One significant difference between Bruce and the Duke of Cosway is Simeon’s faltering adherence to the Middle Way. I make no claim whatsoever to historical verisimilitude in Simeon’s recollections of Valamksepa’s teachings. The term “Middle Way” is drawn from Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim, in which the titular hero meets a Tibetan holy man who seeks freedom from the “Wheel of Things.” Had Simeon been lucky enough to meet the guru of Kim, he might well have been better prepared to encounter the mire that awaited him in Revels House. But I drew Valamksepa’s wisdom from the flotsam and jetsam of bowdlerized Eastern teaching, and they have no basis in reality.
I’ll finish this note with just a word about water closets, since their development (and failure) lie at the heart of Simeon’s greatest challenge. The 1770’s were an exciting time in the history of modern toilets; between 1775 and 1785, inventors created the S-trap (preventing the escape of foul air), the “plunger closet,” and the float valve system. None of these new inventions were yet in use in country houses, but water closets were definitely gaining dominance over outdoor privies and old-fashioned close-stools.
Acknowledgments
This book is a concerted effort, and I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful people who helped me: my editor, Carrie Feron; my assistant, Kim Castillo; my research assistant, Franzeca Drouin; and the newest member of my team, a brilliant fact-checker, Anne Connell. I love you all!
About the Author
Author of fourteen award-winning romances, ELOISA JAMES is a professor of English literature who lives with her family in New Jersey. All her books must have been written in her sleep, because her days are taken up by caring for two children with advanced degrees in whining, a demanding guinea pig, a smelly frog, and a tumbledown house. Letters from readers provide a great escape! Write Eloisa at eloisa@eloisajames.com or visit her website at www.eloisajames.com.
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By Eloisa James
WHEN THE DUKE RETURNS
DUCHESS BY NIGHT
AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS
DESPERATE DUCHESSES
PLEASURE FOR PLEASURE
THE TAMING OF THE DUKE
KISS ME, ANNABEL
MUCH ADO ABOUT YOU
YOUR WICKED WAYS
A WILD PURSUIT
FOOL FOR LOVE
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
WHEN THE DUKE RETURNS. Copyright © 2008 by Eloisa James. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition OCTOBER 2008 ISBN: 9780061980152
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