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Acting on Impulse: A Short Story
Quite the funniest of all Georgette Heyer's contemporary works, "Acting on Impulse" is the adorable story of an enthusiastic suitor who will not allow his father's stubbornness get in the way of true love.
Reprinted here for the first time since its appearance in The Red Magazine, 1923.
This short story also appears in the collection Acting on Impulse .
Reprinted here for the first time since its appearance in The Red Magazine, 1923.
This short story also appears in the collection Acting on Impulse .
- GenresRomanceShort Stories
18 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 20, 2019
43 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Georgette Heyer
293 books5,627 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 30, 2024
Georgette Heyer's "Acting on Impulse" is an humorous romantic short story about a disapproving parent towards his son's fiance. This is another favorite of mine.
Story in short- Kenneth decides to do one mad act to capture his father's heart.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 3
EVERYONE who knew him or had ever known him agreed that Kenneth Mount was mad.
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His father said that he was mad; his mother, when she was alive, said that he was “just like his father,”
which meant practically the same thing. It was a source of wonderment to all his friends and relations
that he had escaped expulsion from school, but escape it he did; nor was he sent down from college,
although there he had had some anxious moments on that score. Why he was spared no one knew. It
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 3
may have been that his ingenuous boyishness appealed too strongly to the authorities, or that they
realised that there was not an ounce of vice in his composition.
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 3
He was twenty-six when he became engaged to Ursula Fenton.
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 3
He had known her for some six months or so, and they were great pals. She was an orphan, and she
supported herself by painting posters and illustrating magazines.
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert
Kenneth is always considered quite mad according to his father, so when he wanted to marry Ursula, an artist, his father refused because of her background though he never met her. When Ursula hears this she tells Kenneth that she will not marry until his father okays the marriage. Kenneth is in love and devises to kidnap his father keeping him in the country without the amenities until he consents to the marriage which he ends up doing and liking Ursula too.
Page 4
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 4
They became engaged, and it was all Ursula could do to prevent Kenneth from dashing off there and
then to buy a special licence. She dragged him down from the clouds and reminded him that he must
first tell his father. Also she would not marry him for at least six months, because she wasn’t at all sure
that he wouldn’t regret the engagement.
1
Page 5
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“It’s Ursula Fenton. You know.” “I tell you I do not know! Never seen the girl in my life!” “Haven’t you? I
say, this won’t do!” Kenneth sprang up. “I must buzz off and fetch her along. You’ll—” “Stop!” The
general sat up, shivering. “What the devil d’you mean by it, sir? I won’t have her here! I won’t see any
girl in bed! Damn it, I say I will not!”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 5
“No, I can’t! You don’t seem to understand that I’m very unwell! How dare you come bursting into my
room like this?” Kenneth pushed him gently back on to his pillow and tucked him up. “I’m awfully sorry,
sir. Clean forgot you’d a cold. I’ll have to bring Ursula along later.”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 5
The general eyed him malevolently. “I don’t want to see her! You’re mad—mad!”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 5
He discovered that Ursula was a modern girl who worked for her own living. The general was old-
fashioned; one of his pet aversions was the self-supporting girl. When he further discovered that
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 5
Ursula was an artist his rage knew no bounds. Kenneth must clearly understand that this miserable
affair must end at once. If he married this bohemian he would be cut off with a shilling, he should never
Page 6
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 6
“It’s no good,” Kenneth said. “He simply won’t give in. Won’t even see you. We shall have to get married
and trust to luck. He’d never disinherit me.” “I’m not going to do that.” A frown creased Ursula’s pretty
brow.
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 6
“It isn’t fair. After all, you’re all he’s got.” “Well, he shouldn’t be so pig-headed,” said Kenneth. “If only he’
d consent to see you he couldn’t object.”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 6
“Good lord, no!” Kenneth was horrified. “He’d have apoplexy! No, there’s nothing for it, Ursula. We’ve
got to get married on the Q T and break the news by degrees. I’ll get a licence, and—” “You won’t! If your
father doesn’t give his consent, I won’t marry you.”
2
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 6
THE general was a little uneasy about his son. Kenneth had seemed very preoccupied for the last few
weeks. Ursula’s name had not once passed his lips, but somehow the general did not take this as a good
omen. And Kenneth was very often absent from home. Day after day he drove off in his racing-car and
Page 7
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 7
did not return until late at night. He offered no explanation for his strange demeanour, and the general
was too proud to ask for one. He felt that his son was not pleased with him. Not that Kenneth was
anything but polite to him. In fact, he behaved to his father as if nothing had happened. But there was
just a faint undercurrent. The general did not like it.
