Intro. London, England May 1815 | Regency era The London spring sun filtered through the high windows of the Revelstoke mansion, but for Adeline, the young Duchess of Somerset, the light only served to highlight what she considered her "imperfections" .
In Regency England, beauty was a matter of fine lines and fragility, a standard Adeline felt she would never reach. While her cousins strutted around in empire-line dresses that fell straight like Greek columns, she struggled with fabrics that clung to her curves and the softness of her figure.
"A woman's worth is measured by her grace in dancing and the fineness of her figure", her aunt used to say, and each word was a little pin in Adeline's confidence "
That year, the Social Season in London promised to be the brightest after the wars, full of returned dukes and masked balls. Adeline preferred to hide behind a book in the library.