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The Reluctant Widow
Georgette Heyer is best known for her witty and charming Regency romances, but she is also responsible for a handful of mystery novels. On occasion, mystery would find its way into her romances, embroiling her well-born heroes and heroines in adventures that were alternately chilling and hilarious. In The Reluctant Widow, Elinor Rochdale, a young woman of good birth but straitened circumstances, sets out to accept a position as a governess and ends up plunged into a tangle of foreign intrigue instead.
Elinor's adventure begins when she inadvertently mistakes the carriage waiting at the coach stop for one sent by her prospective employer, Mrs. Macclesfield. She finds herself carried to the estate of one Ned Carlyon, who Elinor mistakes for Mr. Macclesfield. Carlyon, meanwhile, believes Elinor to be the young woman he hired to marry his dying cousin, Eustace Cheviot, in order to avoid inheriting Cheviot's estate himself. Somehow, Elinor is talked into marrying Eustace on his deathbed and thus becomes a widow almost as soon as the ring is on her finger. What starts out as a simple business arrangement soon becomes much more complicated as housebreakers, uninvited guests, a shocking murder, missing government papers, and a dog named Bouncer all contribute to this lively, frequently hilarious tale of mistaken identities, foreign espionage, and unexpected love set during the Napoleonic Wars.
306 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1946
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About the author
Georgette Heyer
245 books5,500 followersGeorgette Heyer was a prolific historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth.
In 1925 she married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. Rougier later became a barrister and he often provided basic plot outlines for her thrillers. Beginning in 1932, Heyer released one romance novel and one thriller each year.
Heyer was an intensely private person who remained a best selling author all her life without the aid of publicity. She made no appearances, never gave an interview and only answered fan letters herself if they made an interesting historical point. She wrote one novel using the pseudonym Stella Martin.
Her Georgian and Regencies romances were inspired by Jane Austen. While some critics thought her novels were too detailed, others considered the level of detail to be Heyer's greatest asset.
Heyer remains a popular and much-loved author, known for essentially establishing the historical romance genre and its subgenre Regency romance.
In 1925 she married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. Rougier later became a barrister and he often provided basic plot outlines for her thrillers. Beginning in 1932, Heyer released one romance novel and one thriller each year.
Heyer was an intensely private person who remained a best selling author all her life without the aid of publicity. She made no appearances, never gave an interview and only answered fan letters herself if they made an interesting historical point. She wrote one novel using the pseudonym Stella Martin.
Her Georgian and Regencies romances were inspired by Jane Austen. While some critics thought her novels were too detailed, others considered the level of detail to be Heyer's greatest asset.
Heyer remains a popular and much-loved author, known for essentially establishing the historical romance genre and its subgenre Regency romance.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,079 reviews
August 31, 2021
3.5 stars. Elinor, our genteel-but-fallen-on-hard-times heroine, is on her way to a dubious governessing job when she accidentally gets into the carriage of Lord Carlyon, a man expecting a woman for a very different job: to marry his dissolute and dying cousin Eustace. His reasons are barely plausible, but this is one of those cases where you just have to roll with it. Elinor doesn't think this sounds like a great idea, but when Eustace gets mortally injured in a fight with Carlyon's reckless young brother, Carlyon's timetable for getting Eustace married off is accelerated — he needs to get married TONIGHT, before he kicks the bucket — and Carlyon sweeps Elinor along with his plans despite her increasingly feeble objections.
Eustace obligingly marries her and dies a few hours later, but this is only the beginning of Elinor's problems: there's a large and rundown estate to try to fix up, a mansion with secret passageways, and dislikeable relatives of her late husband showing up to search for ... something. And Carlyon, administering the will of Eustace and smiling and brushing off all of Elinor's concerns and complaints.
This is a lightweight mystery that seemed a little scattershot to me, with an improbable setup and a barely-there romance... But hey, it's Heyer, and it's lively and filled with witty repartee that carried me along effortlessly to the end, and left me smiling. And even though Carlyon was a little (or a lot) too high-handed and Elinor spent too much time and breath complaining to and about him — with complete justice, I might add — I still liked the main characters, and the secondary ones were delightful. Especially Bouncer the dog, a hilarious mastiff cross-breed.
Eustace obligingly marries her and dies a few hours later, but this is only the beginning of Elinor's problems: there's a large and rundown estate to try to fix up, a mansion with secret passageways, and dislikeable relatives of her late husband showing up to search for ... something. And Carlyon, administering the will of Eustace and smiling and brushing off all of Elinor's concerns and complaints.
This is a lightweight mystery that seemed a little scattershot to me, with an improbable setup and a barely-there romance... But hey, it's Heyer, and it's lively and filled with witty repartee that carried me along effortlessly to the end, and left me smiling. And even though Carlyon was a little (or a lot) too high-handed and Elinor spent too much time and breath complaining to and about him — with complete justice, I might add — I still liked the main characters, and the secondary ones were delightful. Especially Bouncer the dog, a hilarious mastiff cross-breed.
‘Dear old fellow!’ said Miss Beccles, fondly regarding the faithful hound, who had followed her into the room, and now sat on his haunches, with his ears laid flat, and an expression on his face of vacuous amiability. ‘I am sure he is not a nasty fierce dog, are you, Bouncer?’ Bouncer at once assumed the mien of a foolishly sentimental spaniel, and began to pant.A fun and light Heyer novel, with a villain who turned out to be unexpectedly intriguing in the end. Read for the witty dialogue, not for the mystery or romance.
April 30, 2022
4.5★
My original review still stands https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'll only add that GH created one of her best villains here
And that the Arrow edition I read (with the insipid looking redhead dressed in pink - Elinor was a brown haired 26, worked as a governess, then was in mourning - no way would she be wearing pink) was full of typos - especially in the second half. Come on Arrow - stop being so cheap and hire a proofreader!
Somehow I wiped out today's reread review. Posting again...
I'm reducing my rating to 4★ this time.
Once you get over the improbabilities this is a cracking good read, but Elinor just doesn't seem to appreciate how lucky she is to be thrust into such an adventure & spends a lot of time complaining. & & Nicky's character, endearing now, will seem spoilt & undisciplined in a year or two, mark my words!
My original review still stands https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'll only add that GH created one of her best villains here
And that the Arrow edition I read (with the insipid looking redhead dressed in pink - Elinor was a brown haired 26, worked as a governess, then was in mourning - no way would she be wearing pink) was full of typos - especially in the second half. Come on Arrow - stop being so cheap and hire a proofreader!
Somehow I wiped out today's reread review. Posting again...
I'm reducing my rating to 4★ this time.
Once you get over the improbabilities this is a cracking good read, but Elinor just doesn't seem to appreciate how lucky she is to be thrust into such an adventure & spends a lot of time complaining. & & Nicky's character, endearing now, will seem spoilt & undisciplined in a year or two, mark my words!
February 10, 2019
The reason I find Georgette Heyer a pleasure to read is simple: Her heroines are fools, her heroes are saturnine, and everyone around them makes me snort with laughter. When the leads are on stage alone or, ever so rarely, together, things get tedious fast. When the wagtail young male or the mischievous schoolgirl arrive trailing clouds of knowing innocence tinged with bombast, I am a happy man indeed.
Recovering from a recent re-descent into viral hell, I was so wretched I couldn't keep track of anything with stories in it. I was on a 24/7 diet of Sir David Attenborough. An estimable man, no one could say otherwise, but there are only so many whale flukes and nematodes and iridescent comb jellies I can look at before a hunger for story kindles. I fetched up in front of the tree-book TBR because basta with the blue light, scanned a few shelves, turned a corner and...
Looka tha'!
These decade-old trade paper Heyer reissues were a delightful idea on Sourcebooks's part, as they clearly determined to make them aesthetically in tune with the topic of Regency. This cover image tugged my sadly disused smile muscles into stiff but sincere action. I want to sit next to the lady and listen to what her clear, unsparing eyes have seen in her untrammelable mouth's widest, loudest Pronouncements. The gent in the embrasure will, no doubt, perceive that I pose no threat to what he quite clearly regards as His Woman.
To page one...and into a gloomy destination where a young governess alights from the stage and is gratefully whisked into a crested-doored coach by an attentive coachman, her trunks stowed aloft, and she bowls comfortably swathed in rugs to a scene of the most sparkling-wine-esque cross-purposes mistaken-identity repartee deliciousness. In four pages, the quite absurd plot is laid out. As I am not a Heyer-naive reader, I know that the "plot" will indeed unfold, in a cloud of exclamation marks, exactly following these lines; I also know that the ostensible plot will in no way get in the way of Heyer's seeming addiction to hiking her skirts and making an Olympic-speed dash into the weeds. The heroine, a hard-done-by daughter to a profligate father, tends towards the dudgeony end of Heyer's ladies. Lord Carlyon, her nemesis, tends towards the Mark II or rude-because-he-can-be end of her capable, masterful gentlemen. They will do swimmingly together.
Come now, no one alive is so naive as to not know that the hero and heroine will, in due course, end up together. Heyer. Regency. If-Then.
It is the supporting characters and the more interesting secondary plots that will make a Heyer reader for life of the casual peruser of this story. Or it will so irk and chafe on the unsusceptible-to-heightened-whimsical-language as to cause them ever after to shudder and glower at the sound of her name. They are equally valid responses, and greatly to be preferred to a bland indifference towards the read. Which latter response I am at a loss to conjure a possessor of, in all honesty, as this is a type and a level of prose that can induce panther-screeching fury or rapturous coos more readily than the oatmeal-farina-porridge stuff one finds so readily in all categories of writing.
