Black Sheep
by Georgette Heyer
Genre: Regency romance, Historical romance
Publication Date: 1966
Number of Pages: 279
Synopsis:
Miss Abigail Wendover, said to be ‘on the shelf’ at age 28, lives contently in Bath, England with her older sister and their orphaned niece, Fanny, a bright and beautiful heiress to a considerable estate. During Abby’s extended leave from Bath, young Fanny has fallen head-over-heels for Stacy Calverleigh, a known ‘fortune-hunter’ who has squandered his own wealth and manages to get by on his good looks and polished manners. Determined to prevent her niece from hurrying into marriage with a person of questionable motives, Abby, who was herself prevented by her father from marrying a past lover, wonders how best to protect her moonstruck niece without jeopardizing their close relationship.
Coincidentally, Miles Calverleigh, the ‘black sheep’ of his family and estranged uncle to Stacy, has just returned to Bath from a years-long business venture in India. Unlike Stacy, Miles shocks the locals with his droll humor and blatant disregard for good manners. Miles is not impressed by Stacy’s hollow charms, and he may prove to be Abby’s greatest ally in preventing the unfortunate match between Fanny and Stacy. But, with a confounding ability to throw Abby into giggles in spite of herself, Miles may turn out to be more than just an ally.
Appeal:
The storyline of this book is heavily character-driven, and most of the story is presented through dialogue and third-person description of the characters’ personalities and behaviors. The writing style is highly descriptive, but the well-crafted and witty dialogue keeps up the pace of the novel. Social and moral issues do play a role in this novel, as Abby and Miles are both understood by their society to be ‘black sheep’ -- Abby, a clever woman past her prime, and Miles, a wealthy gentleman with a tarnished history and no regard for rules of etiquette.
Read-alikes:
Lady Elizabeth's Comet (Clanross #1) by Sheila Simonson
“Elizabeth Conway's greatest ambition is to discover a comet. Unfortunately, she is the eldest of eight daughters of an earl, so her relative expect her to take her rightful place in Society…Tom Conroy is a dull stick and ill-mannered to boot. Yet he is the only man who has shown respect for her astronomical work, and his concern for her younger sister’s welfare reveals a different side to him.” (Goodreads)
Venetia by Georgette Heyer
“Venetia Lanyon--beautiful, intelligent and independent--lives in comfortable seclusion in rural Yorkshire with her precocious brother Aubrey, but when she meets the dashing, dangerous rake Lord Damerel, her well-ordered life is turned upside down, and she embarks upon a relationship with him that scandalizes and horrifies the whole community.” (NoveList)
The Lion's Lady (Crown's Spies #1) by Julie Garwood
“In 1814, Princess Christina seems an enigma to London society because its members do not know that she was raised by the Dakota Indians in Wyoming and is in England on a secret mission for her dead mother.” (NoveList)
by Georgette Heyer
Genre: Regency romance, Historical romance
Publication Date: 1966
Number of Pages: 279
Synopsis:
Miss Abigail Wendover, said to be ‘on the shelf’ at age 28, lives contently in Bath, England with her older sister and their orphaned niece, Fanny, a bright and beautiful heiress to a considerable estate. During Abby’s extended leave from Bath, young Fanny has fallen head-over-heels for Stacy Calverleigh, a known ‘fortune-hunter’ who has squandered his own wealth and manages to get by on his good looks and polished manners. Determined to prevent her niece from hurrying into marriage with a person of questionable motives, Abby, who was herself prevented by her father from marrying a past lover, wonders how best to protect her moonstruck niece without jeopardizing their close relationship.
Coincidentally, Miles Calverleigh, the ‘black sheep’ of his family and estranged uncle to Stacy, has just returned to Bath from a years-long business venture in India. Unlike Stacy, Miles shocks the locals with his droll humor and blatant disregard for good manners. Miles is not impressed by Stacy’s hollow charms, and he may prove to be Abby’s greatest ally in preventing the unfortunate match between Fanny and Stacy. But, with a confounding ability to throw Abby into giggles in spite of herself, Miles may turn out to be more than just an ally.
Appeal:
The storyline of this book is heavily character-driven, and most of the story is presented through dialogue and third-person description of the characters’ personalities and behaviors. The writing style is highly descriptive, but the well-crafted and witty dialogue keeps up the pace of the novel. Social and moral issues do play a role in this novel, as Abby and Miles are both understood by their society to be ‘black sheep’ -- Abby, a clever woman past her prime, and Miles, a wealthy gentleman with a tarnished history and no regard for rules of etiquette.
Read-alikes:
Lady Elizabeth's Comet (Clanross #1) by Sheila Simonson
“Elizabeth Conway's greatest ambition is to discover a comet. Unfortunately, she is the eldest of eight daughters of an earl, so her relative expect her to take her rightful place in Society…Tom Conroy is a dull stick and ill-mannered to boot. Yet he is the only man who has shown respect for her astronomical work, and his concern for her younger sister’s welfare reveals a different side to him.” (Goodreads)
Venetia by Georgette Heyer
“Venetia Lanyon--beautiful, intelligent and independent--lives in comfortable seclusion in rural Yorkshire with her precocious brother Aubrey, but when she meets the dashing, dangerous rake Lord Damerel, her well-ordered life is turned upside down, and she embarks upon a relationship with him that scandalizes and horrifies the whole community.” (NoveList)
The Lion's Lady (Crown's Spies #1) by Julie Garwood
“In 1814, Princess Christina seems an enigma to London society because its members do not know that she was raised by the Dakota Indians in Wyoming and is in England on a secret mission for her dead mother.” (NoveList)
Well done, Leah.
ReplyDeleteMy wife loves Georgette Heyer and there are at least a dozen of Heyer's books on our bookshelves. She is a professor and has a few authors that are her go-tos for a release on a Friday night after a long week. (Most notably, Jane Austen. I can always tell if she's had a tough day because she'll pull Emma or Pride & Prejudice off our shelf!) One of the things she loves about Heyer is that on top of being very funny she has a reputation for being quite the historian and went to great lengths to ensure that her books were historically and culturally accurate.
Leah, I love romance, but I have to confess, I have never read any Georgette Heyer books. I am not real big on reading historical fiction, but this book sounds interesting. It might be a great place to pull me into more of the historical genre. You use terms like charm, droll humor and clever about the descriptions of characters that sounds appealing.
ReplyDeleteFantastic annotation! Full points!
ReplyDelete