#17 [2024/CBR16] The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

My book club chose to read The Duke and I (2000) by Julia Quinn. I wasn't super excited about this pick because I was pretty familiar with the storyline. I'd already watched the first season of Bridgerton, which was based on The Duke and I. I was also pretty sure I'd previously read the book, but I couldn't remember when. If I have read it, it was before Cannonball Read started because I couldn't find a review of it. Anyway, because of the familiar territory, I decided to listen to this one as an audiobook for a different experience. 

Quinn is something of a master of writing romance books, and The Duke and I is the first book in a series that centers around the Bridgerton family. This family has money and lots of kids whose names begin with sequential letters of the alphabet (easier for everyone to keep track of, I assume).

Daphne Bridgerton is coming out this season in London and is looking for a husband that she can really care for. However, it's been difficult. Many of them see her as a friend or they are chased off by her oldest brother, Anthony. 

But then Daphne runs into Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings at a party. Simon is an admired Duke, but he had a pretty difficult childhood. His mother died shortly after he was born, and Simon was primarily raised by servants. His father was at first delighted that he finally had a son, but Simon was late to speak; and when he finally spoke, he had a stutter. His father was disgusted. He left Simon at the country house and even told some people that his son was dead.

Simon pushed his way into a good school and became successful and imposing despite his father's negligence and antipathy. Simon immediately admires Daphne's wits and spirit, and he's tired of being harassed by the mother's of all the wanna-be brides. He proposes that he pretends to court Daphne. That way, the mothers will leave him alone, and Daphne will be even more desirable after a Duke favors her. (You don't want to think too hard about this reasoning). 

But Simon and Daphne have some real attraction, and it gets more intense, the more time they spend together. So when Anthony finds Simon making out with Daphne, he demands that Simon marry Daphne. Simon doesn't want to marry Daphne because he never wants to have kids and doesn't want Daphne to miss out on motherhood. Simon tells Daphne that he is unable to have kids, and Daphne still wants to marry him.

The marriage is kind of sad because Simon feels so ambivalent and poor Daphne just wants him to love her. Eventually they have some very intense sex, but Simon uses the "pull out" method to keep from getting Daphne pregnant. Eventually Daphne figures out that Simon is capable of having kids, it's just that he doesn't want them. She is very angry and tricks him into coming inside of her (one of the more controversial scenes in the movie, but probably wasn't even noticed back in 2000). 

Daphne is successful and does get pregnant. Simon is at first angry and horrified before he pushes past his fear and the two live happily ever after. As a classic romance novel, The Duke and I holds up pretty well. Even on the third telling, it kept my interest.