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  • The Duke and I

  • Written by: Julia Quinn
  • Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
  • Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,181 ratings)

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The Duke and I

Written by: Julia Quinn
Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
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Publisher's Summary

Simon Basset, the irresistible Duke of Hastings, has hatched a plan to keep himself free from the town's marriage-minded society mothers. He pretends to be engaged to the lovely Daphne Bridgerton. After all, it isn't as if the brooding rogue has any real plans to marry - though there is something about the alluring Miss Bridgerton that sets Simon's heart beating a bit faster.

And as for Daphne, surely the clever debutante will attract some very worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, she soon forgets that their courtship is a complete sham. And now she has to do the impossible and keep herself from losing her heart and soul completely to the handsome hell-raiser who has sworn off marriage forever!

©2015 Julie Cotler Pottinger (P)2016 Recorded Books

Featured Article: Best Romance Authors For a Little Love Into Your Life


You can never have enough romance in your life. If there isn't enough in the real world, there's always an entire history of romance novels to get lost in, from the Victorian stylings of Jane Austen (who doesn't dream of Mr. Darcy?) to contemporary romance authors like Talia Hibbert After all, who doesn't love a good swoon from time to time? You can't beat a good love story, and there are many reasons why television and cinema are filled with their adaptations.

What listeners say about The Duke and I

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Rape and betrayal of trust regarding childhood trauma make for a deeply disturbing ‘romance’

Romance novel relationships, especially historical, tend to be less than healthy. That doesn’t bother me. This novel did. I actually threw up a little bit. This novel is still deeply off putting and disturbing in it’s depiction of the relationship btw the 2 main characters.

Do not recommend.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • l
  • 2021-01-13

very different from the series

Decided to listen to this after watching Bridgerton. I was disappointed to find that this is a pretty run of the mill romance novel, without the elements that make the Netflix show a fresh period drama. I also didn't love how the narrator voiced the characters - possibly coming off the series that I feel had stronger female characters.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable!

Listened after watching Bridgerton on Netflix and wanted more of Simon and Daphne. Story was different than the show, some characters were not in the original books, and this story focused only on Simon and Daphne. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to listen to the whole series!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Good, until it's not

The performance was wonderful, accents were subtle but clear.

Thre story was fairly typical period romance with very well written love scenes, but the rest of the text could have stood a significantly tougher editing.

Contains a scene of sexual violence which has a place within the story, but is not adequately addressed.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

great narration, flawed story and graphic scenes

the narrator was great, I thoroughly enjoyed that portion of the listen. The story its self seemed your quaint love story, easy to follow and likeable. If you're not into detailed sexual scenes you'll maybe get half way through before having to start skipping scenes.

Also wouldn't recommend it on the fact that *spoiler* the heroine seems to have very little regard for the stance and feelings of her of her husband. Taking advantage of him sexually when he is inebriated for her own gains. It's not really talked about after and its brushed off as he did want it because it did feel good. Can't do much as it's a free book, but would have definitely returned it otherwise.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

love this story

I love this book, and love the story of simon/daphne can't stop listening to it.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Ugh...No...

Free download (Editor's extra) tried to like it but it was nauseating. Didn't finish

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A whimsical time machine

I loved it! The story consumes you and sits you right into the middle of London's social season!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

story without any complexity

talks about only two characters ( Daphne and the Duke) and does not offer complexitility of any of them.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I watched the series first...

... and because I loved the series I thought I would read/listen to the books. I particularly enjoyed in the series, seeing all people of colour in every level of society without ever being mentioned as something special or different. This is exactly how it should be.

Of course there was nothing of that in the books. Maybe because it was published in 2000, the book does not cover anywhere the subject of skin colour. However listening to the book, I saw in my head all the characters from the series, and it was very rewarding.

I did find some humour in the book, however there were less opportunities for laughter in the book than in the series (the Queen sniffing "something" made me laugh out loud!)

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1 person found this helpful

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  • BZ
  • 2017-04-23

Too much sex for this reader

Any additional comments?

Just a warning for those who like clean books. This one is not. Although I tried to find that out ahead of time through the reviews I couldn't. So this is for those, like me, who don't like graphic sex scenes--TOTALLY UNNECESSARY!!

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216 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Genevieve
  • 2018-06-04

Disgusted, didn’t finish

I can’t believe this book gets such good reviews... I have never reviewed a single book on here but felt compelled to after this one. I listened to probably 10 hours of this book and was a bit underwhelmed, but still enjoyed the romance and their story at least. Sort of a spoiler here: then the book took a turn and the heroine did something that if the roles were reversed people would surely call it rape. I couldn’t believe her deceitfulness in the whole situation, and her complete lack of remorse. I couldn’t even finish the book - I was so turned off by her. Disgusting. I tried to finish it and then realized I wasn’t invested in the characters at all after that. What a waste. Cannot understand all the positive reviews.

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178 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Heather K (Dentist in my Spare Time)
  • 2017-04-01

*Unpopular opinion time*

Disappointed. Actually, disappointed doesn't even begin to describe it.

Once upon a time, I wasn't into historical romance. I thought they were silly and anti-women, and I wasn't even interested in trying them. Thankfully, I discovered historical romances by Tessa Dare and Courtney Milan, and I fell head over heels for the genre.

