Unlike most historical romance novels, which feature young innocent debutantes and more mature males, Sophie Jordan created “The Scandalous Ladies of London,” this Regency romance series to feature mature women. The main characters in these novels are women who are either the mothers of debutantes or of an age in which they could be mothers to the debutantes. These are not young ingenues, but rather seasoned, experienced women who may have been married but have not had the joy of a loving relationship. While they are not in the first blush of youth, their beauty has grown with age, like a fine wine.

In this second novel in the series, “The Duchess,” the focus is on Valencia, the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, after the untimely death of her husband the year before. In fact, his demise is related in the first novel, “The Countess,” as the Duke of Dedham takes a fall down a flight of stairs to his death during a house party. In this novel, details regarding the circumstances of his fall are revealed.

For the past year since the death of her husband, Valencia has been living as the Duchess of Dedham, since she and her husband had no children, and the new duke has not been located. She is in the London townhouse, and her year of mourning is now over. She is free to finally enjoy the advantages of being a widow, after many years of a miserable marriage in which she was abused. And just as she is ready to embark upon that life of freedom, the new duke appears with his extended family. Valencia is told that she must leave London to go to the wilds of Yorkshire where the dower house awaits her. All that has been provided for her by her husband is a miserly stipend upon which to live.

While many would find a house and stipend ample cause for celebration, Valencia is bitter at her fate. All her close friends are in London, and her husband set up his mother, the former dowager duchess, in a town home with a comfortable stipend. But women were powerless in that time, as Jordan reminds us, and Valencia’s husband didn’t care enough to make sure she’d be comfortable. Her father, also wealthy, does not offer to help her much, either.

But the new duke, a handsome single man around Valencia’s age, has six unmarried sisters. His mother and he quickly realize that they need help to launch the girls into London high society. Add in the attraction that the new duke feels for Valencia since the first time he laid eyes on her, and we know she isn’t going anywhere. Especially when it’s an attraction that is very mutual.

This series is a delightful spin on the typical Regency romance while still retaining the comfortable romance format and happy-ever-after ending. It’s a perfect novel for women who don’t necessarily relate to young, innocent debutantes, teenagers basically. These older, mature main characters are more relatable as they chafe and fret at the silken chains of misogyny that bind them into their roles as the women of high society. Jordan cleverly depicts women at a time in history when they had little control over their lives who make the most of their brains as well as their beauty. In each book, we learn about not just the main character, but her friends and family. All of this serves to make each book a very enjoyable light read, and a series that we want to keep up with.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.