Weekly Fiction Workshop
There Just Aren’t That Many Dukes
I think authors just don’t like to spell “marquess.”
There is no question that snagging a duke in a historical romance novel is the ultimate prize for our sassy, forward-thinking protagonists. However, when every historical romance novel recommendation I get in my email feed is some form of:
- Running from the Duke
- Taming the Duke
- The Lady Gets a Duke
- The Duke’s Duchess
- Duke or Rogue?
Well… I get a little exhausted by the word “duke.”
By the way, I made all of those titles up on the spot, but I BET that at least one of them is a real title of a book out there. Feel free to comment should you find one.
That isn’t to say that it isn’t fun to romp through the class-deaf adventures of a woman whose only problem is whether or not the duke wants her for her money, her title, or who she is as a person. I love me a good cliche. The problem is that if every single male hero is a duke, reading multiple books in this vein runs a little stale.
Once in a while, I’d prefer my historical romances involve someone a little lower on the aristocratic hierarchy. There are plenty of regular lords out there with money and titles to snag, Sassy Protagonist.
In reality, there are only about 5 royal dukedoms:
- Duke of Cambridge
- Duke of Sussex
- Duke of York
- Duke of Glouchester
- Duke of Kent
These are in order of precedence. Some aren’t even that closely related to the royal family, making their influence much less exciting than the average reader would believe.
So imagine: you’ve just read a great novel about a duke and the woman he is determined to marry even though his rank in the peerage will not allow it. What a scandal! They live happily ever after, and you’re ready for your next book. This one is also about a duke. So is the next. Furthermore, these two or three or ten dukes can’t exist in the same universe because they are all described as the queen’s nephew or the king’s first cousin.
Suddenly your previous male lead has to be pushed out of your mind, and a new reality has to form: This is the new fantasy version of England, so I must forget everything I just read before.
Start over. Clean slate.
Regency whiplash
It's exhausting keeping all those separate realities in your head, but for the Regency romance lover out there, it is common practice to shove the last duke aside and make way for the new one.
Every time you pick up a new novel on your shelf or download the next eBook on your phone, you are fully aware that you have to disregard everything you just read completely. For an author who writes Regency romances, that might sting a little bit.
We want our characters and stories to live on in our readers’ minds for a few days. We want them to miss the world we made for them. We want them to come back.
Even better, we want them to buy our next book!
But when Regency books all run together like this royal red and blue blob, it is probably more likely that the readers don’t even remember the authors' names at all. This can be blamed on the appeal of reading and rereading your favorite tropes, but in reality, it can also be blamed on authors writing only what they think will sell.
No one wants to read about a lower-level Lord with a small title and fortune, do they? No, they want to read about a duke.
But is that really the case? Is it possible that authors can concoct excellent Regency romances without the word “Duke” slapped on the cover and still make a decent living?
Ditching the duke
It is totally possible!
Hello, Rogue is an eBook Kindle collection of six different stories depicting the saucy affairs of upper-class members in England and the (un)fortunate consequences that result from them — usually a baby and quick marriage to cover it up.
Six stories, written by six different authors, and only ONE DUKE in the whole batch. Hello, Rogue is currently considered the #1 bestseller on Amazon for the Regency Romance genre. I’d say that’s pretty successful.
Second on the bestseller Regency Romance list is When He Was Wicked — the 6th novel in the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn. In this, the male lead Michael is an earl, not a duke. With almost 13,000 ratings and a 4.6-star review, I’m pretty sure we can safely say that this one is a success.
What’s the point?
Not every male protagonist has to be a duke who sacrifices everything he has built for the man or woman he loves.
Regency romances can have so many different plots, twists, and exciting characters that span all over your fantasy version of England or country that you’ve concocted. Give your readers room to breathe and leave the duke behind for now.
If you are a writer within this genre, it is best to include variety as well as comfortable cliches that your readers trust. Yes, there are tropes we love to return to time and time again, but everyone needs a palate cleanser once in a while.