At any rate, I was launched in the proper boat and heading to the destination I was expecting to reach with some alarums and excursions in the middle. With a great deal of pleasure I met young Nicholas Carlyon, murderer of intended bridegroom Eustace Cheviot, and his hound Bouncer. Why worry about Eustace, he needed killing, and besides it was really an accident (mostly) and Eustace really did bring the whole miserable incident on himself. At any rate, Author Heyer was at the time this book was being written in the middle 1940s was the mother of a teenaged boy, and it shows. Nicky is a perfect late-adolescent young man of good breeding and simple nobility. He despises all that is brummagem, he embraces pashes without exercising his nascent capacity for perspective *before* acting, he loves easily and fiercely...you've met him. You're probably related to him or wearing his slightly wrinkled skin yourownself.
Nicky's tidings set the marquee plot, marrying Miss Elinor Rochdale to Mr. Eustace Cheviot to cause the latter's estate entire to pass away from sorely overtaxed Lord Carlyon's unwilling grasp, into high gear. There is no time for frail sensibilities to quail at the mercenary nature of this cold-blooded scheme that verges on the disreputable. Miss Rochdale, having been diverted all unknowing from the grasp of a dreadful fate in the household of one Mrs. Macclesfield, really has no realistic option but to fall in with this bizarre proposal and submit to her fate. She puts up a vigorous rear-guard action, it is true, but one isn't entirely persuaded that she isn't in fact a smidgin relieved to allow Carlyon to take the reins of her future in his capable hands:
Soon enough the Widow Cheviot and her eager young protector Nicky, together with Bouncer, are up to silliness and goofiness and there's a so-totally-filmable drawing-room farce among the three of them that had me in stitches and...
...
...not one word I can say will convince you to sign on for this somewhat creaky ride if you don't like the quote above, or get all riled up at the abominable gender politics. If you do like the quote and accept that gender politics was utterly abominable 200 years ago, get the book.
That creakiness, let me say, is largely in the odd choice Author Heyer made of keeping the hero and heroine out of each other's company for most of the book. They speak more about than to each other. Also the inevitable heartfelt nuptials are barely even hinted at, with the most halfhearted proposal scene I've ever read!
I was very not-amused with the revolting dandyish behavior of Francis Cheviot, cousin to the Carlyons on one side of the family and to the late Eustace Cheviot on the other. At first I suspected Author Heyer was coding homophobia, and almost certainly she was on some level, but I realized quite quickly that the character's Exquisiteness was utterly period and I am projecting back onto his mannerisms a meaning they didn't convey to Regency people. The Carlyon men did not like Francis's foppishness because they do not share his interest in appearances, manners, etc etc. The 1940s audience would likely have read Author Heyer's words as properly homophobic, I am persuaded, but I know nothing of the lady's opinions about the subject and do know she was a meticulous researcher, so I'll go with her creating the disagreeable Exquisite without a double entendre.
I was very pleased as well with Author Heyer's resolution to the strange and sad espionage plot. On every front, this secondary-to-the-love-story aspect was entertaining and energetic. The resolution she crafted gave each character touched by it a believable reaction to and benefit from it.
I mentioned a filmable drawing-room farce scene. I was astounded to learn that only TWO of Heyer's novels were filmed! This one, made in 1950 as The Inheritance (in the USA), was...well...not great. Not awful, just not great. It needed a lead couple with chemistry and the one in the film gave every appearance of having met while quarreling over a parking space at the studio. What a sparkling thing a *good* film of this would be!
Recovering from a recent re-descent into viral hell, I was so wretched I couldn't keep track of anything with stories in it. I was on a 24/7 diet of Sir David Attenborough. An estimable man, no one could say otherwise, but there are only so many whale flukes and nematodes and iridescent comb jellies I can look at before a hunger for story kindles. I fetched up in front of the tree-book TBR because basta with the blue light, scanned a few shelves, turned a corner and...
Looka tha'!
These decade-old trade paper Heyer reissues were a delightful idea on Sourcebooks's part, as they clearly determined to make them aesthetically in tune with the topic of Regency. This cover image tugged my sadly disused smile muscles into stiff but sincere action. I want to sit next to the lady and listen to what her clear, unsparing eyes have seen in her untrammelable mouth's widest, loudest Pronouncements. The gent in the embrasure will, no doubt, perceive that I pose no threat to what he quite clearly regards as His Woman.
To page one...and into a gloomy destination where a young governess alights from the stage and is gratefully whisked into a crested-doored coach by an attentive coachman, her trunks stowed aloft, and she bowls comfortably swathed in rugs to a scene of the most sparkling-wine-esque cross-purposes mistaken-identity repartee deliciousness. In four pages, the quite absurd plot is laid out. As I am not a Heyer-naive reader, I know that the "plot" will indeed unfold, in a cloud of exclamation marks, exactly following these lines; I also know that the ostensible plot will in no way get in the way of Heyer's seeming addiction to hiking her skirts and making an Olympic-speed dash into the weeds. The heroine, a hard-done-by daughter to a profligate father, tends towards the dudgeony end of Heyer's ladies. Lord Carlyon, her nemesis, tends towards the Mark II or rude-because-he-can-be end of her capable, masterful gentlemen. They will do swimmingly together.
Come now, no one alive is so naive as to not know that the hero and heroine will, in due course, end up together. Heyer. Regency. If-Then.
It is the supporting characters and the more interesting secondary plots that will make a Heyer reader for life of the casual peruser of this story. Or it will so irk and chafe on the unsusceptible-to-heightened-whimsical-language as to cause them ever after to shudder and glower at the sound of her name. They are equally valid responses, and greatly to be preferred to a bland indifference towards the read. Which latter response I am at a loss to conjure a possessor of, in all honesty, as this is a type and a level of prose that can induce panther-screeching fury or rapturous coos more readily than the oatmeal-farina-porridge stuff one finds so readily in all categories of writing.
At any rate, I was launched in the proper boat and heading to the destination I was expecting to reach with some alarums and excursions in the middle. With a great deal of pleasure I met young Nicholas Carlyon, murderer of intended bridegroom Eustace Cheviot, and his hound Bouncer. Why worry about Eustace, he needed killing, and besides it was really an accident (mostly) and Eustace really did bring the whole miserable incident on himself. At any rate, Author Heyer was at the time this book was being written in the middle 1940s was the mother of a teenaged boy, and it shows. Nicky is a perfect late-adolescent young man of good breeding and simple nobility. He despises all that is brummagem, he embraces pashes without exercising his nascent capacity for perspective *before* acting, he loves easily and fiercely...you've met him. You're probably related to him or wearing his slightly wrinkled skin yourownself.
Nicky's tidings set the marquee plot, marrying Miss Elinor Rochdale to Mr. Eustace Cheviot to cause the latter's estate entire to pass away from sorely overtaxed Lord Carlyon's unwilling grasp, into high gear. There is no time for frail sensibilities to quail at the mercenary nature of this cold-blooded scheme that verges on the disreputable. Miss Rochdale, having been diverted all unknowing from the grasp of a dreadful fate in the household of one Mrs. Macclesfield, really has no realistic option but to fall in with this bizarre proposal and submit to her fate. She puts up a vigorous rear-guard action, it is true, but one isn't entirely persuaded that she isn't in fact a smidgin relieved to allow Carlyon to take the reins of her future in his capable hands:
"You must not think that you will be lonely...{f}or we shall come and visit you."
She thanked {Nicky}, but turned once more to Carlyon. "And what is to be done about Mrs Macclesfield?' she asked.
"It is very uncivil of us, no doubt, but I am inclined to think that we shall do best to let Mrs Macclesfield pass out of our lives without embarking on explanations which cannot be other than awkward," he replied.
Soon enough the Widow Cheviot and her eager young protector Nicky, together with Bouncer, are up to silliness and goofiness and there's a so-totally-filmable drawing-room farce among the three of them that had me in stitches and...
...
...not one word I can say will convince you to sign on for this somewhat creaky ride if you don't like the quote above, or get all riled up at the abominable gender politics. If you do like the quote and accept that gender politics was utterly abominable 200 years ago, get the book.
That creakiness, let me say, is largely in the odd choice Author Heyer made of keeping the hero and heroine out of each other's company for most of the book. They speak more about than to each other. Also the inevitable heartfelt nuptials are barely even hinted at, with the most halfhearted proposal scene I've ever read!
I was very not-amused with the revolting dandyish behavior of Francis Cheviot, cousin to the Carlyons on one side of the family and to the late Eustace Cheviot on the other. At first I suspected Author Heyer was coding homophobia, and almost certainly she was on some level, but I realized quite quickly that the character's Exquisiteness was utterly period and I am projecting back onto his mannerisms a meaning they didn't convey to Regency people. The Carlyon men did not like Francis's foppishness because they do not share his interest in appearances, manners, etc etc. The 1940s audience would likely have read Author Heyer's words as properly homophobic, I am persuaded, but I know nothing of the lady's opinions about the subject and do know she was a meticulous researcher, so I'll go with her creating the disagreeable Exquisite without a double entendre.
I was very pleased as well with Author Heyer's resolution to the strange and sad espionage plot. On every front, this secondary-to-the-love-story aspect was entertaining and energetic. The resolution she crafted gave each character touched by it a believable reaction to and benefit from it.
I mentioned a filmable drawing-room farce scene. I was astounded to learn that only TWO of Heyer's novels were filmed! This one, made in 1950 as The Inheritance (in the USA), was...well...not great. Not awful, just not great. It needed a lead couple with chemistry and the one in the film gave every appearance of having met while quarreling over a parking space at the studio. What a sparkling thing a *good* film of this would be!
December 25, 2025
This was my umpteenth time through this story and I have to say this author's work stands the test of time and re-reading. I appreciated it more than I did in the first place.
I saw more humor and wit than I did the first time around. I saw the subtle hints of romance where I didn't see the evidence of it before and I was most struck by one of the more dubious characters in the story, Frances Cheviot.
The story is most definitely old school Regency Romance at its best with a tinge of the Gothic to it. I wasn't that into the heroine the first time around, but found her more than tolerable this time. She has a stinging tongue, but I could see how the hero's laid back cool attitude in the face of the mayhem going on would drive her to it. They are quite the pair and I enjoyed their sparring.
