Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    When the Duke Returns
    When the Duke Returns
    When the Duke Returns
    Audiobook11 hours

    When the Duke Returns

    Written by Eloisa James

    Narrated by Susan Duerden

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The Duchess of Cosway yearns for a man she has never met . . . her husband.

    Married by proxy as a child, Lady Isidore has spent years fending off lecherous men in every European court while waiting to meet her husband. She's determined to accept him, no matter how unattractive the duke turns out to be. When she finally lures Simeon Jermyn back to London, his dark handsomeness puts Isidore's worst fears to rest—until disaster strikes.

    The duke demands an annulment.

    Forsaking his adventuresome past, Simeon has returned to London ready to embrace the life of a proper duke, only to find that his supposed wife is too ravishing, too headstrong, and too sensual to be the docile duchess he has in mind. But Isidore will not give up her claim to the title—or him—without a fight.

    She will do whatever it takes to capture Simeon's heart, even if it means sacrificing her virtue. After all, a consummated marriage cannot be annulled.

    Yet in forcing Simeon into a delicious surrender, will Isidore risk not only her dignity—but her heart?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateSep 11, 2012
    ISBN9780062252791
    When the Duke Returns
    Author

    Eloisa James

    Eloisa James is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author and professor of English literature, who lives with her family in New York, but can sometimes be found in Paris or Italy. She is the mother of two and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

    More audiobooks from Eloisa James

    Related to When the Duke Returns

    Titles in the series (6)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    Historical Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Lady with A LUTE

      Aug 10, 2022

      Lady with A LUTE
      9 min read

    • Article

      A tender THREAD

      Dec 22, 2021

      A tender THREAD
      9 min read

    • Article

      ABATH For All SEASONS

      Jul 4, 2019

      ABATH For All SEASONS
      7 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Simpson Learns A Lesson

      Jul 29, 2021

      Mrs Simpson Learns A Lesson
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Little Trip

      Aug 2, 2021

      As the first morning light peeked through the gap in the curtains, Alice left her new husband in bed. She wrapped her silk kimono around her; a present from Jeremy, it reminded her yet again just how generous he’d been since their wedding. Even this

      5 min read

    • Article

      The real ALICE

      Apr 3, 2020

      Were it not for Alice Pleasance Liddell, we might never have known of the madcap world of Wonderland, where White Rabbits wear waistcoats, Mad Hatters host tea parties and playing-card-Queens play croquet. Lewis Carroll’s dreamland has fired the imag

      4 min read

    • Article

      Pond Water

      Feb 1, 2019

      Pond Water
      5 min read

    • Article

      HOME To Roost

      Mar 5, 2024

      HOME To Roost
      11 min read

    • Article

      Home to ROOST

      Jan 11, 2022

      Home to ROOST
      11 min read

    • Article

      The Girl on THE MOON

      Mar 10, 2021

      The Girl on THE MOON
      8 min read

    • Article

      A summer OUTING

      Jun 21, 2022

      A summer OUTING
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Summer Outing

      Jul 1, 2021

      A Summer Outing
      4 min read

    • Article

      Lady with A LUTE

      Jul 27, 2022

      Lady with A LUTE
      9 min read

    • Article

      10 Literary Diss Tracks

      Apr 9, 2018

      10 Literary Diss Tracks
      11 min read

    • Article

      When the HEART MELTS

      Feb 23, 2022

      When the HEART MELTS
      8 min read

    • Article

      Come the DAWN

      Apr 8, 2020

      Come the DAWN
      21 min read

    • Article

      The Kobold in the Corner PART 1

      Oct 1, 2022

      THE CARVING HAD stood off to the side of the chimney for years upon years, so long, in fact, that Friedrich had forgotten when it was put there, or why. It was a curious thing, fashioned from elm wood in a crude yet appealing style. It looked like a

      6 min read

    • Article

      Song Of The CUCKOO

      Jan 18, 2023

      We were on the telly last night.’ ‘Were we?’ Molly said. ‘What were we doing?’ Bev laughed. ‘Playing host to a mermaid. Keith Barrow claimed he saw one, when he was fishing off the Baggan rock. She tried to entice him into the sea with her, apparent

      6 min read

    • Article

      Pearls before SWINE

      Feb 9, 2022

      Pearls before SWINE
      5 min read

    • Article

      Lady with A LUTE

      Aug 3, 2022

      Lady with A LUTE
      9 min read

    • Article

      At The Drop Of A Hat

      Jul 13, 2022

      At The Drop Of A Hat
      5 min read

    • Article

      Yohanca Delgado

      Mar 9, 2021

      The widow arrived at LaGuardia on a Sunday, but the rumors about the woman who had rented a big apartment, sight unseen, had taken an earlier flight. We had already reviewed, on many occasions and in hushed tones, in the quiet that comes after long h

      15 min read

    • Article

      The Kobold In The Corner

      Nov 1, 2022

      Friedrich lives by himself on a rundown farm. By the chimney sits a wooden carving of a little man. It has been there since the days of Oma Elsa, Friedrich’s grandmother. “That’s our kobold,” Friedrich’s mother told him before she passed away. “He wa

      5 min read

    • Article

      Clifton’s Place

      Mar 1, 2018

      THE SIGN outside the bar had appeared only recently. It announced the bar’s name and hours of operation, clear indications that this was not just another townhouse basement. Still, despite the listed business hours, no one got in before the sun went

      32 min read

    • Article

      The Wonderland Dodo Cover

      Nov 13, 2020

      The Wonderland Dodo Cover
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for When the Duke Returns

