In the first novel of Maya Rodale’s enthralling new series, an English duke vows to make an American seamstress his duchess…
In Gilded Age Manhattan, anything can happen…
Seeking a wealthy American bride who can save his family’s estate, Brandon Fiennes, the duke of Kingston, is a rogue determined to do the right thing. But his search for an heiress goes deliciously awry when an enchanting … heiress goes deliciously awry when an enchanting seamstress tumbles into his arms instead.
…and true love is always in fashion
Miss Adeline Black aspires to be a fashionable dressmaker—not a duchess—and not even an impossibly seductive duke will distract her. But Kingston makes an offer she can’t refuse: join him at society events to display her gowns and advise him on which heiresses are duchess material. It’s the perfect plan—as long as they resist temptation, avoid a scandal, and above all do not lose their hearts.
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An English duke in search of a rich wife, an American seamstress dreaming of becoming THE fashionable dressmaker for Gilded Age Manhattanites. Each is nothing that the other is looking for, objectively, but everything they can’t resist. Love, love, love!
4.5 stars, rounded up.
Brandon Fiennes, The Duke of Kingston needs to find a rich bride, he inherited a failing estate, two unmarried sisters and a mother with an expensive sense of style. He consults with his cousin Freddie and is told that if he wants a heiress, New York is the place to go hunting.
Adeline Black is a seamstress with dreams of opening her own shop and creating her own designs, her dreams do not include love, marriage or handsome dukes – until a chance meeting in a hotel lobby. She is attracted to the stranger, who must be the duke the papers have been writing about, but dukes don’t marry seamstresses and she tries to put the encounter out of her mind and concentrate on her goal – to convince the heiress Harriet Burnett to go with her dress designs, including her signature – pockets!
Kingston cannot believe his luck, he meets the woman of his dreams his first day in New York, she is lovely, poised, intelligent AND an heiress! He sends a note to the suite she entered, asking her to meet him in Central Park. She is going to refuse until she reads a description of her outfit in the paper – this could be her break! She agrees to meet him and the attraction between them is red hot. But he still thinks she is an heiress…
When he learns the truth, he confronts her, she never lied to him, he never asked. She tries to walk away, but he follows her and his attention causes her to lose her position at Madame Chalfont’s shop. He feels badly and offers to help her – she refuses and tells him, that he has no idea what it is like to be poor – he may think he is poor, but what he really is, is entitled.
Adeline spends the next week trying to find work and Kingston tries to find a bride – he narrows his choices down to two. Adeline gets an intriguing offer when she runs into Harriet at a speech in Union Square. Harriet and several friends have a club – Ladies of Liberty, they help women find work, they offer to fund her dream, but she must swear to keep their secret.
While out with Freddie, Kingston happens upon her shop – she refuses to see him – hilarity ensues! When she gives him the heads up about the two women he is considering for his duchess, he asks for her help. He invites her to the opera, she will wear one of her creations and get free advertising when the papers write about it. She agrees and at the opera, suggests a potential duchess, Miss Alice Van Allen.
Kingston can’t seem to forget about Adeline and wishes he could marry her, but he has responsibilities to his title, family and tenants – he can’t let them down, even at the cost of his own happiness. He begins to court Miss Van Allen and she is all he could ever hope for in a duchess, but his heart is not in the courtship – it is with a dressmaker who has no desire to marry and has no fortune.
Things start to take off for Adeline, her shop is a success and when she receives another letter from Kingston saying he has met Alice and yes she is perfect, but he thinks he should consider a few more ladies and asks her to attend a ball with him. She agrees. They attend and she tries not to feel hurt when he spends time with Alice and leaves her with his cousin Freddie. She doesn’t like Freddie, he is handsy and makes her uncomfortable, she is angry because she cannot completely rebuff him, his wife is a client and he has yet to pay his bills – she cannot afford to anger him and it makes her more determined to remain independent. Kingston makes assumptions about her and Freddie and is jealous. On the way home, he realizes that he will marry Alice, but a part of his heart with always be with Adeline.
They have no contact for weeks and then have a random meeting on a rooftop garden. He misses her and again wishes that there was a way they could be together. The arrival of his mother and sisters remind him that he must propose to Alice, but he continues to stall.
When they meet again at a masked ball, sparks fly and he makes a decision. When Adeline leaves the ball, he follows her, knowing everything will change. She takes him to the bowery, hoping to scare him away, but they end up sharing their pasts and spend the night together. When he asks how she got the money to start her shop, they fight and she leaves, hurt.