I'm thanking my lucky stars that I didn't try this book first because I fear I would have never read the genre again.

I've been meaning to try this series for some time now. I've read Julia Quinn before, and I really liked Because of Miss Bridgerton. EVERYONE has told me to try the original Bridgerton series, starting with The Duke and I. So, of course, I decided to take the series on, and I even bought the next couple of books following the first. However, I'm absolutely flummoxed by the love for this book.

Daphne Bridgerton was the worst heroine that I've read in a long time. She is meant to be strong and spunky, but I thought that she was self-serving and TSTL. I actually hated her. She manipulated poor Simon every step of the way. She forced him to befriend her, she forced him to marry her, and forced him in other ways that found absolutely morally reprehensible. She was vile, truly, and thought herself to be entirely blameless throughout the story.

Simon didn't quite make sense either. He had a rakish reputations, one that I didn't see any evidence of in the story, and had a twisted mentality about his situation. He was self-pitying and broody, and though I didn't like him, I thought he got the short end of the stick being stuck with Daphne.

To top it off, the book was way too long, and it took me ages to finish the audiobook. I wasn't motivated to keep listening, even with a flawless narration from Rosalyn Landor, who did her very best to add personality and sympathy for these odious characters.

I know, a very unpopular opinion, but this book only gets as high as 2-stars because of the narration. Otherwise, it would be in 1-star territory.

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134 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Tesla's Fire
  • 2018-06-04

It all about Daphne, others please step aside.

Rarely do I find heroines of a romance novel to be truly detestable. So far I can think of one and she did the same thing in that book that Daphne did in this one...rape the hero. The Duke and I started out interesting and engaging but quickly devolved into something disturbing and manipulative. Daphne's actions were not only incongruous with the time period but even by today's accepted behaviors. The only saving grace is the brilliant narration by Rosalyn Landor. I honestly could not finish and thankfully I was able to return it. Now if I could only figure out how to get my time back.

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122 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Lili
  • 2018-03-03

Talk about low!

I loved the story and the characters in the beginning of the book, but she did that man dirty.
















NO means NO!! If it happened to her it would have been r pe and not romance...wtf I had to stop listening she made me so angry...

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63 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Paragraphs and Petticoats
  • 2017-09-05

Good Start to a Great Series

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (Audio Edition) w/2nd Epilogue
Narrated by Rosalyn Landor
Series: The Bridgertons #1

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ For my rereading of this book I chose the audio version. I found I enjoyed it just as much as when I read it the first time in print! Simon and Daphne are great together. I love that Simon finds peace within himself. I enjoyed watching the characters grow and of course all the Bridgerton siblings crack me up. This is a wonderful story about family.

Rosalyn Landor does a superb job on narration as usual!

On a side note.. the edition I listened to had the 2nd epilogue added on at the end. If you are someone who likes to read in order and not find out the the tiny details.. like who ends up with whom - perhaps save the 2nd epilogue till after all the other main books of the series. Then it's like a little treat to see everyone's life afterwards.

~Paragraphs and Petticoats~

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54 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • bebe
  • 2016-10-03

I liked it a lot

Any additional comments?
I really enjoyed this romance. It is a good story with good characters. The Bridgeton family is made up of 9 great characters - the mother and 8 children. Daphne, the eldest daughter is the heroine in this book. She gets involved with the Duke of Hastings who suffers with a stammer and his hatred of his wicked father. Can the love of a good woman help him get over his problems?

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51 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Suzanne
  • 2016-09-25

Made me laugh out loud!

What did you love best about The Duke and I?

Witty banter, touching romance, lots of fun with the heroine's family and the wonderful Rosalyn Landor.

What did you like best about this story?

The humor and romance.

Which scene was your favorite?

When the heroine's 3 older brothers are taken out of her house by her mother, made me laugh and laugh!

Any additional comments?

Worth the credit for sure. My first listen from this author, will try another.

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36 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Tracy T
  • 2016-11-22

4 hours too long! So many words!

Wow this book could have been shortened by at least 4 hours and it would have been so much better. So many words filling the pages. Just annoying and ruins a potentially good story.

I liked Simon and Daphne a lot. They made a good match and had real chemistry together. There wasn't much to the story line or plot really. He was born with a stutter which he over came, his father was a jerk (typical) She had 8 siblings. They married of course, went through a few issues (typical) Realized he loved her. The end.

In between all this non excitement were words and words and words and wait for it.. More words just filling up pages. So unnecessary, it really made the story suffer.

The best part of the entire book was when Daphne's mom was trying to tell her what to expect on her wedding night! I seriously LOL. Otherwise this will be an unmemorable listen/read for me.

As for the narration, It was Rosalyn Landor, she is okay at best. Nothing great nothing terrible. Her reading voice sounds like the men's voice.

You can totally tell this book was originally published in 2000. Filler.

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32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Darynda Jones
  • 2017-09-14

ADORE!!!

My absolute all-time favorite book. This is a masterpiece. I highly recommend this book and all the books in the Bridgerton series.

My ONLY complaint about the audiobook is the narrator, who does most of the voices beautifully, does the men, ALL men, as though they are elderly school masters. These are some of the sexiest men in literature and she makes them sound like stodgy stuffed shirts. You have to get past that but if you can you will LOVE this audiobook. The story is to die for.

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26 people found this helpful