Book Review: My Last Duchess by Daisy Goodwin

The last book of the month is My Last Duchess by Daisy Goodwin. Daisy Goodwin is born in December so we are month buddies (I count all people that are Sagittariuses to be my month buddies!). This is her second book. Her first book, Silver River, was published in 2007 and is a memoir of her own life.

My Last Duchess was published in August 2010, it's a romantic story about a girl named Cora Cash and her journey into adulthood and life in general. Cora is a wealthy heiress in 1890 in America. Her mother biggest dream is for Cora to marry someone with a title so they move to England. In England Cora falls in love with a Duke and the story doesn't end there!

I did quite enjoy the book. Cora is a lovely character and you can feel for her. You can sense her loneliness and the bitterness between her and her mother without getting to annoyed at them.

What I didn't like was the supposedly twist that wasn't much of a twist for me, it jumped out on the first page when she met the Duke for the first time! Otherwise the book was good.

Some memorable quotes:

     Page 35: She smiled when she saw Lincoln waiting for her in the stable yard, twitching his head impatiently. A sixteen-hand grey stallion, Lincoln was the finest product of her father's stables. Core was not ready to admit that she might find a British horse to suit her, so she had brought her favourite hunters with her, walking them every day on the deck the SS Aspen, her father's steam yacht.

Cora about her horse Lincoln, I can just so easily imagine this scene happening.

     Page 57: Mrs Cash had wanted to leave Sutton Veney as soon as she had received her daughters note, but Lord Bridport had persuaded her that it would be better to go in the morning. As she sat down to dinner, Mrs Cash was grateful for the opportunity to find out something more about the man she now thought of as Cora's duke.

Mrs Cash can see a glimpse into her long lasting dream of Cora getting married to someone with a title.

     Page 89: So she had come fully prepared for the brief moment of disappointment when she would see the Duke shaping himself around the bulk of her inheritance. She was almost looking forward to seeing him moulded by its weight. It had not occurred to her that he could be indifferent.

Cora about the Duke.

      Page 128: The staff of Lulworth  were lined up on the grey stone steps as the carriage drew up, the male servants on the left. the female servants on the right, from the butler and housekeeper right down to the scullery maid and knife boy.

 When the Duchess (the Dukes mother) came for  visit.

All in all I quite liked this book and would recommend it. It has quite the charm and it flows very well. It is well written and that can save any type of bad twists.