Kingston follows through with his new plan and the fall out threatens Adeline’s dreams. Can there be a HEA??
I loved this book, it was almost unputdownable – I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about him actively trying to find a bride who was not Adeline, but found that it didn’t bother me at all. I loved Adeline and her friends and thought Harriet and the Ladies of Liberty were wonderful. I loved watching Kingston begin to envision a different future for his duchy – to let go of the past and bravely embrace the changes happening in his world. He and Adeline together were magical, she was exactly the duchess he needed – he just had to be brave enough to take the risk and she in turn had to be brave enough to trust him with her heart and dreams. There were a couple of title errors and typos that I assume will be corrected by publication – but overall, this was an outstanding start to the series and I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the next book in the series!!
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an Uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher.*
I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this and let me tell you, it is DELICIOUS. Set in Gilded Age New York, Duchess By Design features a feisty American heroine and a stodgy English duke. Two of my very favorite things! 🙂 The struggling heroine is much more focused on designing dresses (with pockets!) than trying to win the duke’s favor. And our hero is in desperate need of an heiress to save his estate.
There’s plenty of Rodale’s unique wit and feminism here, snappy comebacks and all. I highly enjoyed it!
Fun. Light. Typical Maya Rodale. This was just what was needed after a long week of non stop mishaps. The first book in this series was a yes, yes, for me. I very much enjoyed watching as Brandon and Adeline fought the attraction that was every present between them. The hilarious events that occur during their not-courtship was just what I have come to appreciate about Rodale’s writing. She brings to life the fun that could have been had during the romance era of England and America. This time she serves it up on the Gilded Age New York City.
I loved this GIlded Age NYC romance.
Who would have thought our dashing, old fashioned, stick in the mud Duke would fall madly in lust with an intrepid, brilliant, focused dressmaker who is determined to change the world? Changing the world is easy, getting the Duke to see the world in a new way, now that is challenging indeed. Lots of fun, a great read!
I loved Adeline! She wanted a chance to better herself, keeping her eye on the goal of owning her own dress shop. Her stubbornness and determination was admirable and I liked her pluckiness! Brandon, Duke of Kingston, was rather adorable himself. His stiff Britishness was such a contrast to Adeline’s American upbringing and I enjoyed their playful teasing with one another in regards to their backgrounds.
Their chemistry pulled me in from the first met cute and lasted to the final page! Brandon sweet me off my feet long before he did Adeline’s, but I have to say I loved the ride! These two were quite passionate about the end game and watching them realize their dilemmas were in fact very similar was icing on the cake!
The banter and deep conversational topics were eye opening and quite enlightening as well. Reading the author’s note, I liked how she highlighted some key points of the Gilded Age and enjoyed how she transformed them into a fantastic romance with great lessons.
Overall, I’m impressed! This is the first time I’ve read Rodale and I thought Adeline and Brandon’s story was edgy and refreshing! The Gilded Age setting, the wonderful romance, the diverse cast of charming, colorful characters, and the very interesting women’s lib topics kept my attention and has me looking forward to reading the next book in this series!
A brilliant start to a new series. Fabulous characters and a fast-paced plot.
A Gilded-Age duke rethinks his privilege because he wants the heroine’s respect. How sexy is that? “Change the world, Duke,” says dressmaker heroine Adeline, and he starts thinking about ways he can do just that. His is a sweet, lovely revelation of self-discovery along with a sprightly falling in love with the heroine. Apart from the book’s truly lovely romance, Adeline’s friends and co-workers and patronesses surround her with female support. I loved this first entry in Maya Rodale’s Gilded Age Girls’ Club series and can’t wait to see what else she does with the series.
This was such a fun, insightful historical romance! When it wasn’t making me swoon, it was making me cheer on the inclusion of pockets in dresses and female empowerment in the Gilded Age.
Adeline was a winner of a heroine. She was so determined to become a dressmaker and for her designs to come to life. I loved the way she talked about fashion and the way she could show others what power lies in the way clothing is designed and who’s wearing it. Fashion isn’t just fashion and a dress is so much more than a dress. It reveals so much about us and what we want from life and this was especially true during this era. It was so moving to see the ways clothes could transform the characters we meet.