The narrator, Cornelius Garrett, did a fantastic job capturing the tone, pacing, and characters.
In summation, I was delighted by this re-read in the form of an audio version.
I saw more humor and wit than I did the first time around. I saw the subtle hints of romance where I didn't see the evidence of it before and I was most struck by one of the more dubious characters in the story, Frances Cheviot.
The story is most definitely old school Regency Romance at its best with a tinge of the Gothic to it. I wasn't that into the heroine the first time around, but found her more than tolerable this time. She has a stinging tongue, but I could see how the hero's laid back cool attitude in the face of the mayhem going on would drive her to it. They are quite the pair and I enjoyed their sparring.
The narrator, Cornelius Garrett, did a fantastic job capturing the tone, pacing, and characters.
In summation, I was delighted by this re-read in the form of an audio version.
February 15, 2022
An absolutely charming Heyer regency romance, and now my personal favorite of those I've read (even better then The Corinthian and Friday's Child, IMO).
The fact that this book ticked off some of my favorite reader boxes probably has alot to do with why this one was so appealing to me:
- An old Jacobean manor house, complete with hidden passages, paneled walls, and mullioned windows. Be still, my crappy-apartment-bound heart....
- An entirely lovable, undisciplined canine named "Bouncer", who was every bit the model of scrappy dog-hood, and provided much comic relief throughout the novel with his antics.
- A dry, droll hero, whose mode of wooing was perfectly offset by the still-lady-like sarcasm of the heroine. Ned and Elinor were a perfectly matched Heyer couple; mature in years as well as personality, not silly or foppish, and a couple you could still imagine being in love with each other 30 years down the road.
- Less romance, more gothic-y mystery (with a murder thrown in for extra brownie points!)
- A truely wonderful secondary character in the person of Nicky. Nicky is the teenage human equivalent to Bouncer, and every bit as scrappy and undisciplined as his canine counterpart. Heyer fleshed out the perfect foil for the more sober, mature older brother/hero. I adored him.
- Throw in some Napoleonic spies, a missing war strategy missive, a marriage of extremely short duration and a languid, foppish cousin who might be more sinister then he seems, and you've got the makings for one very entertaining novel by the queen of the regencies.
The fact that this book ticked off some of my favorite reader boxes probably has alot to do with why this one was so appealing to me:
- An old Jacobean manor house, complete with hidden passages, paneled walls, and mullioned windows. Be still, my crappy-apartment-bound heart....
- An entirely lovable, undisciplined canine named "Bouncer", who was every bit the model of scrappy dog-hood, and provided much comic relief throughout the novel with his antics.
- A dry, droll hero, whose mode of wooing was perfectly offset by the still-lady-like sarcasm of the heroine. Ned and Elinor were a perfectly matched Heyer couple; mature in years as well as personality, not silly or foppish, and a couple you could still imagine being in love with each other 30 years down the road.
- Less romance, more gothic-y mystery (with a murder thrown in for extra brownie points!)
- A truely wonderful secondary character in the person of Nicky. Nicky is the teenage human equivalent to Bouncer, and every bit as scrappy and undisciplined as his canine counterpart. Heyer fleshed out the perfect foil for the more sober, mature older brother/hero. I adored him.
- Throw in some Napoleonic spies, a missing war strategy missive, a marriage of extremely short duration and a languid, foppish cousin who might be more sinister then he seems, and you've got the makings for one very entertaining novel by the queen of the regencies.
February 25, 2025
a witty farce, lightly satiric of the gothic tradition. not one of the best offerings from this wonderful author and perhaps the least of her romances that I've read so far. the protagonist is rather annoyingly repetitive and one-note, behaving much like a stock supporting character with a familiar 'bit' that they come on stage just to perform (in her case, it's "I can't believe this is happening to me!") - an unusual lapse for Heyer, who usually creates complex heroines. the hero is a bit more enjoyable, but also flat. the novel was still quite a pleasant experience, amusing and light and cheerful, and as usual the writing itself is sparkling. in sum: The Reluctant Widow chooses style over substance and form over meaning. nonetheless, this was sweet and fun and I'm not going to give it a more-appropriate 2 stars, thanks to its charm and good humor. an unremarkable trifle, but still confectionary.
February 8, 2010
The pairing: Older Supposedly Sensible Heroine/Masterful All-Knowing Calm As You Please Hero
Supporting Cast: High Spirited Younger Brother, The Deceptively Weak Dandy that one "cannot quite like", Romantic Older Friend of Heroine, Motivationlessly Evil Relative, Exposition Providing Brother
The Plot: Supposedly Sensible Heroine marries Motivationlessly Evil Relative on his death bed (which he's brought to after an accidental wound in a fight with High Spirited Young Relative) because All Knowing Hero does not want to be suspected of wanting to inherit his estate. It turns out Motivationlessly Evil Relative was involved with French spies! A missing document brought up by Exposition Providing Brother was thought to be in his hands when he died! Housebreakers! Secret passageways! But where is that document??
... it falls out pretty much as you would imagine.
I found the heroine's endless whining about the "outrageous" situations she finds herself in really annoying- especially as it seems that that is 90% of her lines, and therefore found it really unbelievable that the hero would fall for her. The only person I liked was the High Spirited Younger Brother, and I've seen Heyer write that character better elsewhere. I've also seen her do the gothic-esque mystery thing better elsewhere.
Give this one a pass. Read The Talisman Ring instead.
Supporting Cast: High Spirited Younger Brother, The Deceptively Weak Dandy that one "cannot quite like", Romantic Older Friend of Heroine, Motivationlessly Evil Relative, Exposition Providing Brother
The Plot: Supposedly Sensible Heroine marries Motivationlessly Evil Relative on his death bed (which he's brought to after an accidental wound in a fight with High Spirited Young Relative) because All Knowing Hero does not want to be suspected of wanting to inherit his estate. It turns out Motivationlessly Evil Relative was involved with French spies! A missing document brought up by Exposition Providing Brother was thought to be in his hands when he died! Housebreakers! Secret passageways! But where is that document??
... it falls out pretty much as you would imagine.
I found the heroine's endless whining about the "outrageous" situations she finds herself in really annoying- especially as it seems that that is 90% of her lines, and therefore found it really unbelievable that the hero would fall for her. The only person I liked was the High Spirited Younger Brother, and I've seen Heyer write that character better elsewhere. I've also seen her do the gothic-esque mystery thing better elsewhere.
Give this one a pass. Read The Talisman Ring instead.
August 14, 2019
Listen, I know that Georgette Heyer wrote dozens of books. So it's not like, upon first learning of her, I would instantly know which ones would rock my world. But I still think it's rather too bad of my fellow Heyer fans that it has been over 20 years since I discovered her books and I just now, NOW discovered this one existed! Why are people always talking about The Grand Sophy and The Corinthian, but failing to mention that she wrote a book with a death bed wedding, French spies, and secret passages? I mean, HONESTLY, people!
May 20, 2022
” Why, for anything we know we have stumbled upon a really bang-up adventure!”
The Reluctant Widow is a 1946 novel of an 1813 Regency romance that delighted me more for its sense of adventure, secret conspiracy, and subtle humor than for its romance. The three elements I find most enjoyable in a book are mystery, suspense, and humor – this book hit lightly upon each of these. Add in a loyal yet often misguided dog, Bouncer, and the summation is an amusing and entertaining read.
Elinor Rochdale (26) is relieved to find a waiting carriage for her when she steps off the stage late one evening in a Sussex village. She believes she is being conveyed to the residence where she has taken a necessary position as governess. The mix up escalates when she is let out at Highnoons and meets Lord Carlyon, who believe she is there in answer to his advertisement for quite a different job involving his wayward younger cousin, Ned (20s).
When Elinor comprehends Lord Carlyton’s scheme, she tells him, “‘Either I am dreaming,’ said Miss Rochdale, maintaining her composure with a strong effort, ‘or you are indeed mad!’”
The opening chapters were full of intrigue and urgency that I completed at a pager-turning pace. However, my interest in the story intensified as I was introduced to Lord Carlyon’s siblings. Namely his youngest brother, Nicky, who had the over-exuberance of a Labrador retriever and had just returned home because of a suspension from Oxford. As I got to know Nicky and his equally exuberant huge dog, Bouncer, I could understand how he came to be suspended from school.
Normally, in a romance, it is the hero and heroine characters that I find the most compelling. Here, that relationship took a backseat to the dynamics between Elinor, Nicky, and Bouncer. Elinor is prone to melodramatics; Nicky is adept at squeezing an ounce of adventure from any situation (and manufacturing one if needed!); Bouncer is apt to execute Nicky’s commands in unexpected ways. This trio is up to their eyeballs in high jinks as they encounter a midnight intruder in the house, search for a secret passage, try to identify a valuable mislaid item, and deal with eccentric visiting relations.
I found the light mystery subplot as entertaining as the main plot in The Reluctant Widow. I had no difficulty in keeping the cast of characters straight (as can happened with a Heyer novel) nor understanding the Regency cant. There have been other Heyer books that I’ve liked better than this one; however, it has a solid witty story that I can recommend.
The Reluctant Widow is a 1946 novel of an 1813 Regency romance that delighted me more for its sense of adventure, secret conspiracy, and subtle humor than for its romance. The three elements I find most enjoyable in a book are mystery, suspense, and humor – this book hit lightly upon each of these. Add in a loyal yet often misguided dog, Bouncer, and the summation is an amusing and entertaining read.
Elinor Rochdale (26) is relieved to find a waiting carriage for her when she steps off the stage late one evening in a Sussex village. She believes she is being conveyed to the residence where she has taken a necessary position as governess. The mix up escalates when she is let out at Highnoons and meets Lord Carlyon, who believe she is there in answer to his advertisement for quite a different job involving his wayward younger cousin, Ned (20s).
When Elinor comprehends Lord Carlyton’s scheme, she tells him, “‘Either I am dreaming,’ said Miss Rochdale, maintaining her composure with a strong effort, ‘or you are indeed mad!’”
