In 1890, three young ladies from a Holstein principality arrive in the Duke of Olympia's Park Lane townhouse. They're princesses and he is their uncle, and they have led quite eventful lives. Several of their family have died unexpectedly and concern for their health has led them to come to England, where they assume disguises in order that no accidents will befall them. So begins a humorous tale of women dressed as men, Princess Emilie becoming a tutor of Latin in Yorkshire, to the Duke of Ashland's son Freddie.

HOW TO TAME YOUR DUKE is not Emilie's intention; she wants to get her sisters back and lead her own life. But she's obliged to masquerade as a studious, bearded young man who occasionally plays chess with the Duke of Ashland, whose wife left him many years ago. Then while meeting a contact for news, she inadvertently ends up in a different role altogether - reading to the Duke in an inn bedroom while she's naked and masked. The Duke has lost a hand in combat in Afghanistan and between that and the fact that he is still married, he has put off taking a lover. He may have foibles, but he pays well and keeps his hand off the ladies sent to him. Against her initial resolve Emilie finds herself doing this more than once....

As romance develops so do twists and turns, with the Duke in for a surprise when he seeks out his absent wife and Freddie spotting the truth about his tutor but thinking it a great game. I enjoyed the lively characters, especially Freddie, a lonely, good-natured young man. This is an adult romance so we get to see how a French letter had to be tied on with strings, and some passages are very reminiscent of erotic books of the time, such as The Romance of Lust and Fanny Hill. Politics of the day also rear their head, with the anarchist movement determined to remove the many heads of the small states which existed before the unification of Germany and Italy. One such assassination did in fact trigger the First World War, and Bismarck who became Germany's leader at that time is mentioned. Relations are still friendly at the stage of this book and the English nobility have much in common with their European counterparts. Juliana Grey has thought carefully about the period and how the changing times affected people's behaviour. HOW TO TAME YOUR DUKE is an interesting, funny and engaging read.