Kingston is dashing and charming but he has so much to learn about life in New York City and especially about what life is like for those less privileged. He’s a Duke, and a recent one at that, so he’s never really had to consider what other people’s lives are like. Some people have felt like Adeline had to do a lot of emotional labor in order for Kingston to learn. However, I didn’t feel that way. He listens and even if he doesn’t initially agree or understand, he still honors Adeline’s point of view and always ends up coming around. Honestly, I wish more men today would follow his example.
Adeline and Kingston were on fire together, whether bantering or wooing. The HEA seemed impossible, for not only class and financial reasons but because Adeline is dead set against ever marrying. But I trusted Maya Rodale would make it happen and the ending was so satisfying.
I highlighted so many passages. It was an absolute delight to read and I adored the sense of humor. The Ladies of Liberty society was a fantastic addition and I loved learning that such societies existed back then. Such moxie!
CW: sexual harassment, sexism (which is challenged)
Mistaken identity leads to cross class romance. The way the heroine scolds the hero for his wealthy privilege is everything!
Rodale has plenty of diverse side characters in this romance and pulls off an excellent story while being witty about life’s realities in historical USA. Yes, it siddles away from some of the nastier parts of USA history, but it touches them just enough that they aren’t totally erased. It’s often an impossible balance for a historical writer. To write the ‘history’ readers want to believe is true, or to write the real gritty history of reality (the history that is often erased by the white men who traditionally wrote history). By having a cross class romance, the plot allows Rodale to touch on some of these issues without taking away the fun banter of her style.
Brandon Fiennes, Duke of Kingston, inherited poverty due to his father and needs a wealthy bride to help his sisters and estates. As many in England are in the same boat, he goes to New York to find a wealthy woman. In his hotel lobby he bumps into Adeline Black, who works for a dressmaker but hopes to design dresses someday. He likes her immediately and thinks she’s staying at the hotel. She is there for a client’s fitting and he sees her entering a suite and assumes it’s hers.
She sees him a few times and then is fired from her job. Some of her clients are willing to help her get a shop as they like her designs. Her plan is to design beautiful dresses with pockets as women never have any place to put things. Brandon discovers she is not rich, and she tries to help him meet heiresses. Brandon meets some wealthy men that are willing to make him a partner, so they will have a HEA. I liked this original story very much.
Maya Rodale’s Duchess by Design
I was first introduced to Maya Rodale’s work when she was planning to be a presenter at our Heart of Carolina Fall Conference a few years ago. Unfamiliar with her work, I purchased one of her stories and before long I was reading two of her series. She is delightfully funny, witty and imparts a bit of wisdom amid the pages of her romance.
Duchess by Design is a gilded age historical romance set in Manhattan with strong female characters.
What’s an impoverished duke supposed to do? Why marry an heiress of course. Unless he falls for the first woman he meets and she just happens to be a seamstress.
New York is filled with opportunities and Adeline Black is determined to be a renowned dressmaker, not have her name notoriously linked to the Duke of Kingston. When she falls into his arms, Adeline can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be with a man like Brandon Fiennes.
Nowhere in the world could a duke and a dressmaker fall in love, except maybe Manhattan in the gilded age. “Change the world Duke,” she tells him, but one man cannot change the world, perhaps together they can.
If you like your romance with a bit of rogue and a lot of strong female characters, this is the book for you. There is a lot happening in the world during this time period. The world is changing. Suffragettes, marrying for love, women’s rights, the protection of animals, children and the importance of clean sanitation are on the lips of many. This is a fabulous time in history and a great backdrop for a love story.
Totally fun!
I won a copy of this book from Goodreads giveaways, I was not required to give a favorable review. I have read other books from Maya and I have enjoyed each of them that I have read. I liked that I got in on the beginning of this series. I love the stories told about the time when old English families were looking at wealthy American women to marry because they needed the money to bring their families out of the loss of funds in the family coffers. This one is great because the young woman assisting the Duke was a seamstress trying to make her career take off with all of the society women. Can they keep their relationship platonic or will it be more. Loved it.
It is my first historical read with the Gilded Age as background. So I discovered a lot, I was a little like the Duke, learning a whole different world.
Adeline Black, the seamstress with a dream of becoming a dressmaker is really a very intriguing young woman, she does not give up, she sizes opportunities and wants most than everything to keep her freedom, why she can’t think to marry and relinquish her hard won money to a man.
She has a heart of gold, as she does not only work for herself but also the women who count on her to but their bread.