The opening chapters were full of intrigue and urgency that I completed at a pager-turning pace. However, my interest in the story intensified as I was introduced to Lord Carlyon’s siblings. Namely his youngest brother, Nicky, who had the over-exuberance of a Labrador retriever and had just returned home because of a suspension from Oxford. As I got to know Nicky and his equally exuberant huge dog, Bouncer, I could understand how he came to be suspended from school.
Normally, in a romance, it is the hero and heroine characters that I find the most compelling. Here, that relationship took a backseat to the dynamics between Elinor, Nicky, and Bouncer. Elinor is prone to melodramatics; Nicky is adept at squeezing an ounce of adventure from any situation (and manufacturing one if needed!); Bouncer is apt to execute Nicky’s commands in unexpected ways. This trio is up to their eyeballs in high jinks as they encounter a midnight intruder in the house, search for a secret passage, try to identify a valuable mislaid item, and deal with eccentric visiting relations.
I found the light mystery subplot as entertaining as the main plot in The Reluctant Widow. I had no difficulty in keeping the cast of characters straight (as can happened with a Heyer novel) nor understanding the Regency cant. There have been other Heyer books that I’ve liked better than this one; however, it has a solid witty story that I can recommend.
October 5, 2025
This one has quite an outlandish plot. Elinor, on her way to a job as a governess, steps into the wrong carriage by mistake and life is never the same again. At times in the story she is very forceful but at the beginning she allows herself to be persuaded easily enough to go along with an outrageous plan.
As well as being quite dark in places a lot of hilarity ensues.
She meets brothers, Carlyon, the eldest, John who can be stodgy and preachy and Nicky who's the youngest and up for larks as they used to say at the time. Accompanied by Bouncer, Nicky's dog, who is of dubious pedigree, we go on a spree.
The villain is a piece of work and unexpected.
I enjoyed the story. While rolling my eyes from time to time it kept me entertained. Not my favourite Heyer but not too far down the list.
5/10/2025
I feel more or less the same on this read but it did slip farther down my list of favourites this time. While Nicky and Bouncer do get up to hilarious shenanigans I didn't find it as funny as some of her other novels. I usually love the humour in these reads. The author is so very good at it. The mystery was a tad long winded I thought.
As well as being quite dark in places a lot of hilarity ensues.
She meets brothers, Carlyon, the eldest, John who can be stodgy and preachy and Nicky who's the youngest and up for larks as they used to say at the time. Accompanied by Bouncer, Nicky's dog, who is of dubious pedigree, we go on a spree.
The villain is a piece of work and unexpected.
I enjoyed the story. While rolling my eyes from time to time it kept me entertained. Not my favourite Heyer but not too far down the list.
5/10/2025
I feel more or less the same on this read but it did slip farther down my list of favourites this time. While Nicky and Bouncer do get up to hilarious shenanigans I didn't find it as funny as some of her other novels. I usually love the humour in these reads. The author is so very good at it. The mystery was a tad long winded I thought.
April 4, 2024
3,7 stars rounded up.
The heroine was less level-headed than I expected and I found her constant righteous indignation outbursts rather tiring, but I loved Lord Carlyon. :)
The heroine was less level-headed than I expected and I found her constant righteous indignation outbursts rather tiring, but I loved Lord Carlyon. :)
February 11, 2024
I can’t believe I haven’t read this Heyer before. It is so fun! It’s a combo between Heyer’s two genres of mystery and Regency romance, and I think she pulls it off wonderfully. It has the flavor of an Agatha Christie spy thriller but with a kind of Wodehousian comedy. Nicky is hilarious! Elinor and Ned are delightful. Becky Beccles is sweet. Francis Cheviot is like a Peter Wimsey but reverse. Bouncer comes in for plenty of his own comedy. Highly recommend!
Read for Febregency 2024 for Christy’s challenge!
Read for Febregency 2024 for Christy’s challenge!
April 30, 2022
4.5*
This fast paced yarn full of wonderfully engaging characters only just fell short of 5 stars, because the original premise was so unlikely. But once you get over that the story moves along at a cracking pace, with GH's trademark witty dialogue. & another dog as an entertaining minor character. Why are her dogs dull in her mysteries but full of life in her historicals? & I love young Nicky so much!
As usual, highly recommended!
This fast paced yarn full of wonderfully engaging characters only just fell short of 5 stars, because the original premise was so unlikely. But once you get over that the story moves along at a cracking pace, with GH's trademark witty dialogue. & another dog as an entertaining minor character. Why are her dogs dull in her mysteries but full of life in her historicals? & I love young Nicky so much!
As usual, highly recommended!
September 30, 2025
Listening to a wonderful audiobook, I had pure enjoyment. Lovely language, wit, adventure, banters between characters, the bonds of brothers - additionally read by a splendid lector.
Yet, I don't count "The Reluctant Widow" as one of my favourites by Heyer. Not sure if it is because of too far-fetched a Carlyon's idea, Elinor's compliance, or her constant complaints that he was "Odious creature!", etc.
--- Previous review ---
Yes, this is why we love Regency romances, don't we ladies? ;-)
"The Reluctant Widow" isn't typical / only romance. I would rather say it is first of all a mystery book, with spy, secret entrance, stolen document and so on. Secondly, it is a funny story where characters cope with extraordinary circumstances and events. Thirdly, we find here brilliant example of brotherhood (relationships between three different brothers). And fourthly, it is Heyer's romance.
I had fun reading how characters coped with mystery and I felt this sweet pleasure when the love story came to the end (through almost the whole book it only hung in the air, as I wrote it wasn't a main thread). But most of all, in my opinion in this novel the most original and praiseworthy was (mentioned above) description of relationships between adult brothers.
Yet, I don't count "The Reluctant Widow" as one of my favourites by Heyer. Not sure if it is because of too far-fetched a Carlyon's idea, Elinor's compliance, or her constant complaints that he was "Odious creature!", etc.
--- Previous review ---
"it is my very ardent desire to be permitted to pay my addresses to you"
"Do you know, it has of late become an ambition of mine to hear my name on your lips instead of my title"
Yes, this is why we love Regency romances, don't we ladies? ;-)
"The Reluctant Widow" isn't typical / only romance. I would rather say it is first of all a mystery book, with spy, secret entrance, stolen document and so on. Secondly, it is a funny story where characters cope with extraordinary circumstances and events. Thirdly, we find here brilliant example of brotherhood (relationships between three different brothers). And fourthly, it is Heyer's romance.
I had fun reading how characters coped with mystery and I felt this sweet pleasure when the love story came to the end (through almost the whole book it only hung in the air, as I wrote it wasn't a main thread). But most of all, in my opinion in this novel the most original and praiseworthy was (mentioned above) description of relationships between adult brothers.
August 22, 2023
2023 Re-Read
Apparently August is just now the month I get a hankering to re-read this one.
2022 - 4 Stars
I really need to get a physical copy of this one because I tend to overlook it in my annual re-reads but it is still fun. The heroine is more sarcastic than I think I previously gave her credit for.
2018 - 4 Stars
My! I really did not care for this one when I first read it. However, as per usual with Heyer, I love her work with a blinding love that disguises almost all flaws.
Almost all, that is. This book starts off slow. The heroine also lacks the gumption of an older Heyer heroine (like Sophy or Frederica) but misses the sweet innocence of a younger one (such as Arabella). She comes from a similar background as the heroine from Cousin Kate but without that lady's fortitude.
Still, her personality did improve by the end.
I found the hero much more tolerable this read through. He does behave a little high handed, but I like his uncertainly with the heroine. That proposal scene was a lot sweeter than I remembered.
I don't know why I liked John. If anything, he is the dull brother. Nicky is a fairly standard younger Heyer brother. I wish we got to see the sisters more!
Overall, it was a pleasant re-read and I bumped it up one star for the neat little mystery. I like that twist. I had forgotten about it.
Not my favorite Heyer book but still wonderful because it was written by her.
2011 Review - 3 Stars
Really! Quite odious. Odious!
I'm so sick of that word! Odious. I declare, the main character REALLY needs to broaden her vocabulary. She says it fifty times if she says it once!
Three stars because it is Heyer, but really! Disapointing. I had high hopes for this book but it doesn't really live up to any of them. I found the main character obnoxious and kind of pathetic. The hero had potential but ended up being more of a boring stiff. Maybe he deserved the term odious.
With the exception of the bad guy, most of the characters aren't anything special. John wasn't bad but Nicky annoyed me. Really, I think the term boyish enthusasim could be used to describe his entire character!
To be honest, the plot is pretty cool. Elinor Rochdale is a prospective governess who accidently gets in the wrong coach at the station, and instead of going to her new employers house, ends up at the home of a man at death's door, and is mistaken for the young lady supposed to marry him! Sir Carlyon is deterined to see his cousin married, and persuades Elinor to marry the dying man! Suddenly she finds herself a widow with considerable property and many debts to be dealt with...but even now things don't calm down, as she finds herself surrounded by housebreakers, bungling spies, and the suddenly pressing as to what sort of business her deceased husband was into....
Cool plot, not Heyer's best.
On a side note, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0KZjm... that song kept running through my head as I reads the ending.
Not sure if that is significant....but somehow it seems to fit well.
Apparently August is just now the month I get a hankering to re-read this one.
2022 - 4 Stars
I really need to get a physical copy of this one because I tend to overlook it in my annual re-reads but it is still fun. The heroine is more sarcastic than I think I previously gave her credit for.
2018 - 4 Stars
My! I really did not care for this one when I first read it. However, as per usual with Heyer, I love her work with a blinding love that disguises almost all flaws.
Almost all, that is. This book starts off slow. The heroine also lacks the gumption of an older Heyer heroine (like Sophy or Frederica) but misses the sweet innocence of a younger one (such as Arabella). She comes from a similar background as the heroine from Cousin Kate but without that lady's fortitude.
