A review by xandrarama
The Portrait of a Duchess by Scarlett Peckham

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The subversion of tropes was interesting, as was the premise of the story. But the characters didn’t feel fully developed, the parallel structure of the book (with flashback chapters interspersed with present day chapters) didn’t work for me, possibly because the big plot points revealed in the flashbacks were underwhelming, and overall I wasn’t emotionally invested in the characters or particularly interested in either their journey or the wider storyline around the Society’s fight for radical political and social reform. None of it was nuanced enough to be as engaging as I’d hoped it would be. 

There were lots of promising elements to this book but ultimately perhaps too many for the author to weave together successfully. I appreciate the author’s desire to address intersectionality, but if she’d focused on fewer themes instead of trying to cram in race, gender, sexuality, class, etc., these could perhaps have been explored in a less superficial and ultimately more satisfying manner.