A real duke

Tempting Fortune has just been reissued.You can read an excerpt here.

Yes, the cover is odd for a Georgian romance with a short, red-haired, quite plain and under-endowed heroine, but there you go! The British edition (see below) did a better job, but I think it's too dark in tone and mood. It's accurately portraying Portia on her way to be auctioned off in a brothel, but that is the darkest part of the book.

Covers. So complicated, but this book has had its full share. The original (see below) was created when the publisher was experimenting with new styles for covers and it's all-over foil. As a result it doesn't reproduce well, and even on the shelf the light  can blank the whole thing out.  I don't think they tried that again.

Tempting Fortune is the second book of the main Malloren series

It was first published in 1995. The hero is Lord Arcenbryght Malloren, the second son, who has an edgy relationship with his half-brother, the Marquess of Rothgar. He's a more fiery man and likes risk. Rothgar has turned him from gaming onto handling the family's business affairs and investments, but there's risk there, too, because in those days the shareholders of a company were liable for all losses.

That would curb some of the wild investments we see today, wouldn't it?

The book is about gambling, with money and with other things. It seems a suitable theme for the middle of the eighteenth century when a passion for games of chance gripped everyone, but it was combined with an exhilarated exploration of new ways and new ideas the Enlightenment. To the visionaries of this time nothing seemed impossible, and they had no doubt that the new would be wonderful. They had not learned as we have that progress inevitably brings costs. Or perhaps they simply did not care.

Who's the real duke, then?

Bryght's business partner, the Duke of Bridgewater.

My author's note from Tempting Fortune.

I'm reproducing here an edited version of the author's note from the back of the book. It was the first meaty one I did because I found myself trying to explain the Duke of Bridgwater's canals in the text. Definite information dumping. Not good.

The Duke of Bridgewater was just such a visionary.

It's hard to tell now what drove him, though the fact that he had grown up a sickly youth called the Poor Duke may have had something to do with it. (A string of short-lived predecessors had bankrupted the dukedom.) Perhaps he was destined by his title, for it is intriguing that Bridgewater should be the first person in England to attempt the construction of an aqueduct, a "water bridge."

Love had something to do with it, though, for it was after his betrothed wife jilted him that he devoted all his energies to construction.

Elizabeth, Duchess of Hamilton, was one of the famous Gunning sisters who had taken London by storm, much like modern pop stars. The king had to order them an escort of the Guards to keep back the adoring crowds when they walked the streets.  Maria, the elder sister married Lord Coventry. Elizabeth married the dissolute Duke of Hamilton and was soon left a rich widow. Bridgewater was just back from his Grand Tour, and still a young man, but he fell deeply in love, proposed, and was accepted. Elizabeth, however, changed her mind and chose instead a Colonel Campbell, who would one day be the Duke of Argyll. Thus, Elizabeth Gunning married two dukes and jilted a third, and what's more, was in time the mother of four.

Bridgewater turned his back on matrimony and became entranced with construction.

In the beginning, his plan was modest -- no more than to use the drainage channel from his mine to float coal a short distance. But then he saw the advantages of extending the waterway to Manchester. Manchester was a new city, growing rapidly as the spinning and weaving of cotton became an industry. Development there was being held back by the high price of fuel. The Poor Duke saw the opportunity to make a lot of money.

Even then, Bridgewater's plan was merely to link up with an established river-rout using the River Irwell. However, the existing Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company demanded an extortionate rate to use their system, and Bridgewater took the bold leap of planning a canal all the way, one which would leap the Irwell with an aqueduct.

Nearly everyone thought him mad. No one had constructed a canal in England since Roman times, and his engineers  -- Brindley and Gilbert -- were largely self-taught, but Bridgewater at only twenty-four proved determined. When he failed to raise money by other means, he sold or mortgaged just about everything he had and went around soliciting small loans from anyone with money to spare.

Money wasn't the only problem, though.

Canal construction required a number of acts of parliament, and those proved hard to get. As the duke complains in Tempting Fortune, bribery was a way of life in London. In addition, there were many honest doubters. In order to persuade the committee of Parliament to approve the act, Brindley had to build a working model of the aqueduct in front of them.