Still, her personality did improve by the end.
I found the hero much more tolerable this read through. He does behave a little high handed, but I like his uncertainly with the heroine. That proposal scene was a lot sweeter than I remembered.
I don't know why I liked John. If anything, he is the dull brother. Nicky is a fairly standard younger Heyer brother. I wish we got to see the sisters more!
Overall, it was a pleasant re-read and I bumped it up one star for the neat little mystery. I like that twist. I had forgotten about it.
Not my favorite Heyer book but still wonderful because it was written by her.
2011 Review - 3 Stars
Really! Quite odious. Odious!
I'm so sick of that word! Odious. I declare, the main character REALLY needs to broaden her vocabulary. She says it fifty times if she says it once!
Three stars because it is Heyer, but really! Disapointing. I had high hopes for this book but it doesn't really live up to any of them. I found the main character obnoxious and kind of pathetic. The hero had potential but ended up being more of a boring stiff. Maybe he deserved the term odious.
With the exception of the bad guy, most of the characters aren't anything special. John wasn't bad but Nicky annoyed me. Really, I think the term boyish enthusasim could be used to describe his entire character!
To be honest, the plot is pretty cool. Elinor Rochdale is a prospective governess who accidently gets in the wrong coach at the station, and instead of going to her new employers house, ends up at the home of a man at death's door, and is mistaken for the young lady supposed to marry him! Sir Carlyon is deterined to see his cousin married, and persuades Elinor to marry the dying man! Suddenly she finds herself a widow with considerable property and many debts to be dealt with...but even now things don't calm down, as she finds herself surrounded by housebreakers, bungling spies, and the suddenly pressing as to what sort of business her deceased husband was into....
Cool plot, not Heyer's best.
On a side note, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0KZjm... that song kept running through my head as I reads the ending.
Not sure if that is significant....but somehow it seems to fit well.
Read
October 2, 2017This is one of the Heyers that both works and doesn't work for me. I like the story I think Heyer is _trying_ to convey, but think that her intention and what appears on the page doesn't quite match up. Elinor is clearly meant to be frequently sarcastic, and equal to the challenges that come her way, but she is so tangled up in how she is expected to behave (proper and full of sensibility and completely unable to show any hint of self-worth) that she comes across a good deal more flustered than she perhaps really is.
This is exacerbated by the narrator of this particular audiobook who (like many men attempting a female voice) produces something rather affected and hen-like for Elinor.
The result, at any point, is someone constantly anxious and upset, and then facing Carlyon's almost Gaslighting tendency to play down everything that's happening, and having (forever perfectly good) reasons not to tell her important bits of information.
There are some very funny bits, though (particularly the first conversation with Elinor and Carlyon), and if only Elinor had come across as a bit more redoubtable I would like the book thoroughly for its almost farce-like silliness.
This is exacerbated by the narrator of this particular audiobook who (like many men attempting a female voice) produces something rather affected and hen-like for Elinor.
The result, at any point, is someone constantly anxious and upset, and then facing Carlyon's almost Gaslighting tendency to play down everything that's happening, and having (forever perfectly good) reasons not to tell her important bits of information.
There are some very funny bits, though (particularly the first conversation with Elinor and Carlyon), and if only Elinor had come across as a bit more redoubtable I would like the book thoroughly for its almost farce-like silliness.
February 17, 2019
This was probably a 3-star read and not comparable those of Georgette Heyer's romances that are now among my favorites such as Sylvester, Cotillion, or Devil's Cub and others.
However, the marriage proposal/declaration of love scene (that I've marked in my kindle) is one of the sweetest I've ever read in recent memory.
Note to self: Francis Cheviot is introduced in ch 13. Ha
However, the marriage proposal/declaration of love scene (that I've marked in my kindle) is one of the sweetest I've ever read in recent memory.
Note to self: Francis Cheviot is introduced in ch 13. Ha
May 10, 2018
Heyer set herself a couple of really interesting challenges with this novel. This first is the opening drama. Elinor Rochdale accidentally arrives at the wrong house, and is met by Carlyon, who was expecting a woman to marry his evil cousin. His evil cousin is dying of a stab-wound and for various inheritance reasons Carlyon has to marry him off immediately so it's Elinor or never.
Of course, no Heyer heroine could be anything other than a gently-bred, honourable woman. And no gently-bred honourable woman would ever marry a dying stranger for his money. So how does Heyer resolve this problem? Well, partly by making the hero, Carlyon, incredibly masterful and utterly rational. Implacable like a glacier, he simply assumes that she'll do it and organises accordingly.
Now this raises the problem of making Elinor seem a bit weak, and Carlyon a bit of a bully. Heyer's solution for this is rather clever. She makes Elinor a bit of a contrarian, and a brave soul at heart, so whenever Carlyon offers her the chance to back out, she bristles up and insists on seeing it through. I rather like her for this.
Heyer's other trick to resolve this problem I like less. She makes Elinor 'feisty'. We've all met feisty heroines before. They're the ones who never seem to do anything proactive in a story, but they're always talking a good game. In Elinor's case, this is constant sarcasm and needling Carlyon for being an insensible brute. I can't really blame her for it, but it does get annoying.
Heyer also introduces Elinor's sweet old governess-companion, Miss Beccles. With Carlyon on one hand firmly guiding her actions, and Becky on the other insisting that his lordship is a good man and his plans are good plans, Elinor is free to protest exactly as much as a lady should while still going along with it. It does sound a bit like: 'Please don't throw me into thebriar patch possession of a grand estate.'
The second problem Heyer introduces is that a large part of the plot is a very jolly intrigue around international espionage, which has the characters acting like the Famous Five, hunting spies and secret documents, and mysterious intruders and whatnot. However, it means that the hero and the heroine spend hardly any time together. In fact, I'm sure she spends more time with the hero's younger brother's dog than with the hero!
Luckily, you know they'll end up together: he's the only man in the book who isn't too old, too young, too evil, or too dead. And he's sensible and practical. There's nothing a Heyer heroine likes better than a man who can take responsibility for the paperwork, and solve ones affairs with the minimum of fuss. So comforting, you know. But aside from that the romance is understated to say the least, some gentle banter, some moments of understanding as they discuss their pasts, and the future.
So whether or not you'll enjoy this novel probably depends on how much you enjoy Heyer tropes in general. There are some of the best ones here. The family bickering between Carlyon's brothers is hilarious: irrepressible Nicky running wild with his dog and pompous stuck up John nagging him. There's a whole cast of loyal servants to be managed and mollified. And one of the best evil dandies that Heyer has ever produced! There are some wonderful comedic scenes and set pieces (I won't spoil them for you, but I was laughing out loud). So while I think it's rather lacklustre as a romance, it's still a very jolly afternoon read.
Of course, no Heyer heroine could be anything other than a gently-bred, honourable woman. And no gently-bred honourable woman would ever marry a dying stranger for his money. So how does Heyer resolve this problem? Well, partly by making the hero, Carlyon, incredibly masterful and utterly rational. Implacable like a glacier, he simply assumes that she'll do it and organises accordingly.
Now this raises the problem of making Elinor seem a bit weak, and Carlyon a bit of a bully. Heyer's solution for this is rather clever. She makes Elinor a bit of a contrarian, and a brave soul at heart, so whenever Carlyon offers her the chance to back out, she bristles up and insists on seeing it through. I rather like her for this.
Heyer's other trick to resolve this problem I like less. She makes Elinor 'feisty'. We've all met feisty heroines before. They're the ones who never seem to do anything proactive in a story, but they're always talking a good game. In Elinor's case, this is constant sarcasm and needling Carlyon for being an insensible brute. I can't really blame her for it, but it does get annoying.
Heyer also introduces Elinor's sweet old governess-companion, Miss Beccles. With Carlyon on one hand firmly guiding her actions, and Becky on the other insisting that his lordship is a good man and his plans are good plans, Elinor is free to protest exactly as much as a lady should while still going along with it. It does sound a bit like: 'Please don't throw me into the
The second problem Heyer introduces is that a large part of the plot is a very jolly intrigue around international espionage, which has the characters acting like the Famous Five, hunting spies and secret documents, and mysterious intruders and whatnot. However, it means that the hero and the heroine spend hardly any time together. In fact, I'm sure she spends more time with the hero's younger brother's dog than with the hero!
Luckily, you know they'll end up together: he's the only man in the book who isn't too old, too young, too evil, or too dead. And he's sensible and practical. There's nothing a Heyer heroine likes better than a man who can take responsibility for the paperwork, and solve ones affairs with the minimum of fuss. So comforting, you know. But aside from that the romance is understated to say the least, some gentle banter, some moments of understanding as they discuss their pasts, and the future.
So whether or not you'll enjoy this novel probably depends on how much you enjoy Heyer tropes in general. There are some of the best ones here. The family bickering between Carlyon's brothers is hilarious: irrepressible Nicky running wild with his dog and pompous stuck up John nagging him. There's a whole cast of loyal servants to be managed and mollified. And one of the best evil dandies that Heyer has ever produced! There are some wonderful comedic scenes and set pieces (I won't spoil them for you, but I was laughing out loud). So while I think it's rather lacklustre as a romance, it's still a very jolly afternoon read.
March 29, 2021
Recollect that I have been a governess, and governesses, you know, have no romantic notions and seldom indulge themselves with swooning or the vapors!”
Elinor Roshdale es una de esas damas venidas a menos por un escándalo de su padre y su muerte que le ha dejado sin blanca, sin prospectos de matrimonio (el prometido la dejo botada), y tiene que hallar trabajo de governanta. Tras acudir a un puesto de trabajo y un empleado indicarle un carruaje y que la esperan, ella sube y se encuentra en el sitio equivocado, con el empleador equivocado, que termina haciéndole una propuesta
¿Alguien entiende esta lógica?