    3.5/5

    230 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      like it
    • 1/5
      Sorry but I couldn’t pass chapter 6. The dowager character is absolutely despicable and pushed to much, the story soon became too cringe-y and down right gross. This ruined the author for me, not only this book!
    • 2/5
      Eesh, the first half was weak for me, but then large portions of the last half actually became tedious to get through! The heroine was quite daft, more than just being inexperienced or naive. Lots of stuff just seemed off, I think it lacked a sense of believability. Not really one huge absurd thing, but just tons of small things that made me want to raise an eyebrow, like '...really?...'. Also, it didn't have significantly more sex or particularly graphic sex, but the story seemed to revolve around it in a weird way anyway. Like someone kept telling the author 'yeah, yeah, yeah, get to the good part!'. Another story could have twice the sex but if it were interwoven seamlessly with some substance it wouldn't feel nearly as tawdry! This felt very much like fan fiction actually. I did like the scene of their first kisses though.
    • 3/5
      Since I read Duchess by night I knew I would want to read Isidore's story. I liked her so much in the last book, and I like Cosway a lot... he was hot. I just hope the book will be as good as I anticipated.

      I'm reading this book now; there are some parts that were hilarious. I will edit my review when I'm done.
    • 3/5
      There were parts of this book which I liked quite a bit, and parts which I disliked immensely. Overall, it balances out to average, and worked well as a palate cleanser after The Book Thief's emotional train wreck. My favorite parts were those about the protagonist's friend's marriage, which is apparently explored more in a sequel -- I'll keep an eye out for that one.
    • 4/5
      Isidore was married by proxy at the age of 12, but hasn't seen her husband since she was a child. Tired of waiting she tries to entice him back home by attending a scandalous house party at Lord Strange's, it works and now suddenly Isidore has to make a life with a strange, unconventional, Duke who has the mother from hell. Another fun read in the series.
    • 4/5
      Isidore has waited for her husband to return from his travels and to claim her for himself. They were married by proxy when she was 12 and now she wants a husband, and if she has to divorce him to get one she's willing to do just thatThe Duke of Cosway is different, his life abroad has taught him a lot, however it's taught him nothing about women, by his choice. Now he doesn't fit in the world of English nobility. He also finds that while his father was rich, he's left a lot of debts and a lot of ruffled feathers, along with a house whose water closets aren't working properly.I really enjoyed this read, the characters are great fun, though Cosway is almost a time traveller, he's almost modern in his attitude but in other ways he's quite behind the times. The characters sparkle and the stories of other people, involved in the series, are quite entertaining.I'm looking forward to more in this series.
    • 5/5
      When is a duchess not a duchess? When she was married by proxy at 12, and her world-travelling husband has yet to return 11 years later. He finally shows up, and then the feathers fly. Fun, and funny, one of James's better books (and they're all good).
    • 2/5
      Book promised more than delivered. Heroine was irritating, supposedly a clever independent lady, by the end she whiney and pathetic. Way too much talk about her clothes and jewellery. ( she literally nearly sinks under it all ) Oh and enough about the toilets already.
    • 4/5
      Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Dec08Just how long is ‘too’ long to wait for your man? In times of yore (it’s a historical!) there existed a practice of marriage by proxy. Meaning one member (usually the man) wasn’t actually present at the ceremony but the couple was considered legally wed. Then once the absent member showed up and consummated the marriage, all was normal. Eloisa James uses the concept of a proxy marriage in her latest book, “When the Duke Returns”. Her heroine has waited twelve years for her husband the Duke to return and validate their marriage. Twelve years?! Isidore is a Duchess…well, kind of…and she’s fed up with waiting for her errant husband to come home to England. Her plan is fairly simple. She will feign misbehavior to bring him home and then seduce him. It doesn’t really matter what he looks like, after all he is a Duke. She won’t have any problems seducing him, after all she’s been lauded as a beauty since she first put her hair up. She’ll have her children, do Duchessy things, and then, as far as Isidore is concerned, her husband the Duke can go right back to Africa or wherever. She’ll continue her London life fully invested as a Duchess. See, simple plan. What man doesn’t want to ‘do it’?Simeon has returned to England to take over his duties as the Duke. His first duty is to take charge of his wife, er…future wife. See, Simeon wants to get to know and develop feelings for his ‘wife’ and then remarry before consummating their union. He has held on to his chastity to stay healthy but he has always dreamed of what his wife would be like. She’ll be quiet, demure, and docile and he’ll have no problems keeping to the philosophy of ‘the Middle Way’…no strong feelings like anger, lust, or fear. When he first catches sight of his ‘wife’, he’s pretty sure he just lost the ‘lust’ part of his ‘Middle Way’. And after only a few meetings, he’s pretty sure that with Isidore, anger and fear won’t be far behind. I spent quite a bit of time laughing as I read about the titanic struggle between these two. Their verbal exchanges were sharp and scintillating, but it was the author’s revelation of their inner dialogues that explained the most about their motivations and intentions. The plot intensifies as each character figures out what they really want as opposed to what they’d always ‘thought’ they wanted…and why. Very nicely done. There are also several appearances by (mostly) heroines from earlier books who help move the plot along. An evolving secondary romance is just the icing on the cake.Eloisa James’ historical romances are always a treat to read. The witty wordplay between primary and secondary characters and her wonderfully descriptive period vocabulary draws the reader into the world of her heroes and heroines…and it’s a very fun place to visit. “When The Duke Returns” is another engaging story from one of historical romance’s bigger names.
    • 4/5
      One of the better books in this series to date. Though the premise was similar to one of Eloisa James's earlier books, this story is original and the characters are unique. Plus, the triangle of Jemma/Elijah/Villiers takes a turn. The next two books should be very interesting.