His Duchess

Roxton Foundation Series, Book 2

By: Lucinda Brant

Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells

Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The Duke and Duchess, with their infant son, are living in a pretty villa on the outskirts of the royal township of Versailles, preparing for Antonia's court presentation. With them is Lord Vallentine—kicked out of his home by his pregnant wife—and Martin Ellicott, who receives news from the Duke that changes his life forever.

And while a year has passed since Roxton rescued Antonia from the clutches of his evil cousin the Comte de Salvan, Salvan continues his insidious interference in their lives from his place of exile, and with the collusion of the Salvan ancient aunts. But Roxton is determined that nothing and no one will ruin the happiness of His Duchess, or their life together.

©2023 Lucinda Brant (P)2023 Lucinda Brant

Intimate portrait of a marriage, Renard & Antonia

I was delighted to find three new stories of Antonia and Renard’s love story and His Dutchess is the first of these portraits. Antonia and Renard and their baby son Julien (or JuJu) are in Versailles preparing for the court presentation of Antonia to Louis, the Queen and his mistress Madame La Pompadour. This is a year later than the first book, but they are still troubled by the interference of extended family including Antonia’s English grandmother, the Comte de Salvan and the scheming aunts who are not happy with their union. Valentine, married to a pregnant and touchy Estee, is sent to live with A and R in their home’ which we subsequently learn is Roxton and Estee’s childhood home. Martin Ellicott, Roxton’s valet, becomes a central character. Roxton sets him up as a gentleman of means and makes him a member of the family, no longer a servant. The other members of the family receive this addition with responses varying from cautious acceptance to outright indignation and rejection, after all, this is not a done thing.

Martin has served Roxton for many years, faithful and unflappable, almost as omniscient as Roxton in anticipating his needs. He is intelligent and kind, staunchly loyal and obedient, but we see the whole man emerge as he navigates a pathway strewn with obstacles and hurdles. Ellicott is overwhelmed at first but grows in confidence and his dignity is awe inspiring, as he takes on this new responsibility and honour. He still serves the family but it is his choice to do so and we love Roxton and Antonia for doing this.

It is truly a joy to spend time with this family on a day to day basis. As lovers they are unusual to the time of Louis XV where marriages are of convenience and extra-marital affairs are encouraged and normal. We see the maturing of their union, the delight they take in each other and also their lovemaking, romantic and humorous, passionate and fun. They too grow into each other and learn how to be parents as well, again in a totally unheard of way. The norm is for babies to be sent to a wet nurse in the country, visited only occasionally by the parents until they are older. R ad A of course will have none of this and A actually nurses Julien herself, which society considers scandalous. The couple are determined Julien will be apart of the family from the start and will experience his parents love and attention at all times. Supported in this resolve by Valentine and Martin, they continue to forge their own path.

Of course we know that the broader family cannot let things rest and plots to restore the Salvan family honour and their place at court are set in motion. Antonia is unwillingly drawn into this intrigue and Roxton along with her as they face things always as a team. Delicious schemes abound and we happily see them all thwarted and outwitted just in the nick of time.This is the first layer of icing on the cake, an invitation to the family and to be apart of another adventure.

Mary Jane Wells is outstanding as the narrator, easily separating male and female charcters and giving each their own unique voice.

Mary Jane Wells is superb!

I'm so familiar with Alex Wyndham narrating the Roxton stories that I was a little concerned about the change in narrators. However, Ms. Wells does a fantastic job with all the characters. She really captures the essence of young Antonia. Spoiler Alert: we do get some back story on the Duke and Martin's relationship. Highly recommend.

Engaging Story

The audio is elevated by Mary Jabe Well’s strong performance. This is the first of a 4-part series and ends on a cliffhanger. That’s OK because the subsequent stories have been released for years. Binge away!

I loved it!

Antonia and Renard's story continues! Lucinda Brant brings us another of her wonderful series following the Duke abd Duchess of Roxton. His Duchess covers the period of time following their marrage and the birth of their infant son. Mary Jane Wells again narrates beautifully, with her wonderful talent of differentiating each character. Her ability to bring each character to life with her voice is absolutely uncanny.
I loved this new Roxton story, the second of the Roxton Foundation Series, so much that I have also bought the ebook version. I'm already looking forward to diving into the third book in the series - Her Duke. Thankyou Lucinda, for another wonderful story! ❤️

Great voice

I’m rather enjoying the series and especially the narrator. She portrays French accents so well I actually am missing my French classes. Bonjour!

A heartwarming sequel and wonderful narration!

OMG! Baby Julian is so adorable!! I love this sequel just for that alone but more Antonio and her Duke is always wonderful too. And seeing more of their relationship is very heartwarming. Also, the surprise for Martin almost made me cry.

My second book with Mary Jane Wells as a solo narrator. She is very good with voices. Her Antonia is the best! She really brings Antonia’s personality to life. Just amazing and a really enjoyable listen.

A tribute to love and family

His Duchess is the continuation of Noble Satyr, the romance story between Antonia and the Duke of Roxton. Married and with a few months old baby son, Antonia and the Duke need to prepare for Antonia’s presentation at the French Royal Court, create a happy family life and deal with sthe scheming and manipulations of their French and English relatives. There is very little action, but many intimate, tender and humorous scenes of family life and friendship. Antonia settles more and more into her role as duchess, Martin Ellicot, the Duke’s valet and his son’s godfather is elevated into being a gentleman and a family friend, we see Lucien Vallentine who previously mostly served as comic relief, as a more complex character, a premier swordsman, a worthy and devoted friend. Some vague threats appear from the previously defeated enemy the Comte de Salvan, and his relatives, but these are dealt with in the next books. Fans of the Roxton universe will enjoy this insight into the life of Antonia and Renard, the exploration of the Duke’s past that shaped him into the person he was before he met Antonia and the person he has become now.
The narration is of extraordinary quality. The narrative voice has excellent tempo and diction, the voices of the characters are easily discernible and display character, complex emotions and subtle humour beautifully. Mary Jane Wells has magical voice and performs wonders with it.

Narrator

i wish the book was narrated by either of the previous books in the series narrators.