Ned Carlyon , que es el Lord con dinero y la propuesta tan... increible, y cuatro hermanos y hermanas menores, es su vecino y la deja instalada , y luego cuando hay problemas le manda a su hermano más joven , Nicky, que ha sido suspendido del cole y va con su mastin a armar más enredos.
Ned, por su parte, es uno de esos tipos imperturbables, que pueden caer explosivos y muertos a su lado , y no levanta ni una ceja. Simpatizo muchas veces con la heroina con las ganas de querer atizarle con algo. De hecho eso no me deja darle más puntos a la novela, porque me parece que él la usa demasiado y no va a la parte de la 'protección' que es imperativa de los anhelos románticos que van con estas novelas
Lo que salva la historia es el tono humorístico y sarcástico ( Elinor:. What a nonsensical thing it would be in me to allow myself to become alarmed by a trifle such as murder!” ), a más que en vez de ser un romance pronto se perfila como un misterio con visos de espionaje, donde todos buscan algo escondido en la casona que tiene que ver con la época (Napoleon et al) y donde alguien esta dispuesto a matar para ocultarlo.
“I have been recalling how you told me I might rest assured no disagreeable consequences would result from my marriage to your cousin. I wish you will tell me, my lord, what you deem a disagreeable consequence?”
He smiled. “Did I say that?”
Es una comedia de enredos y costumbres muy en tono de los años 1950s, que es cuando fue escrita, y es fácil verla de ese modo. Bastante entretenida, pero no esperen mucho romance.
May 7, 2022
More mystery than romance, this is one of Heyer's lesser works, IMHO. Charming characters, a nice mystery, and more of a hint of the politics of the day that she usually puts into her regency romances. Not a bad way to spend a few hours.
ETA: Mar 18, 2016 Just finished a re-read; my original rating still holds. I made a discovery this time around--this book is best read in one go--to better enjoy the farcical nature of the action: secret stairs, stolen documents, spies popping out of hidden panels, worried heroine, rambunctious teenage boy, cool, calm, collected hero. I read it small increments over several weeks and the heroine (dear Elinor) and young Nicky began to get on my one nerve.
ETA: April 29, 2018 Ha! just found the cover of the pb edition that I first read. It is so wrong on so many counts that it is actually funny. Elinor was never so 'come-hither' in her relationship with Carlyon.
ETA: May 7, 2022 Enjoyable re-read this time.
ETA: Mar 18, 2016 Just finished a re-read; my original rating still holds. I made a discovery this time around--this book is best read in one go--to better enjoy the farcical nature of the action: secret stairs, stolen documents, spies popping out of hidden panels, worried heroine, rambunctious teenage boy, cool, calm, collected hero. I read it small increments over several weeks and the heroine (dear Elinor) and young Nicky began to get on my one nerve.
ETA: April 29, 2018 Ha! just found the cover of the pb edition that I first read. It is so wrong on so many counts that it is actually funny. Elinor was never so 'come-hither' in her relationship with Carlyon.
ETA: May 7, 2022 Enjoyable re-read this time.
November 29, 2014
Another of my least favourite Heyer books, with a bland romance being a side issue of the main story.
My laugh out loud moments were to do with Bouncer, the dog, and the various conversations that were had with him.
Beautifully written, as always, and with interesting characters, except for our romantic couple.
And, for all those reviewers who noted the overuse of the word “odious”, I counted them for you. It didn’t overly bother me, but for those who wish to know it was used 27 times. Three times in two sentences!
January 10, 2014
Impoverished governess Elinor accidentally boards not the carriage sent by her employer, but one that takes her to an isolated mansion. There, a high-handed but handsome man named Lord Carlyon requests her help: to assure that scandal does not attach to his family, he needs a woman to marry his dying cousin and receive his estate. Elinor agrees, and by the next morning finds that she is a widow and the sole owner of a dilapidated house and her late husband's debts. Lord Carlyon assures her that the debts will be taken care of, but he needs her to remain in possession of the house, because somewhere within its walls lies a document that could destroy all of England's hopes against Napoleon. Shaken, Elinor agrees to do so and faces a steady stream of male visitors, each of whom could be a French spy.
This is a strange book from Heyer; she tries to incorporate a thrilling spy plot into her romance, but it is utterly unconvincing. Her usual character types are all here, but are off-kilter and passive. The sensible heroine with no hopes or expectation of marriage is here, and her retorts to the hero are as delightfully sarcastic as ever, but she does nothing to influence the plot. Time and time again Elinor wants something down (to lock up a secret door, or summon help, or kick out a suspected spy) and every time a man refuses to help and she just...gives up. No further attempts, no argument, just gives up every time. At the very end of the novel she finally refuses to take no for an answer and rides for help herself, only to find that the problem has already been taken care of and her heroic ride was for nothing. The hero who strikes all characters with awe (so handsome! such perfect horsemanship! so well dressed! so perceptive! etc) is here, but he strides on page for just a moment every few chapters, then vanishes again. Carylon hardly interacts with Elinor at all, and his marriage proposal at the end of the novel (no spoilers needed; this is a Heyer Regency Romance after all) comes out of nowhere. The scatter-brained young relatives are here, but Lady Flint only gets a few pages and Nick comes across as deeply disturbed rather than amusing. He bursts onto a tete-a-tete between Carlyon and Elinor in the first chapter with a "blinding" smile of relief and "'I'm excessively sorry, but I have killed Eustace Cheviot!" Upon being asked for explanation for how he came to kill his cousin, he commences on a FOUR PAGE babbling session concerning dancing bears, eating ham with friends, his stage-coach journey, and finally how annoying he finds another brother's "sermons" about good behavior. Finally he mentions that while drinking, Eustace fell upon the knife he was holding and says "And it is not that I am sorry he's dead, because I'm not, but I never thought it would have been so horrid!...I can tell you, Ned, it almost makes me wish I had not been rusticated at all!" After this appalling statement, it still takes him several more pages to finally mention that Eustace is not actually dead yet. Holy crap! Nick is either so stupid that I'm surprised he can breathe on his own, or basically a sociopath. The only character I could bear to read about was Bouncer, Nick's energetic bulldog. Heyer describes him with verve and fun, and so the insipidity is broken by passages like this:
Then Francis Cheviot arrives, and accidentally takes over the whole novel. He's introduced like this:
This is a strange book from Heyer; she tries to incorporate a thrilling spy plot into her romance, but it is utterly unconvincing. Her usual character types are all here, but are off-kilter and passive. The sensible heroine with no hopes or expectation of marriage is here, and her retorts to the hero are as delightfully sarcastic as ever, but she does nothing to influence the plot. Time and time again Elinor wants something down (to lock up a secret door, or summon help, or kick out a suspected spy) and every time a man refuses to help and she just...gives up. No further attempts, no argument, just gives up every time. At the very end of the novel she finally refuses to take no for an answer and rides for help herself, only to find that the problem has already been taken care of and her heroic ride was for nothing. The hero who strikes all characters with awe (so handsome! such perfect horsemanship! so well dressed! so perceptive! etc) is here, but he strides on page for just a moment every few chapters, then vanishes again. Carylon hardly interacts with Elinor at all, and his marriage proposal at the end of the novel (no spoilers needed; this is a Heyer Regency Romance after all) comes out of nowhere. The scatter-brained young relatives are here, but Lady Flint only gets a few pages and Nick comes across as deeply disturbed rather than amusing. He bursts onto a tete-a-tete between Carlyon and Elinor in the first chapter with a "blinding" smile of relief and "'I'm excessively sorry, but I have killed Eustace Cheviot!" Upon being asked for explanation for how he came to kill his cousin, he commences on a FOUR PAGE babbling session concerning dancing bears, eating ham with friends, his stage-coach journey, and finally how annoying he finds another brother's "sermons" about good behavior. Finally he mentions that while drinking, Eustace fell upon the knife he was holding and says "And it is not that I am sorry he's dead, because I'm not, but I never thought it would have been so horrid!...I can tell you, Ned, it almost makes me wish I had not been rusticated at all!" After this appalling statement, it still takes him several more pages to finally mention that Eustace is not actually dead yet. Holy crap! Nick is either so stupid that I'm surprised he can breathe on his own, or basically a sociopath. The only character I could bear to read about was Bouncer, Nick's energetic bulldog. Heyer describes him with verve and fun, and so the insipidity is broken by passages like this:
He pranced ahead of her down the long stone-paved corridor that led to the kitchens. Nothing could have exceeded his affability there, but only Elinor's persuasion induced Mrs. Barrow to bestow a plate of scraps on him. She said that he had already had a shoulder of mutton designed for Elinor's own dinner. But the sagacious hound listened to Elinor's reproaches with an expression compounded by innocence and such gnawing hunger that she found it hard to believe such a thing of him, and insisted that he should be bed. There was nothing in the manner in which he disposed of his portion to lend the least colour to the allegation made against his character.
Then Francis Cheviot arrives, and accidentally takes over the whole novel. He's introduced like this:
Barking like a fiend, [Bouncer] launched himself upon the intruder.Upon checking the dog's attack, he then embarks upon a running commentary of such foppish flippancy that Sir Percy Blakeney himself would be impressed. He is beautifully, captivatingly in control of every situation thence. The entire second-to-last chapter is basically his monologue, in which he tells Carlyon Francis feels like he slithered in from some other, more exciting novel.
The exquisite gentleman whirled about at the first bark, and as Bouncer came at full-tilt across the ill-kept lawn, his ungloved right hand grasped the ivory top of his cane, deftly twisted it, and drew a thin, wicked blade hissing from the ebony stick that formed its sheath.
May 10, 2022
Lady of fashion turned governess Elinor Rochdale gets into the wrong carriage on her way to her next post. She finds herself pitched into high drama, with a fatal barroom fight, sinister housebreakers, and French spies. The story is delightfully absurd, and a lot of the humor of the book arises from the commonsense ordinariness of the characters when faced with such melodramatic events.
