Lawson’s review of The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran
Historical romance released by Pocket 25 March 2008

What a surprise this book was. Being the rather oblivious romance reader that I am, I did not know about the gather.com contest or the winner’s book coming out until Sybil put it into my box. Just because I review doesn’t mean I’m up on all the news. Don’t judge me! Anyway, the book is a journey with this debut author I was pleased to take. With various levels and unexpected depth of characters and plotting, it made for a quick read.

Not to say there weren’t issues in the story. It is a debut book, and so somethings could be allowed to slide. Like the hero and heroine don’t really seem to spend a lot of time together. Some of the broad characterizations border on stereotypical and almost condescending. There is a large gap of time where the hero and heroine do not see each other, in fact he thinks she’s dead. Maybe this is getting a little ahead.

Emmaline Martin arrives in Delhi the object of scorn and scandal. Her ship had sunk, her parents and everyone else dies and she’s rescued by some swarthy sailors that end up ruining her reputation. The only person who doesn’t treat her as an outcast in Delhi is Julian Sinclair, a quarter Indian (or, part native) English peer who is predicting doom and destruction to the East India Company about rebellion. Emma expects to be married to a bounder of a Company officer, but she breaks things off.

Julian, being of Indian descent, is seen as an outcast as well, even a traitor for his dire predictions of revolt. When his predictions come true in the summer of 1857, he escapes Delhi with Emma in tow. He gets her to safety, but goes back into the fighting for his Indian relatives. The dire straits happen causing Emma to flee, Julian is unable to find her, and they both end up in England four years later scarred and not knowing the other is there until a fateful meeting.

The strains of witnessing war first hand can have a toll on anyone, especially a sheltered debutante. Emma handles things well, but she suffers greatly in England. The difference in tone between part one in India and part two in London is striking, almost harsh. There is a lightness, a sense of unknown adventure, even some danger, but nothing too dark. Part two shows the toll of post traumatic stress, not just on Emma, but on Julian as well. There is a raw energy, a underlying dark passion in their meetings four years after India that comes across in the dialogue and definitely sets it apart from the first half. The love scenes are steamy, with good chemistry, but it’s unfortunately not explosive.

Perhaps though, what sets this story apart is the treatment of the history. All too often details are skimmed over or the suffering caused is ignored for the exotic and glamorous aspects of history. Shock and post traumatic stress disorder have been handled, but usually from the male “machismo is my cure” sort of point of view. Duran handles the history very well, as the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857 was brutal on both sides and what’s written on the page is real, but not gruesome, it captures the time and the unforeseen terror from the Sepoys and the British troops.

Is it completely historically accurate? Probably not, it’s not my area of expertise, but from what I do know of the time the setting, the history works well with the rest of the story. Just be careful, because I could see how some can see the history being piled on and and overwhelming some readers because it seems as though everything and the kitchen sink can happen. But then, history is rarely pretty and those rose colored glasses on the past never show the dirty underbelly.

Though it almost comes across as the history out pacing the story, both the hero and heroine are strong and well drawn characters, as well as the assorted supporting players of the story. Perhaps Lord Lockwood and his errant wife will be the next story? If so, Duran is a talent to watch due to her style, history, characters and excellent use of setting.

Grade: B+

In a debut romance as passionate and sweeping as the British Empire, Meredith Duran paints a powerful picture of an aristocrat torn between two worlds, an heiress who dares to risk everything…and the love born in fire and darkness that nearly destroys them.

From exotic sandstone palaces…

Sick of tragedy, done with rebellion, Emmaline Martin vows to settle quietly into British Indian society. But when the pillars of privilege topple, her fiancé’s betrayal leaves Emma no choice. She must turn for help to the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of Auburn.

To the marble halls of London…

In London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they call him a traitor. Cynical and impatient with both worlds, Julian has never imagined that the place he might belong is in the embrace of a woman with a reluctant laugh and haunted eyes. But in a time of terrible darkness, he and Emma will discover that love itself can be perilous — and that a single decision can alter one’s life forever.

Destiny follows wherever you run.

A lifetime of grief later, in a cold London spring, Emma and Julian must finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to deny it, some pasts cannot be disowned…and some passions never die.