TY - BOOK AU - Steel, Danielle, TI - The duchess: a novel T2 - New York Times Bestsellers Fiction SN - 9781524781934 AV - PS3569.T33828 D83 2017b U1 - 813/.6 23 PY - 2017/// CY - New York PB - Random House Large Print KW - Inheritance and succession KW - Fiction KW - Aristocracy (Social class) KW - Brothels KW - Prostitution KW - Nobility KW - England KW - Paris (France) KW - Social life and customs KW - 19th century KW - Historical fiction KW - lcgft KW - Love stories KW - gsafd KW - Large type books N2 - Angélique Latham has grown up at magnificent Belgrave Castle under the loving tutelage of her father, the Duke of Westerfield, after the death of her aristocratic French mother. At eighteen she is her father's closest, most trusted child, schooled in managing their grand estate. But when he dies, her half-brothers brutally turn her out, denying her very existence. Angélique has a keen mind, remarkable beauty, and an envelope of money her father pressed upon her. To survive, she will need all her resources -- and one bold stroke of fortune. Unable to secure employment without references or connections, Angélique desperately makes her way to Paris, where she rescues a young woman fleeing an abusive madam -- and suddenly sees a possibility: Open an elegant house of pleasure that will protect its women and serve only the best clients. With her upper-class breeding, her impeccable style, and her father's bequest, Angélique creates Le Boudoir, soon a sensational establishment where powerful men, secret desires, and beautiful, sophisticated women come together. But living on the edge of scandal, can she ever make a life of her own -- or regain her rightful place in the world? ER -