The Duke Who Didn't
by Courtney Milan
The recap
Wedgeford Downs is a small English village with one great annual excitement, the Wedgeford Trials, a gloriously chaotic contest that brings visitors pouring in. Chloe Fong has lived there all her life, and she has no time for distractions. She runs her days by meticulous lists, and this year the sauce she has spent years helping her father perfect is finally ready to meet the festival crowds. Then Jeremy Wentworth comes back. Once her childhood sweetheart, he vanished three years ago, and now he has returned determined to win her heart, though he is not being entirely honest about who he really is. Courtney Milan builds her romance from good food, village eccentrics and gentle comedy, while giving real weight to what it means to be Asian in England, from casual prejudice to the appropriation of a family's hard work. Chloe is exacting, funny and wonderfully stubborn, Jeremy is pure charm, and the whole book has the cosy, sunlit feel of a village fete.
Why read it
For readers who want a low-angst, big-hearted historical romance with a love of food and community, and with characters of Chinese heritage at its centre rather than in the margins.
Fun facts
- 01
It is the first book in Milan's Wedgeford Trials series.
- 02
Milan has said the Wedgeford Trials were inspired by Royal Shrovetide Football, a real English game, and the book's working code name was 'Shrovetide'.
- 03
Milan published the novel independently in September 2020.
- 04
The New York Times called it one of the best things to come out of 2020, praising it as both tender and witty.
