A magnificent stroll through life in the 1740s

The Roxton Foundation Series, Nobel Satyr, His Duchess, Her Duke, Their Graces

This is an overall review of all four novels in this series and will be posted under all four of the above titles. It does not cover the detailed contents of each book, which can be found by reading descriptions provided by Ms. Brant herself.

Prior to release of this series, I had listened to all the Roxton Family series releases and was delighted to learn that Ms. Brant had gone back in time to take us into more intimate and personal moments in the earlier lives of Roxton and his Antonia, as well as of those who surround the Roxtons. And those persons do not all have His Grace’s future happiness in mind.

Ms. Brant takes her readers and sets them firmly into all the intrigues surrounding the 1740’s French and English nobility and royal courts. Her research is impeccable and this fact is clearly demonstrated by her descriptions of the dress, customs, conveyances, figures of speech, and yes, foibles, of the period. Her description of all the pageantry necessary for ladies of the nobility to be presented at the Court of Louis XIV was an education in and of itself.

These stories are, at their heart, love stories and the reader knows that all will be well in the end. But, Ms. Brant has down to a fine art the weaving of lots of tension and nail-biting moments to reach that end. She treats us to an inside look at the machinations of both the highest and lowest classes of nobility as well as those who desire to enter those ranks. The stories are full of delightful conversations, humour, love, honour, and, yes, dastardly schemes to bring harm to our heroes and heroines.

Let me just add—Martin’s journey within these four novels brought tears to my eyes. He is one of my favourite Roxton series characters.

Narrated by Mary Jane Wells, these books are a joy to listen to. Ms. Wells’ talent with accents and nuances alike is amazing.

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