscount Summerfield, is having a difficult time reigning in his unruly siblings who have gotten used to running wild. Phoebe helps calm his world, but what will he do when he learns she’s a noblewoman, and not a seamstress afterall?

Class distinctions in England are a funny thing. With the amount of historicals on the romance market, it seems that this fact seems to be swept under the carpet a bit too often. Those noblemen and women that are read about too often seem to expect too much from their servants and that rare Cinderella story where the maid finds her true love are hard to pull off. Especially since in true historical fashion those of the upper classes thought everyone else was there to do their bidding.

Case in point: though Phoebe is commissioned to construct the gowns (I’d always thought a modiste had quite a bit of power back then, even for someone in trade), she’s treated as a common servant by Will’s sisters and one Caroline Fitzhugh, a grasping debutante who wants Will for his money and title. Will even thinks because “Madame Dupree” is a widow and in his employ he can seduce her and use her to live out one last adventure.

Will has spent the past six years on his Grand Tour, and then some, traveling the Continent, then Egypt then India. He only comes home because his father has suffered a stroke and cannot take care of things at home anymore. Will’s wanderlust has a price: it takes so long for him to come home that he’s so used to traveling, life at a country estate is too mundane. There’s some nice symbolism with some wild horses (did wild horses roam in Bedfordshire?) which works better than the family problems and the eventual thing that every man must do: settle down.

It all comes down to a bit too much social commentary and not enough romance. Not that Phoebe and Will don’t do an admirable job of giving sex appeal and chemistry. With Phoebe worrying about discovery and Will beating himself up over falling in love with a servant (though to me she’s not really a servant), the falling in love falls by the wayside.

Caroline, Will’s sisters, who are spoiled harridans, and his brother Joshua who wants to whore, gamble and anger everyone in the county show Will’s desire to bring his family together, but take away from what he could have with Phoebe. Though Will’s sister Alice finally learns hard truth about classes, Phoebe doesn’t since she spends the majority of the book pretending she’s something she’s not.

Having a theme of class struggle and deception is a hard thing to try to pull off and London does an admirable job, though the love story gets lost in the social message.

Grade: C