The Duke and I

The Duke and I (2000) is a historical romance novel by Julia Quinn. The work is the first in her eight-book Bridgerton series about the members of a single aristocratic family. Quinn is a prolific romance author, and many of her series involve members of a family or social network, including her Rokesby series, which features the extended family of the Bridgertons. The first Bridgerton novel was adapted into a Netflix series in 2020 by Shonda Rimes. Only editions published since 2019, including the one cited in this guide, include a second epilogue.  

Content warnings for this text include childhood trauma, ableist language, and issues of sexual consent. A note on disability and language: though stuttering is no longer the preferred medical term for what is now called Childhood Onset Fluency Disorder, the term is still in popular use. Quinn’s characters use both “stutter” and the British English term “stammer”; in analytical sections and paraphrases, this guide uses the term “speech disability.”

Plot Summary

The prologue introduces the Basset family, who hold the title to Great Britain’s dukedom of Hastings. The Ninth Duke of Hastings celebrates the birth of a son after years of infertility despite his wife dying in childbirth.