To add to the problems, the real one began to fail as the first water ran through it. It was a minor flaw, however, and the engineers fixed it, working without sophisticated plans, almost by string and sealing wax. Thereafter people made special trips to see this modern marvel, and to watch ships sail through the air. Beneath, the proprietors of the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company gnashed their teeth and feared the future.

It was the beginning of a new age, the new age Bryght foresees. By the end of the 18th century, England was criss-crossed by canals, which meant cheap, safe transportation of raw materials and finished products. This led to rapid industrial expansion, and Britain was poised for the Victorian age, when it would be the richest and most powerful nation on earth. It can be argued that this was all due to a 24 year old duke, so please don't assume young men or aristocrats are useless. He was a brilliant entrepreneur, and not out of keeping with his age or class.

This all made Bridgewater a very rich man.

The profit from his coal mines rose from 406 pounds per annum at the time of this book, 1763, to 48,000 pounds at the time of his death, still unmarried, in 1810. In addition, he had the income from fees for the use of his canals, and from many other ventures such as the land on the new dockland of Liverpool mentioned in the book. I'm sure Bryght became just as rich in the process, but great wealth was never really his motivation. It was the fascination of new opportunities and the necessary risks that stirred him.

Bridgewater pops up in some other Malloren romances, usually as a desirable marital prospect. Can anyone remember when and where he appears?

What do you think of this real duke and his story? Share your thoughts and your name will go in the hat for a copy of the new edition of Tempting Fortune.

Cheers,

Jo



Comments

[Beth]

One of my favorite Heyers has a canal subplot, so this explanation was welcome. I see now why Bryght is regarded with suspicion. I look forward to reading the book. I'll put it on the list.

[Margot]

My favorite versions of covers are usually the people-less ones, even if they have little to do with the story, since then I can't complain about how inaccurate the clothing is (and how much skin is exposed.) The 50 Shades of Grey trilogy, for example, has beautiful covers, which is probably at least partly responsible for its success. I really can't imagine that nearly as many people would have read it if it had two half naked people on the cover.

When the Duke of Bridgewater built his canals, they were the height of innovation, but then, within a hundred years, they were replaced by railroads, which were then replaced by cars and planes. Kind of makes you wonder where we'll be in another hundred years.

[Phyllis]

Is it coming out in e-book as well? I could read it tonight if it were available for my nook. ;) It's the only Malloren book I haven't read yet. I'm not sure how I missed it!

[ellie]

This book looks enticing but I enjoyed the history and background which I found fascinating readng. The enterprising businessmen always are characters that can fill volumes with plenty of deails and information.

[Jane O]

I don't remember when I first met the Duke of Bridgewater, but I've always found him fascinating. The dukes et al. who actually DO things are so much more interesting as people than the rakes who go drunkenly carousing through life.

[Betty Hamilton]

What a shame that his sickly youth affected his personal adult years so negatively. How fortunate that it caused him to be so driven and successful in business. Its amazing what those childhood years do to us. I enjoyed your comments about Elizabeth, Duchess of Hamilton as that is my "proper" name! Great blog. I would love to win the book!!

[Jo Beverley]

Jo here. It is fun to bring some interesting history like that into a book.

[LilMissMolly]

I really enjoy characters that are flawed. This sounds intriguing and something I might enjoy.

[Barbara Elness]

I think the Duke's story is fascinating and I enjoyed learning about him and his canals. I love it when interesting historical research is used in a romance, it makes it so much more fun to read.

[Linda]

Sounds like he must have been quite a brilliant & determined man. Such a shame to have died unmarried.

Hv to agree that both covers are most unattractive!

[Pageturner]

A fascinating story, but some of my ancestors were miners and I know what a dreadful job it was! Landowners in the past could grow very rich on the proceeds of mining, but at Hamilton Palace in Lanarkshire the vast, beautiful house, furnished with the finest of everything, collapsed because of the mines giving way underneath it - a bit ironic!

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[Anne Gracie]

Fascinating post, Jo. One of the places I lived as a child was near Bridgewater Bay (Victoria, Australia) which I assume was after this duke or one of his descendants.

[Julie]

Hi Jo - I am one of your longtime readers and have the original with the almost 3D foil cover. Just reading the post has made me think it might be time to pull the Malloren's off the shelf and give them a re-read.
I also always appreciate your after words - they educate me after you have entertained me. Thank you for the years of reading pleasure! Julie