August Faulkner is a duke, but he grew up poor, with his father in debtor's prison. Naturally, he has a driving need for wealth, feeling he can never be rich enough to feel secure from his perception of an uncertain future. I do feel badly for him, but this sure does drive him to make some poor life choices in terms of his love and affection for his poor long-suffering sister and for Clara.

Clara Hayward is the headmistress of the most elite finishing school in Britain. She's a brilliant bluestocking who is trying, with her siblings, to hold on to the family's business that their deceased baron of a father imperiled. Clara sells her finishing school to gain some desperately-needed money to prop up the family's shipping business, and in waltzes August to snap up the school and to try to winkle the shipping business into his Midas-like clutches. August's machination in the background to keep Clara from realizing what he is doing verge on farcical, it's so fun to watch him try to keep all the balls spinning.

The cluelessness of August about his feelings is sweet and charming, as well as a little heartbreaking. I simultaneously applaud Clara's feminist streak while being a little offput by the inclusion of what feels like modern day feminist sensibilities in a historical romance. This is a soapbox issue for me, however, that affects so many authors currently. If one can overlook the remarkably prescient feminism of so many of the female characters, this is a sprightly read.

I'm always glad to pick up a romance by Kelly Bowen. Her characters are witty yet wounded, and the love story is always strong and convincing. Bowen's A DUKE IN THE NIGHT is an engaging book with plenty of feminist details to make the modern day reader feel validated.

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