Description

[from dj flap] Mrs. Belloc Lowndes here appears in an entirely new guise, in a story of humor, sentiment and charm. In this latest story by the author of "Jenny Newstead," "The Lodger," and "Letty Lynton" there are no masked lodgers, no alarms and excursions. The book relates the episodes both grave and gay in the life of a Duchess who is even greater by nature than she is by position. Duchess Laura is wealthy, human and deeply concerned in the circumstances of her friends. A friendly busy-body, she exercises her tact in handling delicate situations and her gentle interventions, though they sometimes cause everybody anxiety, will win the sympathy and delight of every admirer of Mrs. Belloc Lowndes' penetrating pen. One enthusiastic English critic, in reviewing this book writes of Mrs. Lowndes, "There has been nobody like her since Trollope."

Notes

Marie Belloc Lowndes was known for her exciting, ripped-from-the-headlines psychological mysteries (think The End of Her Honeymoon) so, as the dj intimates, The Duchess Intervenes was a real departure for her. Each chapter in Duchess is an an episode -- chronologically ordered, so moving from 1899 through the 1920s -- of the wealthy, middle-aged Laura's kindly meddling in the lives of her family and friends. Most of these are love stories between members of the younger set (she has six living children) but there are also a few peer (no pun intended) romances and jewel thefts. It's not immediately obvious why Lowndes felt this was a book that needed writing, or what would inspire a reader to pick it up but I have to say, I actually... really enjoyed it. It's not going to stick with you -- it's one of those floating bubbles of a book: pop it, there's a rainbow shimmer and it's gone -- but for the moment it's there, it's very nice. You don't find many stories where the principle couple is middle-aged and decades-married -- still fewer, where they're both plain and he's serious, unimaginative and not especially perceptive (246) -- and, at base, it's a kind of lovely portrait of a long marriage between two essentially ordinary people who understand, respect, love and still desire each other after so many years. It centers women and emotional intelligence, acknowledges the compromises relationships take (none of her HEAs are without their share of coming to terms), and shows an unexpected depth of sympathy for characters who make bad decisions in difficult circumstances. The human cost of the first world war is an undercurrent throughout -- the blind veteran, the dispossessed young eastern European woman living by her (larcenous) wits -- and, as is common for books of the period, child death is also, unobtrusively but movingly, touched on. So many of these light vintage novels are, when it comes down to it, about lives marked by loss and the work of their characters is in learning how to hold grief and happiness in one heart, in one relationship, in one family. It's a worthy project and one that, in big ways and small, confronts us all.

I'm actually not sure why Lowndes made her characters titled and gave them the degree of privilege she did -- it's not really essential to most of the stories, though, thinking back on it, it does get you some Downton-Abbey-esque references to entails and descriptions of the increasing financial burden of those venerable estates. The book's ending, and our couple's next chapter, touches on this in a pretty unexpected way...

The Duchess Intervenes is not a great novel, and certainly not a necessary one, but you won't regret throwing a few dollars and a few hours at it. Or, at least I didn't!

Tags

1930s, English, Europe, England, beauty and beast, charming, clever, coming of age, cozy, estate, f/m, female, generous, heir/heiress, humorous, independent, intelligent, kind, landowner, love over money, lovers, friends to, loyal, married, middle-aged, midlife crisis, missing jewels, nobility/royalty, noble/aristocrat, opposites attract, plain, reappearance of old love, reserved, rich, romance, second chance, strong, take me as I am/love me for myself, tall, third-person, unimaginative, young love, abetting

Flags

child death/miscarriage, insensitive or outdated language (race/ethnicity/disability/sexual orientation)