Prologue & Chapters 1 & Chapter 2

Summary: Prologue

In the late 1700s, after fifteen years of numerous miscarriages and stillborn births, the Duchess of Hastings gives birth to a healthy son, Simon Basset, at Clyvedon, the family estate. The duchess dies due to complications from the birth, but her husband, the Duke of Hastings, is ecstatic that he finally has an heir who will one day take his title and position. For the first two years of Simon’s life, the duke leaves him in the care of Nurse Hopkins. When the duke visits on Simon’s second birthday, he is troubled to learn that Simon hasn’t started speaking yet. Nurse Hopkins assures the duke that nothing is wrong with Simon, but when the duke returns two years later, Simon still hasn’t spoken. The duke is furious, and just as he’s about to hit Simon, Simon finally speaks—but with a stutter—telling his father not to hit him. The duke laments that Simon is an idiot who won’t be able to take on the title of Duke of Hastings. 

As Simon grows up, Nurse Hopkins helps him overcome his stutter. When Simon is eleven, he suggests going to visit his father in London, but when they arrive at the duke’s house, Simon becomes nervous and has trouble speaking. The duke dismisses Simon and tells Nurse Hopkins to keep his son away from him. Simon vows to himself that he will grow up to be the exact opposite of his father.

Summary: Chapter 1

Chapter 1 begins at Bridgerton House in 1813 with an excerpt from Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers, a gossip sheet written by an anonymous author describing the Bridgerton family’s eight children: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. Lady Violet Bridgerton, the children’s mother, is worried that Lady Whistledown’s commentary will harm Daphne’s chances of finding a suitable husband, but Daphne assures her that isn’t the case. But Daphne, who is twenty and has been looking for a husband for two years, is concerned about her marriage prospects. She believes that most of the men she knows see her only as a friend, not a romantic interest, and she aspires to marry someone with whom she feels a mutual affection. 

Lady Bridgerton and Daphne read a report that the new Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset, has returned to London from Clyvedon after his father’s death. Lady Bridgerton recalls that Simon and Anthony were friends at Oxford and remembers that Simon was always at odds with his father. She tells Daphne that he would be an unsuitable match for her, and Daphne tells her mother that she hopes to have a loving marriage and several children one day.  Meanwhile, in another part of London, Simon and Anthony discuss a ball at Lady Danbury’s later in the week, and Anthony warns Simon about the pushy mothers who will try to entice him to marry their daughters.

Summary: Chapter 2

At Lady Danbury’s ball, Daphne hopes to avoid the company of Nigel Berbrooke, a man whose marriage proposals Daphne has already rejected twice. She and her brothers Anthony and Benedict stand to the side and discuss their mother’s plans to marry them off. Their brother Colin, who has been in Amsterdam for a year, surprises them by showing up to the ball. Daphne slips out of the ballroom and is accosted by Nigel Berbrooke, who drunkenly begs Daphne to marry him. Simon hears the two of them as he enters the house from a side door, and he considers coming to Daphne’s aid before determining that she has the situation under control. When Berbrooke won’t leave Daphne alone, she punches him in the jaw, knocking him out. Simon then comes into view, and Daphne sees him for the first time.

Analysis: Prologue & Chapters 1 & 2

The Duke and I largely explores the role of women in Regency-era London society. The Duke of Hastings celebrates the birth of his child not simply because the baby is healthy but specifically because the baby is a boy; the duchess has faced mounting pressure to have a son so her husband’s property and title may stay in the family line. At Simon’s birth, the lack of attention to the duchess and sole focus on the baby shows that the duke’s singular concern is with the latter. Weekly flowers at the duchess’s monument and the repositioning of her portrait after her death show not love or mourning but instead the duke’s gratitude that the duchess has fulfilled her duty and given him an heir. Daphne Bridgerton must play a similar role. As a young woman in society, her responsibility is to marry. Daphne’s mother, Violet, has her own part to play ensuring Daphne’s presence at parties so she may make a suitable match. Though Daphne is luckier than most, with her mother and oldest brother allowing her input, marriage is her only option. In the world of The Duke and I, women’s lives have meaning only in relation to the men around them and their duties to these men.  

Reputation plays a vital part in the way society sees both women and young men. Daphne struggles to find a husband not because she is unattractive or unpleasant but because her easygoing nature renders her relationships largely platonic. One of her suitors states that she is not like a normal female, suggesting that her reputation for being well-liked, understanding, and easy to talk to is unusual. Her brother, Anthony, reinforces this notion when he tells Simon that Daphne is the exception to the rule when it comes to debutantes. Violet worries that Lady Whistledown’s column about the Bridgerton siblings’ similar looks will cast doubt on Daphne’s parentage, harming the young woman’s reputation simply by putting the thought of illegitimacy in others’ minds. Simon enters with his own reputation as a rake or womanizer, though his excellent academic performance also earned him the reputation as a scholar. When Daphne’s mother warns her to stay away from Simon, it indicates that his reputation as a rake has been well-established. Regardless of the truth behind it, it’s clear reputation tends to precede one’s physical presence and provides others with pre-established notions about a person’s character. 

The novel also explores the impact of a nurturing family. As the son of a wealthy duke, Simon is born to great privilege in terms of property and finances. However, with a mother who died in childbirth and a father who is mortified by his son’s stutter, Simon lacks familial emotional support. Simon’s vow to be the opposite of the son his father wanted reveals the deep impact of his father’s rejection. When Nurse Hopkins vows to prove Simon’s father wrong about his son and steps in to nurture him, his resultant ability to speak is evidence of the power of a caring adult in a child’s life. On the other hand, Daphne has known nothing but love and support from her family. Daphne loves her mother, refers to her as the best, and freely admits that her mother’s matchmaking attempts are with her best interests at heart. These details reveal their close and positive connection. While overprotective, Daphne’s older brothers respect her wishes when it comes to marriage, a fact that Simon notes as unusual in his conversation with Anthony. Daphne’s love of her family, in contrast with Simon’s hatred of his father, illustrates the positive effect of a nurturing family and the harmful results of neglect.