Noble Satyr by Lucinda Brant

Narrated by Mary Jane Wells

Note: New Recording

Lucinda Brant’s Noble Satyr tells the May/December romance of Renard, the Duke of Roxton, and Antonia Moran. This new audio edition has been re-edited and has a new narrator, Mary Jane Wells, and serves as book one of the new Roxton Foundation series. This new series of novellas, which include His Duchess, Her Duke, and Their Graces, concentrates on the life of the Duke and Duchess of Roxton through approximately twenty years of marriage, until the time of Midnight Marriage, book one of the Roxton Family Saga. This audiobook also includes several of the letters pertaining to the Duke and Antonia that were previously released in the Eternally Yours compilation.

Renard, Duke of Roxton and Antonia Moran are distantly related. His grandfather, the Fourth Duke of Roxton, is Antonia’s great great grandfather, and she is the granddaughter of Roxton’s first cousin, the Countess of Strathsay. The Salvan family plays an important part in the story, as well; the present Comte de Salvan is Roxton’s first cousin on his French mother’s side. Renard, as Fifth Duke of Roxton, is the head of the family on his father’s side, but also has a great deal of influence on the Salvan side, since he has vastly more wealth and power than the Comte de Salvan.

When the story opens, Antonia is at Versailles with her father’s former mistress. Her grandfather and guardian, the Earl of Strathsay, is dying and Antonia needs help to travel to England where she will with her grandmother. Antonia is intelligent and witty, but she also doesn’t fully appreciate the danger she is in from the Salvans. As she navigates the schemes and intrigues at court, she also tries to contact the Duke of Roxton through a series of letters. Antonia wants him to act on her behalf as head of the family, and escort her to England to get her away from the Comte de Salvan’s schemes to wed her to his son, Vicomte d’Ambert. Besides wanting the wealth she’ll inherit, the Comte de Salvan has plans to make Antonia his mistress after her marriage to his son. The Vicomte is trying to resist his father’s machinations, but his sometimes volatile personality makes him a dubious friend for Antonia.

While Roxton is an intelligent and competent head of his family, he is inclined to ignore the hangers-on in his family tree. He has lived an infamously debauched life and is more jaded with life these days than interested. In desperation, Antonia comes up with a scheme to force Roxton’s hand. She goes to a masquerade ball dressed as a courtesan in order to make him rescue her and finally escort her to England..

The ploy works, but on the way back to the Duke’s residence they are set upon by highwaymen, who demand Antonia be turned over to them. Roxton succeeds in killing two of them, but a stray bullet hits Antonia; she is badly injured and must stay at the Duke’s residence to recuperate. Also at the Hôtel Roxton is Roxton’s widowed sister Estée and his best friend, Lucien Valentine, who is visiting from England. During this time Antonia captures the hearts of everyone there, including the Duke’s, although he is loath to admit it.

All the secondary characters are richly realized, from the scheming Comte de Salvan, the increasingly unstable Vicomte and the vain and vicious Countess of Strathsay, to the solidly kind Lucien and emotional Estée. Lucinda Brant expertly captures the French nobility in the 1740s, from their beautiful clothes to their decadent and often debauched lifestyle, slowly peeling away the layers of intrigue to expose the schemes underpinning this story. There are many twists and turns as we learn the motives and machinations of the people involved, but at the heart of Noble Satyr is a deeply emotional love story. Antonia is an unusual young lady, full of both innocence and wisdom and she makes Roxton feel alive again, but he knows he’s too old and tarnished for such a treasure. Their connection is obvious, even as Roxton does what he can to push Antonia away. In the end, however, he knows he can’t let her go, and that he’s the only one who can save her from Salvan’s plans.

Noble Satyr was previously released on audio and excellently narrated by Alex Wyndham. I have only good things to say about the original narration, and wondered why Ms. Brant decided to have it re-recorded. Her website gives us the answer: she wanted this edition to focus on Antonia, and to work as the first book in the Roxton Foundation series, and decided Mary Jane Wells was the perfect choice to narrate it. After listening, I can say she was correct. Ms. Wells captures Antonia’s personality and makes the book feel more centered on Antonia without actually changing the story.

Mary Jane Wells is a prolific and talented narrator with many titles to her name. She has been a favorite of mine since the first time I listened to her and she does not disappoint here. She has an arsenal of character voices and accents, and has equal proficiency with male and female voices. Her Antonia has a lilting French accent and a voice full of playfulness and humor, bringing her personality to life by virtue of her narrative skills. Her Roxton is urbane with a hint of ennui, and all the voices, from Valentine’s gruffly good natured manner, to Salvan’s oiliness, and the Vicomte’s instability are always distinct and consistent.

If Nob;e Satyr is new to you, you are in for a treat! The lush historical story, full of scheming relatives, court intrigue, and romance, is exciting and entertaining. If you’ve read or listened to the story before, Mary Jane Wells’ narration and the newly included letters bring a freshness to the story that makes it well worth revisiting. I’m excited about jumping into the Roxton Foundation novellas next.

Carrie

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