Review: The Duchess and the Dreamer

The Duchess and the Dreamer by Jenny Frame

My rating: 5 of 5 stars 

Finished on January 1, 2021
Favorite Scene/Quote: "Here I am in this big stately home, in this big bed, and not a duchess in sight."


Even after re-reading this book, I still love it. 

    

Evan Fox is an amazing character and I love her so much. I don’t know whether I want to be her or be friends with her. It took me longer to understand Clem as a character but eventually I did. 

I loved the way the author wrote the two character’s being set on each other’s paths. The pictures and Isadora show that the two were destined to meet or something. I also love that the author showed that people can view a historical figure differently depending on context. One loves her idealism and the other hates that she forgot about her family along the way. 

With the way the author wrote Clem it was easy to understand why she’s hesitant to trust dreamers and why she’s especially hesitant to start anything with Fox. I still absolutely love the way Frame wrote the mother’s death. It was peaceful and made sense. Her health was bad and continually deteriorating but at least she got to die somewhere she loved, somewhere she considered “home”. 

The characters were amazing even if character’s like Fox don’t exactly feel like someone, I could imagine meeting on the street anywhere. She just feels a bit too fantastical for it to feel really realistic. The author also did a good job with the drama in the story. Peter’s drama was the only one I could have done without but even that worked within the context given. The drama didn’t feel forced but rather made sense with the characters and situations that had been written about. 

I do still think that the characters may have jumped into a deep relationship quicker than usual, but I don’t mind it too much. I wanted the characters to have the best ending they could have, and each character had heard stories of “love-at-first-sight” style meetings (collywobbles and being smacked over the head with a banjo).