The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (Pink Carnation Series #5)

by Lauren Willig

Overview

A New York Times extended list bestseller and the exciting fifth book in the national bestselling Pink Carnation series.

After years abroad, Robert, Duke of Dovedale, has returned to England to avenge the murder of his mentor. To uncover the murderer's identity, he must infiltrate the infamous, secret Hellfire Club. But the Duke has no idea that an even more difficult challenge awaits him-in a mistaken, romantic-minded young lady.

Charlotte Lansdowne wistfully remembers the Robert of her childhood as a valiant hero among men. Too aware of his own flaws, Robert tries to dissuade Charlotte from her delusions, even as he finds himself drawn to her. When Charlotte takes up a bit of espionage-investigating a plot to kidnap the King-Robert soon realizes that she is more than the perfect partner in crime.

Caught in a dangerous game full of deadly spies and secret rites, Robert and Charlotte must work together to reveal the villain...and confront their true love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451228987
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/05/2010
Series:	Pink Carnation Series , #5
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Lauren Willig is a law student and Ph.D. candidate in history at Harvard University. She is the author of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation.

Hometown:

New York, New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

March 28, 1977

Place of Birth:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Education:

B.A., Yale University, 1999; M.A., Harvard University, 2001

Website:

http://www.laurenwillig.com

Reading Group Guide

INTRODUCTION


The much anticipated fifth installment in the inventive and original Pink Carnation series

“Pride and Prejudice lives on” in Lauren Willig’s acclaimed Pink Carnation series, which continues with another deliciously lighthearted, romantic, and suspenseful novel. Willig introduces to her series the most elusive spy of all time, whose calling card is the faint whiff of jasmine in the cold night air.

After twelve years in India, Robert, duke of Dovedale, returns to his estate in England to avenge the murder of his mentor during the 1803 Battle of Assaye. Robert plans to infiltrate the infamous, secretive Hellfire Club to uncover the murderer’s identity— but he has no idea that an even more difficult challenge awaits him—one Lady Charlotte Lansdowne.

Having cherished a romanticized view of Robert since childhood, Charlotte is thrilled by his return. To Charlotte, Robert is all the knights of the Round Table rolled into one. That’s not exactly the case, but she can’t help but search for the man she loves inside this less-than-pristine package. And while Robert works to dissuade Charlotte from her delusions, he can’t help but be drawn to her innocence and inner beauty.

When Charlotte is approached by Lady Henrietta Selwick to join her in a bit of espionage—investigating a plot to kidnap the king—Robert soon realizes that Charlotte is not only the perfect partner in crime; she’s the perfect partner, period. Caught in a dangerous game with deadly flower-named spies and secret members of the Hellfire Club, Robert and Charlotte must work together to reveal the villain…and confront their true passion for each other.


ABOUT LAUREN WILLIG

Lauren Willig is a law student and Ph.D. candidate in history at Harvard University. She is the author of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

The past and present worlds of The Temptation of the Night Jasmine are inhabited by many memorable characters. Were there any who reminded you of someone you know in real life? Who? What do the real and fictional people have in common?
 

In thinking of the dual time periods author Lauren Willig employs in the novel—nineteenth-century England and modern-day London—did you prefer one over the other? Which one? Why?
 

Along these lines, how would the novel be different if the stories were to take place in the opposite time period? For example, if Eloise’s story took place in 1800s Norfolk, and if Charlotte lived in 2004 Sussex?
 

Talk about Robert, the Duke of Dovedale. What were your first impressions of him? Did they change as the novel progressed?
 

What does the book’s title mean to you? Who is tempted in the book? Do they succumb? If so, at what consequence?
 

At the beginning of the book, Robert encounters Charlotte as she’s reading the Frances Burney novel Evelina; she and Robert refer to this book periodically throughout The Temptation of the Night Jasmine. From Wikipedia: “Evelina, the title character, is the unacknowledged daughter of a dissipated English aristocrat. Her dubious birth has seen her raised in rural seclusion until her eighteenth year. Through a series of humorous events that take place in London and the resort town of Bristol-Hotwells, Evelina learns how to navigate the complex layers of eighteenth-century society and earn the love of a distinguished nobleman.” How does Charlotte’s story mirror that of Evelina’s? Why do you think the author chose to reference this work in her novel?
 

Charlotte’s grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Dovedale; Colin’s mother, Mrs. Selwick-Alderly; the Queen—Lauren Willig populates the novel with several formidable female figures. Discuss the matriarchs in The Temptation of the Night Jasmine. What did you think of them? How are the elder women portrayed in the book, compared to those who are younger?
 

“For a moment, Robert was tempted to confide in her, to tell her the whole sordid story of the Colonel’s death and Wrothan’s disappearance. It would be a relief to have someone else to talk to” [page 78]. Why didn’t Robert tell Charlotte why he had returned to Girdings House? Do you think he should have confided in her sooner than he ultimately did?
 

Did you notice any parallels between the relationships of Eloise and Colin and Robert and Charlotte? What were they? Compare and contrast each couple—with which did you identify most?
 

Discuss the theme of flowers that Lauren Willig employs in her series of novels. What do flowers represent in The Temptation of the Night Jasmine?
 

