The Duke's Sweetheart: A Romance

A linked Victorian romance follows Charles Augustus Cheyne, a self-made man who assumes a ducal style while working in print and literary circles. His courtship of Marion Durrant unfolds in modest London rooms and a tiny conservatory, while wider episodes take the characters to the sea, a yacht voyage, and dangerous rescues. Intertwined subplots reveal family secrets, return of estranged relations, and shifting fortunes across decades, leading to reconciliations and marriages. Recurring concerns include social pretension, the tensions between public reputation and private affection, and the unpredictable role of coincidence in changing lives.