Prelude to a Scandal

November 1, 2010
Marvelle (Lord of Pleasure) tackles several heavy topics at once in this overstuffed Regency. While most ladies would swoon, Lady Justine Fedora Palmer grew up in Africa and handles everything with aplomb. When Justine's father, the earl of Marwood, writes about homosexuality in the animal kingdom, he's arrested for promoting indecency. Justine offers herself to Radcliff, the duke of Bradford, if he will secure the earl's freedom. Radcliff suggests marriage instead, hoping it will save him from sex addiction. Even before Justine figures out the extent of his "obsession," she makes him work, wanting his respect before his body. Radcliff and Justine are refreshingly honest with themselves and each other about what they do, think, and feel. Radcliff's brother and his mistress make a mess of the story at times, but Henri, the gay servant, is a delight.

December 1, 2010
When Lady Justine Palmer, raised in South Africa and now residing in Regency London, learns her father, an African naturalist, has landed in debtors prison, she realizes she must find someone rich to help him, and soon. She petitions her fathers only patron, Radcliff Morton, the Duke of Bradford. Although Radcliff, a hardened rake, has been in seclusion following an incident with his brothers mistress in which his face was brutally scarred, he agrees to help Justine on the condition she marry him. He suspects hes obsessed with sex and hopes marriage will cure him. However, considering hes spent most of his 33 years wallowing in his decadent lifestyle, Justine wonders if he can change himself into a faithful husband. While occasionally melodramatic, Marvelles story of Radcliff coming to know himself, and Justines faith in him, is a quintessential romance. In this first of a series of three, Marvelle (Lord of Pleasure, 2009) adds glimpses of African tribal life and quips about animal behavior to leaven the Sturm und Drang of Radcliffs much-needed makeover.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)