The Duke's Secret
Sue Williams
Reviewed by Helen
I loved this story, it is a story about the authors own family legend that has been passed down for seven generations and Sue Williams has put together a fabulous historical fiction with modern side to it set in two timelines starting in 1793 in Knightsbridge England and then in 2025 in Sydney Australia, a page turner.
1793 thirteen year old Mary Ann Marshall in working as a maid at Kingston House, here she meets one of the sons of the house Arthur Wesley, their first meeting was memorable and something that sparked a friendship of sorts all of those years ago, over the years Arthur became a British soldier and eventually became The Duke of Wellington, but their friendship remained strong, even after Arthur married Irish girl Catherine (Kitty) Pakenham and had two sons.
2025 Ash Washington is a young journalist for a Sydney newspaper and she is good at her job and has ambitions, she grew up with her Mum and stepdad always believing that her father died when she was two but when helping her mother clear her house to move she comes across a box of mail, unopened and addressed to her, it appears that her father is still alive and Ash is determined to meet him and when she does he tells her a family legend that they are descendants of the great Duke of Wellington, this starts Ash on the journey of a life-time to prove one way or the other if they really are.
What Ava discovers while traveling through different countries and researching brings to life the story of Mary Ann, their illegitimate daughter Elizabeth and Arthur and his family the betrayals the affairs that man had, it also brings to life his battles with Napoléon and what made him a hero to the people of England. This story is a history lesson and a moving family tale of legends carried down and the author has done it so well, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and recommend it t any lover of a good historical fiction with a lot of history.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin for my ARC to read and review.
1793 thirteen year old Mary Ann Marshall in working as a maid at Kingston House, here she meets one of the sons of the house Arthur Wesley, their first meeting was memorable and something that sparked a friendship of sorts all of those years ago, over the years Arthur became a British soldier and eventually became The Duke of Wellington, but their friendship remained strong, even after Arthur married Irish girl Catherine (Kitty) Pakenham and had two sons.
2025 Ash Washington is a young journalist for a Sydney newspaper and she is good at her job and has ambitions, she grew up with her Mum and stepdad always believing that her father died when she was two but when helping her mother clear her house to move she comes across a box of mail, unopened and addressed to her, it appears that her father is still alive and Ash is determined to meet him and when she does he tells her a family legend that they are descendants of the great Duke of Wellington, this starts Ash on the journey of a life-time to prove one way or the other if they really are.
What Ava discovers while traveling through different countries and researching brings to life the story of Mary Ann, their illegitimate daughter Elizabeth and Arthur and his family the betrayals the affairs that man had, it also brings to life his battles with Napoléon and what made him a hero to the people of England. This story is a history lesson and a moving family tale of legends carried down and the author has done it so well, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and recommend it t any lover of a good historical fiction with a lot of history.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin for my ARC to read and review.
4 stars
February 3, 2026 by Allen & Unwin AU
