The story in one page
Hugh Tracy Clare Belmanoir, the arrogant Duke of Andover, treats women as disposable playthings until he encounters Diana. He decides to kidnap her, but finds his plans thwarted by a stranger called John Carr. As Carr repeatedly interferes, it emerges that he is actually the long-exiled Lord Wyncham, living under an assumed identity after a scandal. While the Duke initially views his defeat as a tactical error to be corrected through force, he slowly finds his cynical worldview collapsing. Diana ultimately chooses the honorable but disgraced Wyncham, leaving the Duke to acknowledge his own failure and reconcile with his new reality from afar.
Who's who
- Hugh Tracy Clare Belmanoir
A cruel, cynical Duke who considers human beings as playthings.
- John Carr
An exiled aristocrat hiding from his past as a highwayman.
- Diana
A spirited woman whose defiance humbles a powerful Duke.
- Lady Lavinia
The Duke's sister and Richard Carstares's wife, who focuses on the practical consequences of their family's dwindling fortune.
What it's really about
- Arrogance
- Power assumes the world functions at its whim.
- Redemption
- Love forces a ruthless man to acknowledge defeat.
Why it's memorable
- The Duke writing a letter to his rival and signing it 'The Devil'.
- A young girl drawing a picture of a horse that is barely recognizable.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
The Duke accepts his defeat and realizes that his former attempts to control others were hollow. He commits to returning to England, intending to bow to the woman he could not own, finally understanding that his own happiness is secondary to her freedom.
For your book club
- How does the Duke’s constant posturing hide his actual isolation?
- Does the title of 'The Black Moth' suggest a fatal attraction?