Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.
Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke....
A stunning debut for author Evie Dunmore and her Oxford suffragists in which a fiercely independent vicar's daughter takes on a powerful duke in a fiery love story that threatens to upend the British social order.
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REVIEW
I admit that I was late for this party. I have been eyeing this series appearing on both my friends' social media and here so I decided to read the books back to back as by the time this review is being written so far three books have been published.
We begin in England, in 1879. Annabelle Archer who is very smart and thirsts for knowledge is destitute by social standards and also a woman, meaning that by gender isolation only she is not allowed to do many things. But lucky for her, she gets to go to Oxford University and study with a fellowship granted to her by the suffragette movement. All she has to do is attend the meetings and target wealthy and influential gentlemen who may support the cause for women's rights.
Enter the Duke of Montgomery, one of the most terrifying and influential men in the political scene who navigates politics under his Queen's Orders. His chance meeting with Annabelle and a series of encounters will lead them both to slowly gravitate toward one another.
There was so much slow burn here! I enjoyed this very much! I loved the writing and the realistic depictions of a woman's struggles in the Victorian era far removed from the rose-tinted glasses we usually see in period movies and dramas. It felt quite much like my university studies when we would discuss gender equality and how social standards, men-dominated societies, and misconception would lead bright women, amazingly strong women to be cast out of the social circles of their time.
I loved the friends Annabelle made, Catriona, Lucy, and Hattie. It was amazing seeing how they all come from different sides of life yet they become such great friends! Lucy in particular is also the leader of the movement's chapter and she deals with so much.
There is a wide bibliography, outside the fiction of the novel, that is very enlightening in this matter and I do implore you to take time and read it as it sheds light on this fight for equality which is (even now) an ongoing battle.
The romance was very well written, but the emotional struggle for both the Duke and Annabelle was off the charts and I plan to re-read this or listen to the audiobook.
Definitely recommended!
And don't miss the rest books of this amazing series!
About the author:
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Evie wrote The League of Extraordinary Women inspired by the magical scenery of Oxford and her passion for romance, women pioneers, and all things Victorian. In her civilian life, she is a strategy consultant with a M.Sc. in Diplomacy from Oxford. Scotland and the great outdoors have a special place in her heart, so she is frequently found climbing the Highlands and hunting for woolly tartan blankets. She is a member of the British Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA).
The best way to contact Evie is via Instagram
