DEBUT In Victorian England, Annabelle Archer cooks and cleans for her cousin Gilbert's family. Given the chance to study at the new women's school in Oxford, she pursues a scholarship from a women's suffrage group. The terms of the award include participating in marches, handing out pamphlets, and petitioning men in power to change the Married Women's Property Act. One of the men she attempts to sway is the cold and formidable Duke of Montgomery, Sebastian Devereux, who is working hard to remain in the good graces of Queen Victoria in order to restore his family's legacy and reclaim his ancestral home. Both Sebastian and Annabelle are determined to get what they want, and their plights collide when Annabelle manages to get herself and her suffragette friends invited to the duke's house for a holiday party. VERDICT Dunmore's debut is chock-full of verve, history, and passion, introducing a heroine who knows her worth and is determined not to be held back by her past. This series opener provides many opportunities for future installments, which will comfort readers as they reach the enthralling denouement.--Kellie Tilton, Univ. of Cincinnati Blue Ash

Annabelle Archer has been admitted as one of Oxford's first female students, an opportunity she can only take advantage of due to her stipend, which requires her involvement in the suffrage movement. The Duke of Montgomery has been tasked by Queen Victoria to ensure a Tory victory in the upcoming election, but Annabelle's fellow activists want to convert him to their cause. She and her friends finagle a house-party invitation to lobby the Duke, but once at the party, Annabelle finds Montgomery to be much more than his icy exterior and aloof reputation seemed to indicate. Full of witty banter, rich historical detail, and a fantastic group of female friends, the first installment in Dunmore's League of Extraordinary Women series starts with fireworks as Annabelle and Montgomery try to find a path to happiness despite past mistakes and their vastly different places in society. Dunmore's strong debut is sure to earn her legions of fans.--Jennifer Rothschild Copyright 2010 Booklist

When an intelligent but impoverished woman is accepted into Oxford's first class of female students, she must juggle a spectrum of challenges, but nothing prepares her for the attractive and intimidating Duke of Montgomery."Of all the types of men she had learned to manage, the ignorant yet self-important' type was not exactly the most challenging. Then again, when her very fate lay in the hands of such a man, it added insult to injury." When Annabelle Archer wins a scholarship to Oxford from the National Society for Women's Suffrage, she first must convince her dullard, self-righteous cousin to allow her to go. She lets him believe the stipend came from the school, since he'd never agree if he knew the real source: "It was a safe guess that on the list of moral outrages, votes for women would rank only marginally below scandals of passion in Gilbert's book." After reaching the school, beautiful, overeducated Annabelle is asked to help the Society convince gentlemen of influence to overthrow The Married Women's Property Act. The first man Annabelle approaches is the Duke of Montgomery, arguably the most influential man in England, who is at the beginning of what everyone expects will be an illustrious political career. The two notice each other, and as their paths cross again and again, their stories become more and more entwined, tightened by their attraction and shared experiences, yet thwarted by their respective places in society as well as conflicting goals. Dunmore's beautifully written debut perfectly balances history, sexual tension, romantic yearning, and the constant struggle smart women have in finding and maintaining their places and voices in life and love, with the added message that finding the right person brings true happiness and being with them is worth any price.A brilliant debut. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A bright, penniless suffragette in Victorian-era England melts the heart of a notoriously icy duke in this delightful romance. Annabelle Archer is granted a scholarship by the National Society for Women's Suffrage to become one of the first women to study at Oxford University. In exchange, she's required to publicly support their cause. When she brazenly offers a political pamphlet to the Duke of Montgomery, it is just the first of many times that she shocks him with her brains and courage. Montgomery is obsessed with getting back the castle his father gambled away and is willing to sell out his own ideals and work with the Tory Party if it will get the queen to grant his request. He is entirely unprepared for a beautiful, radical woman to derail his mission. But when Annabelle finds herself ill and snowed in at Montgomery's home, the pair discover they are more compatible--politically, emotionally, and physically--than either would have believed. Despite their mounting passion, their disparate circumstances make a relationship impossible, but they set out to find a way to make it work. Charming, sexy, and thoroughly transportive, this is historical romance done right. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Sept.)