A number of Georgette Heyer’s books feature what I would call an “angry” heroine, and usually I find those heroines rather tiresome. The knee-jerk tirades get on my nerves! But in The Reluctant Widow, Elinor has just enough justification for her ire to make it logical. I do enjoy the mystery aspect of it, and the twist at the end; and of course the minor characters are vividly drawn, as in most Heyer novels.
I suppose my one quibble would be that I don’t find the hero very romantic. I could have done with a few more hints of his growing attachment—would have liked to see his heart at war with his matter-of-fact nature. He could be less perfect at stage-managing, too, especially when his emotions got entangled with his judgment. But for me that’s less important than the fun of the plot and characters.
This is one of Georgette Heyer’s shorter Regency romances, and not overburdened with Regency slang—a good starting point for someone wishing to try this author for the first time. It’s at the top of my second rank of Heyer faves.
A number of Georgette Heyer’s books feature what I would call an “angry” heroine, and usually I find those heroines rather tiresome. The knee-jerk tirades get on my nerves! But in The Reluctant Widow, Elinor has just enough justification for her ire to make it logical. I do enjoy the mystery aspect of it, and the twist at the end; and of course the minor characters are vividly drawn, as in most Heyer novels.
I suppose my one quibble would be that I don’t find the hero very romantic. I could have done with a few more hints of his growing attachment—would have liked to see his heart at war with his matter-of-fact nature. He could be less perfect at stage-managing, too, especially when his emotions got entangled with his judgment. But for me that’s less important than the fun of the plot and characters.
This is one of Georgette Heyer’s shorter Regency romances, and not overburdened with Regency slang—a good starting point for someone wishing to try this author for the first time. It’s at the top of my second rank of Heyer faves.
October 16, 2025
I love Heyer's mysteries and her witty romances, but I'm not crazy about some of her regular romance books. Somewhere along the line I'd gotten the idea that this book was "boring, and not much happens", so I hadn't read it, until a GR friend rated it highly and I decided to give it a try. Man, was my idea wrong! Fascinating from the first page, full of often unpredictable actions and reactions, this book made me smile and keep turning the page as fast as I could.
Arriving in a new town prepared to take up a position of governess, Elinor Rochdale unfortunately ends up at the wrong house. From her first meeting with Lord Carlyon her life begins to spin out of control. Soon she's living in a decrepit mansion with unsavory people creeping in and out, missing documents and annoying relatives making her days and nights difficult. I loved the fun plot, but it was the clever dialogue that really sold me on this story. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is that I really wanted to see more of Elinor and Carlyon, and he was too perfect at always figuring everything out. Still it was a delightful read and pretty much the opposite of boring! 4.5 stars
Arriving in a new town prepared to take up a position of governess, Elinor Rochdale unfortunately ends up at the wrong house. From her first meeting with Lord Carlyon her life begins to spin out of control. Soon she's living in a decrepit mansion with unsavory people creeping in and out, missing documents and annoying relatives making her days and nights difficult. I loved the fun plot, but it was the clever dialogue that really sold me on this story. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is that I really wanted to see more of Elinor and Carlyon, and he was too perfect at always figuring everything out. Still it was a delightful read and pretty much the opposite of boring! 4.5 stars
September 15, 2015
The characterizations in this book are subtle and depend a lot on the reader understanding Regency manners and expectations. Elinor's character, in particular, includes a lot of subversive things that make little sense if you only account for her overt statements and actions. Her twitting of Ned and playing on the gothic tropes common in the day are clear indicators of a lively sense of humor and a willingness to step outside of convention, even if her situation doesn't leave a lot of room for doing so. Without those subtle indicators of Elinor's willingness to follow Ned's lead, he can come off looking more the bully than he really is.
May 17, 2021
Review of the audiobook
I read this book years ago and thought it was just fine. Since then I have read almost all of Georgette Heyer's romances and mysteries, so I thought to give this one another try. I liked it more than before. I think that when I first began reading Heyer I was expecting more romance in her Regency romances. Now, I have come to appreciate her books for what they are: beautifully written comedies of manners with a bit of adventure and a very chaste romance.
This one is rather short, quite funny, and flows along nicely. Of course, it has the trademark abrupt ending, which still annoys me. But at least, I'm not surprised any more.
Cornelius Garrett does an excellent job narrating.
I read this book years ago and thought it was just fine. Since then I have read almost all of Georgette Heyer's romances and mysteries, so I thought to give this one another try. I liked it more than before. I think that when I first began reading Heyer I was expecting more romance in her Regency romances. Now, I have come to appreciate her books for what they are: beautifully written comedies of manners with a bit of adventure and a very chaste romance.
This one is rather short, quite funny, and flows along nicely. Of course, it has the trademark abrupt ending, which still annoys me. But at least, I'm not surprised any more.
Cornelius Garrett does an excellent job narrating.
May 9, 2020
I enjoyed this a lot, as it features Heyer's usual charmingly idiosyncratic characters and a wild storyline. Romance is non-existent, though, making the marriage proposal at the end seem out of place with the rest of the story.
Miss Elinor Rochdale has no inkling what she's getting into when she is offered a job as a governess, travels to Sussex to report to work, and gets into the wrong carriage. It brings her instead to Lord Carlyon in a rundown estate called Highnoons. He's expecting a woman answering his ad for a single woman willing to marry his worthless cousin, Eustace Cheviot, the owner of the estate. Since she meets his qualifications, he proposes that she consider taking on the role. Then his younger brother Nicky arrives (accompanied by a temperamental dog named Bouncer), announcing that he and Eustace just had a fight that ended with the latter accidentally stabbed and on death's door. Before the night is over, Miss Rochdale becomes Mrs. Cheviot and learns that, on his deathbed, her husband signed a legal Will deeding Highnoons to her.
As shocking as that is, things get even crazier. Highnoons hides both a secret entrance and an important government document, as its recently deceased former owner was apparently engaged in treasonous activity. Nicky, being an immature older boy sent down from his first year at Oxford, is delighted to be part of the adventure, while the new Mrs. Cheviot is appalled. Another brother, John, works at the Home Office in London. Lord Bedlington is Eustace's uncle, and Francis Cheviot is Bedlington's son. And then there's Louis DeCastres, a dear friend of Francis and Eustace. All play a part in this farce of a plot. Lord Carlyon is completely unflappable at every turn, always reacting decisively and abruptly, observing the absurd as if it's all commonplace.
It all makes for an entertaining mystery. Where is the document hidden? Who were Eustace's accomplices? Can the riddles be solved and the document returned without embroiling them all in a scandal?
After all has been settled satisfactorily, the marriage proposal at the end just comes out of nowhere. I suppose that's in keeping with the spirit of the entire novel, but I couldn't suspend my disbelief as easily there. If the book were going to end with a pairing, I would've pictured Mrs. Cheviot with a member of the family with the same view of events as her own.
Fun story, but I don't think it measures up with Heyer's better books.
Miss Elinor Rochdale has no inkling what she's getting into when she is offered a job as a governess, travels to Sussex to report to work, and gets into the wrong carriage. It brings her instead to Lord Carlyon in a rundown estate called Highnoons. He's expecting a woman answering his ad for a single woman willing to marry his worthless cousin, Eustace Cheviot, the owner of the estate. Since she meets his qualifications, he proposes that she consider taking on the role. Then his younger brother Nicky arrives (accompanied by a temperamental dog named Bouncer), announcing that he and Eustace just had a fight that ended with the latter accidentally stabbed and on death's door. Before the night is over, Miss Rochdale becomes Mrs. Cheviot and learns that, on his deathbed, her husband signed a legal Will deeding Highnoons to her.
As shocking as that is, things get even crazier. Highnoons hides both a secret entrance and an important government document, as its recently deceased former owner was apparently engaged in treasonous activity. Nicky, being an immature older boy sent down from his first year at Oxford, is delighted to be part of the adventure, while the new Mrs. Cheviot is appalled. Another brother, John, works at the Home Office in London. Lord Bedlington is Eustace's uncle, and Francis Cheviot is Bedlington's son. And then there's Louis DeCastres, a dear friend of Francis and Eustace. All play a part in this farce of a plot. Lord Carlyon is completely unflappable at every turn, always reacting decisively and abruptly, observing the absurd as if it's all commonplace.
It all makes for an entertaining mystery. Where is the document hidden? Who were Eustace's accomplices? Can the riddles be solved and the document returned without embroiling them all in a scandal?
After all has been settled satisfactorily, the marriage proposal at the end just comes out of nowhere. I suppose that's in keeping with the spirit of the entire novel, but I couldn't suspend my disbelief as easily there. If the book were going to end with a pairing, I would've pictured Mrs. Cheviot with a member of the family with the same view of events as her own.
Fun story, but I don't think it measures up with Heyer's better books.
August 13, 2023
Even though this isn't one of Heyer's outright mysteries, I think of it as her best one. This is because, unlike in her mysteries, she's not trying to hide whodunnit (she never succeeds for me, I always guess who very quickly), but focuses instead on what exactly happened and the adventure of getting out of it, and outwitting a cunning foe. She is much better at this, and it makes Reluctant Widow a joy to read.
August 2023 Re-read:
Still hugely enjoyable. A truly delightful and hilarious heroine. I could think of so many ways in which this would make a great movie.
August 2023 Re-read:
Still hugely enjoyable. A truly delightful and hilarious heroine. I could think of so many ways in which this would make a great movie.
January 8, 2022
Delightful as ever Regency romp! The re-reads just keep giving pleasure. Especially when all you want is a lively and amusing moment.
May 17, 2018
Reread 5/2018 3.5+ stars
Georgette Heyer rating scale: 5 - BEST, funniest, favorite; 4-funny but one flaw; 3 funny or good but didn't really like the characters or all the situations; 2 or less - what was she thinking?