Brandon Fiennes, Duke of Kingston, Marquis of Westlake, Earl of Eastland, and Viscount Blackwood, so a very well breed gentleman but all tittle no money, so broke he crossed an ocean to find his wealthy heiress. He just didn’t mean to meet the woman of his dreams his first day in New York, nor she to be so far unreachable as too poor to solve his own problems and restore his estates.
But by frequenting Adeline, she will open his eyes, he will slowly realize the world is changing and if he wants to survive, he must too, and this means not always following the usual path.
I do lot like when the h or H look around, but Kingston’s Hunt for a bride was more amusing than annoying as he always compared any potential duchess to Adeline.
While I thought her stubborn by the end of the book when she asked something impossible to the Duke, I was furious for the pain she caused him while he had tried to be the man she could love. Hopefully she has good friends to help her repair the damages but I had a hard time understanding why she was unable to marry him.
Yes, I do not lived during this time, but to me she tried to hide her fears behind her refusal, instead of taking some risks.
I have just one question, Adeline appears as a prim and proper woman, it seems Kingston introduces to carnal pleasures so how can he not have seen he was her first?
A very entertaining read, with two dashing characters and plenty of funny, witty and nice second ones.
A 4,5 stars read.
Duchess by Design
by Maya Rodale
book one in The Gilded Age Girls Club series.
This is the story of Adeline Black and Brandon Fiennes, the Duke of Kingston.
Brandon is a Duke that has inherited a dukedom that needs to replenish the coffers, estates that need major renovations and tenants to worry about. That’s not his only worry, his sisters soon to be coming out and a mother with very expensive tastes. So whats a man to do? Find an Heiress to solve his worries.
Brandon travels to America and literally finds the woman of his dreams what would be the odds if she’s the heiress he’s looking for!?
Adeline is a seamstress who dreams of designing her own dresses. When she meets Brandon their attraction is instantanious. She finds out he’s a Duke tries not to form an attachement, the life of a Duchess is not for her, she has her dream to think of. But a girl can flirt and dream right?
I tottaly loved this new series by the very talented Maya Rodale. This was well written the characters believable. Their attraction sizzled. Plenty of twist and turns kept me entertained and turning the pages. I’m never disappointed in anything that Maya Rodale writes.
Really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the other books to come out.
I recieved a complimentary copy from the publisher via Edelweiss. This is my honest unbiased opinion.
Duchess by Design by Maya Rodale is the First book in The Gilded Age Girls Club series. This is the story of Adeline Black and Brandon Fiennes, the duke of Kingston.
Brandon has inherited a Title with some rundown estates which are in need of money to repair them. Then he has a mother with expensive taste and two sister that will need to soon have their ‘coming out’. So what Brandon settles on is getting a heiress wife which leads him to run into Adeline. Adeline is a seamstress who out to design her own dresses. When she meets Brandon she is attracted to him and learns he is a Duke. But her life as a seamstress isn’t for a Duchess nor does she want to give up her dream. Brandon knows he needs a wife with money but he is drawn to Adeline. When they two finally strike a deal that she will help him with the wife business if he helps her get her gowns out to the town. But bargains sometimes go in a different directions just as theirs did.
Really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the other books to come out.
I received an ARC for this book and absolutely loved it.
Adeline is smart and fiesty. She knows what she wants and goes for it.
Brandon, the Duke of Kingston pretty much hasn’t any dreams for himself. He’s following in the traditional footstep many British lords of the time, without questioning it or struggling to find another option. He’s just oblivious to the implications and consequences of his attentions for Adeline. (Which you would expect a Duke would be.)
The story is realistic in portraying the dangers to Adeline of the Duke’s interest. He won’t be ostracized or loose his chance to catch an heiress if he messes around with a working girl. Everyone assumes his interest dishonorable and believes she’s open to an affair. His attentions endanger her reputation, livelihood and dreams. He wants to fix his errors; to take care of and protect Adeline but doesn’t know how to.
I love how New York is used as a background in the novel. Rodale uses areas as diverse as the Lady Mile to Brooklyn to show the difference and similarities between the classes and the characters. And the American spunk, entrepreneurship and innovation is a major driver of the story. It is the portrayed in the character’s behavior and major plot points/twist.
Brandon has to learn to see the work differently and really fight to win Adeline. This isn’t an easy superficial conflict, but there are major disparities in what the H/H want, how they plan to get it and how they perceive the world.
And, I have to add, that the proposal in central park was heartbreaking.
I always anticipate and enjoy a reading of Maya Rodale. This author’s creativity and wit are to be admired and applauded. Never a disappointment with a Rodale novel.