“It gave Charlotte a slightly squirmy feeling in the pit of her stomach to realize how carelessly she had been dicing with her own reputation” [page 129]. Talk about the power of gossip, both in nineteenth-century society and modern times. Does gossip more adversely affect women than men?
 

After overhearing Joan make reference to Colin’s furtive occupation, Eloise becomes determined to find out if he’s a spy and sets about snooping through his belongings. What did you think of her actions? If you were in her position, would you have done the same thing? Were you surprised to discover what Colin was really up to?
 

What did you think about the plot twist involving King George III? Were you surprised as the details unfolded?
 

Talk about the ending of Robert and Charlotte’s story. Did you expect that Robert would propose in front of the King? Did you want Charlotte to immediately accept?
 

Have you read the author’s four previous books in the Pink Carnation series? If so, did doing so enhance your experience of The Temptation of the Night Jasmine? How? Do you have a favorite book?

Editorial Reviews

Willig spins another sultry spy tale in her fifth installment of the Pink Carnation series. When Robert, duke of Dovedale, returns after more than a decade abroad, Lady Charlotte Lansdowne hopes the romantic world of her novels will soon come to life in the form of a love story between her and Robert. But the duke has come back from India to track Arthur Wrothan, a spy who killed Robert's mentor, and though his and Charlotte's reunion culminates in a blaze of kisses, he abandons her to track down his nemesis. On the trail, Robert cavorts with the Hellfire Club, which holds opium-fueled orgies that provide cover for Wrothan. In the meantime, Charlotte's efforts to help the king throw her again into Robert's path. The story unfolds within the frame of a contemporary love affair between Eloise, a Harvard graduate student researching spies of the late 18th and early 19th century, and Colin Selwick, descendant of one of the spies who so pique Eloise's interest. The author's conflation of historical fact, quirky observations and nicely rendered romances results in an elegant and grandly entertaining book. (Feb.)

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Publishers Weekly

Willig (The Seduction of the Crimson Rose) here ups the ante in her Napoleonic-era spy series. It is still 2004, and Ph.D. candidate Eloise Kelly continues to conduct research in the archives of Richard Selwick, aka the Purple Gentian, but now she is also involved romantically with Colin Selwick, the executor of the estate. As their relationship blooms, we return to 1803 Sussex. Charlotte Lansdowne, bosom friend to Richard's sister, Henrietta, lives at Girdings with her cantankerous grandmother. A Twelfth Night house party welcomes home the current Duke of Dovedale, Robert Lansdowne, a distant cousin who was Charlotte's emotional rock when she was orphaned at a young age. Turning slightly from France to intrigue in India, where Robert hied off to 12 years earlier, Willig freshens the pot as Robert initially is on a mission of revenge that involves bacchanalian rites. But, with Charlotte's aid, he helps to thwart a plot of royal proportions. Will Charlotte finally let herself love the man? Or can she not accept that her hero has feet of clay? Another well-written chapter in the series that began with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. For romance collections, especially where the other "Flower" titles have taken root. [See Prepub Alert, LJ10/1/08.]
—Bette-Lee Fox

Library Journal

Honor and romance again take the lead in 19th-century England, as yet another flower-named spy continues this high-spirited and thoroughly enjoyable series (The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, 2008, etc.). The beautiful but bookish Lady Charlotte is thrilled to welcome her cousin, the dashing Robert of Dovedale, home for Christmas to Girdings House. The year is 1803, and Charlotte is finishing her third season still unmarried. But her cousin, the hero of Charlotte's lonely youth, seems distracted by the dissolute young "Eligibles" whom Charlotte's grandmother has invited for the festivities-and a last chance at matrimony. Could Robert, the true heir of Girdings, be involved with that unseemly crew, or could something more be afoot? As fans of Willig's series will immediately deduct, Duke Robert is as pure-hearted as they come, but the two protagonists will end up romantically confused even as they team up to uncover a plot to kidnap the mad King George III. The discovery of yet another relative involved in espionage could strain credibility, but Willig, a Harvard-educated historian, mixes pitch-perfect period details with lighthearted romance for a fresh take on the genre. If not caught up in the fashions and gossip, what else do patriotic young gentleman have to do, after all, besides defend the honor of their countries, or their more or less innocent female relatives? And, in a nod to modern sensibilities, what else do young noblewomen have to do but save them right back? In a witty acknowledgment of such far-fetched conventions, Willig's modern heroine, narrator Eloise Kelly, finds herself wondering if her romantic mystery man, new boyfriend Colin Selwick, has continued his noblefamily's tradition. That both stories will end happily is a given, but Willig's lively writing and amiable young characters make the journey great fun. Smart characters of both genders, fast-paced plotting and a dash of self-conscious humor make this installment a winner.

Kirkus Reviews

Justine Eyre's tone and pacing change as she shepherds listeners between the two settings of this novel: current and nineteenth-century England. In the present, Eyre portrays grad student Eloise Kelly, who divides her feelings between her lover and the manuscripts for which he is executor. Eyre uses a more measured, precise narrative tone for the earlier period, which involves Lady Charlotte Landsdowne and Robert, duke of Dovedale, who has returned from India to avenge a murder. Willig’s fifth installment in her Pink Carnation series also involves espionage amid the Napoleonic era. Historical details like those about mad King George and opium-fueled orgies add real intrigue to this story. S.W. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

MAY 2009 - AudioFile