Miss Elinor Rochdale arrives in Sussex expecting to become governess to the spoiled little boy of the formidable seeming Mrs. Massingham. Dreading the experience but needing the income, Elinor is surprised to discover a coach waiting for her at the coaching inn. To be sure it is going farther than she thought and the manor house is gloomy... but she needs the money. Then she is met by a gentleman to learn about her charge (Elinor: "This is weird but OK... GOOD HEAVENS! An addiction to brandy! How bad IS this kid?). Dun dun dun... Elinor is shocked when she discovers she is in the wrong home and has just been proposed to be proxy to become the bride of a man so far dissipated he is not expected to live much longer. Elinor tries to refuse but circumstances and the high-handed Lord Carlyon take over and Elinor finds herself stranded at Highnoons with a mystery on her hands!
This is a fun adventure. When I read it first about 10 years ago I was expected a romance. This time I knew what to expect but had forgotten the details so it was like reading it for the first time all over again. The plot is rather melodramatic but exciting. It takes a while to really get going and when it does, it keeps the reader guessing. I was surprised at the outcome. I had really forgotten what was actually going on. There's not really any romance here at all unless you enjoy constant verbal swordplay-which I do. The romance comes at the very end and isn't all that satisfactory. In this early book, Georgette Heyer borrows a few phrases and ideas from Jane Austen and others but as usual makes them her own. Her skill in seamlessly weaving in historical detail (and in this case, legalese) make her second to none. Not many writers can show off their research without stepping out of the story and many make the mistake of tossing in something irrelevant just because they found it interesting. Not so here. The opening scene does require some suspension of disbelief and the entanglements of inheritance are difficult to follow but showcase what can happen to an estate that has not been entailed. (Highnoons should have been to solve everyone's problems!)
I really liked Elinor. At first I thought she should jump at the chance to marry a guy who is about to die on her. As a widow, even a penniless widow, she'd have more advantages than a penniless spinster. Let's see-dead husband or governess? However, the more I got to know Elinor, the more I realized she's a very modern woman. Yes Georgette Heyer did what we all hate from modern authors. Elinor is fiercely proud and independent. She refuses to be beholden to anyone (Jane Eyre anyone?) and prefers to be in charge of her own life. I too am fiercely independent but I choose dead husband! However, Elinor didn't really have a choice and didn't ask how the estate was situated. I'd make Carlyon pay to fix Highnoons, sell it and get the heck out of Sussex and pass myself off as a war widow. Some may find all her verbal exchanges with Carylon rude and ungrateful. I didn't see it that way. Elinor has a sarcastic sense of humor. She disagrees with everything he suggests because she's scared of having her future out of her hands. She doesn't know him very well yet. Would you trust a strange man to handle your affairs? Elinor's father made a mess of her life and now she has learned to depend on none but herself. Here comes Mr. high and mighty arranging her life for her but not telling her everything, popping in and out of her home, saddling her burdens he doesn't know she will have. I happened to like their witty banter and can see myself responding to Carlyon the same way Elinor does.
Carlyon is high handed but not in the traditional alpha male way. He has a sense of humor and that makes all the difference in his dialogue. If you read it as witty and Elinor's comments as sarcastic, the story makes more sense. He pushes her buttons on purpose just to get her to argue with him and then teases her. She responds with a sarcastic comment and he loves it and her. He can't help being managing. For some reason he is desperate NOT to inherit Highnoons and the situation is desperate. He tries to help Elinor all he can, especially with the mystery. I think he does his best and he tries. He's not my favorite hero but I do find a shared sense of humor so important and one of the things Heyer did best. She was starting to work that out here and would later master it in Black Sheep, Frederica, Venetia and other later romances.
Nicky is such a puppy! I think he has ADD. He's all over the place. He reminds me of my younger cousin when he was younger and my little nephew (who is a crazy ADHD 5 year old). Nicky means well but he gets distracted easily. He's young and eager to prove himself. His brothers are always on his case. I suspect he got along best with Harry and Georgy. I really like Nicky. He's brave, loyal and for all his attention deficit issues, he stays with Elinor and tries to help her. I think she likes him because she's a governess and he's still like a young boy. John is a bit too serious and straight laced for a younger son. The sense of humor gene seems to have skipped him. Of course he has more reason than any of them to worry.
Francis is nasty. I hated him as soon as he threatened Bouncer. He prefers CATS! What does that tell you? I sense a bromance between Francis and Louis. I didn't care for his dandy persona at all. He's just too too over the top. His actions are annoying, rude, and horrific. He's so self-centered he can't think of anything except himself.
Bouncer is a major character. He is too too funny but oh so badly in need of more training. I can't imagine letting a dog like that in a house at that time with all those priceless antiques/heirlooms and not to mention lack of modern hygiene. Bouncer mirrors Nicky's behavior. They're both overgrown puppies, brave and loyal but still in need of maturing before they can truly be useful to society. Georgette Heyer was clearly a dog lover!
This was my first Heyer novel and I enjoyed it enough not to make it my last. I was glad to revisit it with the Georgette Heyer fans group.
Georgette Heyer rating scale: 5 - BEST, funniest, favorite; 4-funny but one flaw; 3 funny or good but didn't really like the characters or all the situations; 2 or less - what was she thinking?
Miss Elinor Rochdale arrives in Sussex expecting to become governess to the spoiled little boy of the formidable seeming Mrs. Massingham. Dreading the experience but needing the income, Elinor is surprised to discover a coach waiting for her at the coaching inn. To be sure it is going farther than she thought and the manor house is gloomy... but she needs the money. Then she is met by a gentleman to learn about her charge (Elinor: "This is weird but OK... GOOD HEAVENS! An addiction to brandy! How bad IS this kid?). Dun dun dun... Elinor is shocked when she discovers she is in the wrong home and has just been proposed to be proxy to become the bride of a man so far dissipated he is not expected to live much longer. Elinor tries to refuse but circumstances and the high-handed Lord Carlyon take over and Elinor finds herself stranded at Highnoons with a mystery on her hands!
This is a fun adventure. When I read it first about 10 years ago I was expected a romance. This time I knew what to expect but had forgotten the details so it was like reading it for the first time all over again. The plot is rather melodramatic but exciting. It takes a while to really get going and when it does, it keeps the reader guessing. I was surprised at the outcome. I had really forgotten what was actually going on. There's not really any romance here at all unless you enjoy constant verbal swordplay-which I do. The romance comes at the very end and isn't all that satisfactory. In this early book, Georgette Heyer borrows a few phrases and ideas from Jane Austen and others but as usual makes them her own. Her skill in seamlessly weaving in historical detail (and in this case, legalese) make her second to none. Not many writers can show off their research without stepping out of the story and many make the mistake of tossing in something irrelevant just because they found it interesting. Not so here. The opening scene does require some suspension of disbelief and the entanglements of inheritance are difficult to follow but showcase what can happen to an estate that has not been entailed. (Highnoons should have been to solve everyone's problems!)
I really liked Elinor. At first I thought she should jump at the chance to marry a guy who is about to die on her. As a widow, even a penniless widow, she'd have more advantages than a penniless spinster. Let's see-dead husband or governess? However, the more I got to know Elinor, the more I realized she's a very modern woman. Yes Georgette Heyer did what we all hate from modern authors. Elinor is fiercely proud and independent. She refuses to be beholden to anyone (Jane Eyre anyone?) and prefers to be in charge of her own life. I too am fiercely independent but I choose dead husband! However, Elinor didn't really have a choice and didn't ask how the estate was situated. I'd make Carlyon pay to fix Highnoons, sell it and get the heck out of Sussex and pass myself off as a war widow. Some may find all her verbal exchanges with Carylon rude and ungrateful. I didn't see it that way. Elinor has a sarcastic sense of humor. She disagrees with everything he suggests because she's scared of having her future out of her hands. She doesn't know him very well yet. Would you trust a strange man to handle your affairs? Elinor's father made a mess of her life and now she has learned to depend on none but herself. Here comes Mr. high and mighty arranging her life for her but not telling her everything, popping in and out of her home, saddling her burdens he doesn't know she will have. I happened to like their witty banter and can see myself responding to Carlyon the same way Elinor does.
Carlyon is high handed but not in the traditional alpha male way. He has a sense of humor and that makes all the difference in his dialogue. If you read it as witty and Elinor's comments as sarcastic, the story makes more sense. He pushes her buttons on purpose just to get her to argue with him and then teases her. She responds with a sarcastic comment and he loves it and her. He can't help being managing. For some reason he is desperate NOT to inherit Highnoons and the situation is desperate. He tries to help Elinor all he can, especially with the mystery. I think he does his best and he tries. He's not my favorite hero but I do find a shared sense of humor so important and one of the things Heyer did best. She was starting to work that out here and would later master it in Black Sheep, Frederica, Venetia and other later romances.
Nicky is such a puppy! I think he has ADD. He's all over the place. He reminds me of my younger cousin when he was younger and my little nephew (who is a crazy ADHD 5 year old). Nicky means well but he gets distracted easily. He's young and eager to prove himself. His brothers are always on his case. I suspect he got along best with Harry and Georgy. I really like Nicky. He's brave, loyal and for all his attention deficit issues, he stays with Elinor and tries to help her. I think she likes him because she's a governess and he's still like a young boy. John is a bit too serious and straight laced for a younger son. The sense of humor gene seems to have skipped him. Of course he has more reason than any of them to worry.
Francis is nasty. I hated him as soon as he threatened Bouncer. He prefers CATS! What does that tell you? I sense a bromance between Francis and Louis. I didn't care for his dandy persona at all. He's just too too over the top. His actions are annoying, rude, and horrific. He's so self-centered he can't think of anything except himself.
Bouncer is a major character. He is too too funny but oh so badly in need of more training. I can't imagine letting a dog like that in a house at that time with all those priceless antiques/heirlooms and not to mention lack of modern hygiene. Bouncer mirrors Nicky's behavior. They're both overgrown puppies, brave and loyal but still in need of maturing before they can truly be useful to society. Georgette Heyer was clearly a dog lover!
This was my first Heyer novel and I enjoyed it enough not to make it my last. I was glad to revisit it with the Georgette Heyer fans group.
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