Happily Ever After BookClub
November2024
ADuke,theLady&aBaby
byVanessaRiley
AuthorBio
Vanessa Riley is an award-winning author of over twenty-five novels like Island Queen (a GMA buzz pick), A Duke, the Lady and a Baby, and the Lady Worthing mystery series (2024 Georgia Author of the Year for Mystery). Her works spotlight hidden narratives of Black women and women of color, emphasizing power, sisterhoods, and family sagas across historical fiction, romance, and mystery genres. With a doctorate from Stanford University and other engineering degrees from Penn State, Vanessa brings a research-oriented approach to her inclusive storytelling about Caribbean, Georgian, and Regency eras.
As a member of Regency Fiction Writers, Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, Women's Fiction Writers Association, Christian Book Lovers Retreat, and the Historical Novel Society, Vanessa advocates for diverse voices. She's also working to increase Sickle Cell Anemia awareness. When she's not writing, she can be found baking, crafting her Trinidadian grandma's recipes, or relaxing on her southern porch sipping caffeine. (https://vanessariley.com/)
Summary
When headstrong West Indian heiress Patience Jordan questioned her English husband's mysterious suicide, she lost everything: her newborn son, Lionel, her fortune--and her freedom. Falsely imprisoned, she risks her life to be near her child-until The Widow's Grace gets her hired as her own son's nanny. But working for her son’s unsuspecting new guardian, Busick Strathmore, Duke of Repington, has perils of its own. Especially when Patience discovers his military strictness belies an ex-rake of unswerving honor--and unexpected passion...
A wounded military hero, Busick is determined to resolve his dead cousin's dangerous financial dealings for Lionel's sake. But his investigation is a minor skirmish compared to dealing with the forthright, courageous, and alluring Patience. Somehow, she's breaking his rules, and sweeping past his defenses. Soon, between formidable enemies and obstacles, they form a fragile trust--but will it be enough to save the future they long to dare together? (publisher description)
OtherWorks
Quotes
“ ’You’re beautiful, my dear. And you should be bold and unafraid. Things are like vapors, before you know it, everything is lost. In the next moment, all is good again.’ ”
“ ’I do like amazing people.’ The duke’s look was thoughtful, but his smile slimmed to nothing. He glanced at me as if my river of emotions had reached him and swept him away.”
“His lips on mine weren’t searching, they were telling--telling me I was his and he was mine and the happiness and security I longed for, that I’d missed for so long was all mine. And I’d never have to sacrifice me for peace.”
DiscussionQuestions
1. How does the status of women in early 19th century England complicate Patience’s status as a wife and mother? Why does she have to fight so hard to get access to her own child?
2. Patience’s story is told in 1st person POV, and Busick’s story is in 3rd person POV. How did having access to Patience’s thoughts affect your understanding of her situation?
3. How much did you know about Black people and other people of color in Regency England before this? How does this knowledge affect how you read A Duke, the Lady and a Baby?
ForFurtherReading
Vanessa Riley: ‘We are not one thing but a mix of emotion and humor and love’ (Book Page, June 30, 2020)
Vanessa Riley on how The First Wives Club inadvertently inspired her new Regency romance (Entertainment Weekly, Dec. 6, 2019)
Vanessa Riley: Regency Research (accessed 11/11/24)
Tropes
*Secret Identity *Sudden Baby * Disability Representation * Love in Disguise *Against the Odds
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