Page 8
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 8
“Very well,” he grumbled. “But I don’t like motoring in the winter.” Kenneth paid no heed to this last
feeble protest. He put his father
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 8
into the car and tucked him up in a large rug. Then he got in himself and started the car.
Page 9
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 9
“Where the devil are we?” shouted his father. He saw that the fence had a large gate adorned with
barbed wire
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 9
and broken glass. Kenneth opened it and got back into the car. In silence he drove through the gateway
and again got out.
Story in short- Kenneth decides to do one mad act to capture his father's heart.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 3
EVERYONE who knew him or had ever known him agreed that Kenneth Mount was mad.
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 3
His father said that he was mad; his mother, when she was alive, said that he was “just like his father,”
which meant practically the same thing. It was a source of wonderment to all his friends and relations
that he had escaped expulsion from school, but escape it he did; nor was he sent down from college,
although there he had had some anxious moments on that score. Why he was spared no one knew. It
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 3
may have been that his ingenuous boyishness appealed too strongly to the authorities, or that they
realised that there was not an ounce of vice in his composition.
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 3
He was twenty-six when he became engaged to Ursula Fenton.
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 3
He had known her for some six months or so, and they were great pals. She was an orphan, and she
supported herself by painting posters and illustrating magazines.
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert
Kenneth is always considered quite mad according to his father, so when he wanted to marry Ursula, an artist, his father refused because of her background though he never met her. When Ursula hears this she tells Kenneth that she will not marry until his father okays the marriage. Kenneth is in love and devises to kidnap his father keeping him in the country without the amenities until he consents to the marriage which he ends up doing and liking Ursula too.
Page 4
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 4
They became engaged, and it was all Ursula could do to prevent Kenneth from dashing off there and
then to buy a special licence. She dragged him down from the clouds and reminded him that he must
first tell his father. Also she would not marry him for at least six months, because she wasn’t at all sure
that he wouldn’t regret the engagement.
1
Page 5
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 5
“It’s Ursula Fenton. You know.” “I tell you I do not know! Never seen the girl in my life!” “Haven’t you? I
say, this won’t do!” Kenneth sprang up. “I must buzz off and fetch her along. You’ll—” “Stop!” The
general sat up, shivering. “What the devil d’you mean by it, sir? I won’t have her here! I won’t see any
girl in bed! Damn it, I say I will not!”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 5
“No, I can’t! You don’t seem to understand that I’m very unwell! How dare you come bursting into my
room like this?” Kenneth pushed him gently back on to his pillow and tucked him up. “I’m awfully sorry,
sir. Clean forgot you’d a cold. I’ll have to bring Ursula along later.”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 5
The general eyed him malevolently. “I don’t want to see her! You’re mad—mad!”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 5
He discovered that Ursula was a modern girl who worked for her own living. The general was old-
fashioned; one of his pet aversions was the self-supporting girl. When he further discovered that
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 5
Ursula was an artist his rage knew no bounds. Kenneth must clearly understand that this miserable
affair must end at once. If he married this bohemian he would be cut off with a shilling, he should never
Page 6
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 6
“It’s no good,” Kenneth said. “He simply won’t give in. Won’t even see you. We shall have to get married
and trust to luck. He’d never disinherit me.” “I’m not going to do that.” A frown creased Ursula’s pretty
brow.
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 6
“It isn’t fair. After all, you’re all he’s got.” “Well, he shouldn’t be so pig-headed,” said Kenneth. “If only he’
d consent to see you he couldn’t object.”
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 6
“Good lord, no!” Kenneth was horrified. “He’d have apoplexy! No, there’s nothing for it, Ursula. We’ve
got to get married on the Q T and break the news by degrees. I’ll get a licence, and—” “You won’t! If your
father doesn’t give his consent, I won’t marry you.”
2
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 6
THE general was a little uneasy about his son. Kenneth had seemed very preoccupied for the last few
weeks. Ursula’s name had not once passed his lips, but somehow the general did not take this as a good
omen. And Kenneth was very often absent from home. Day after day he drove off in his racing-car and
Page 7
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 7
did not return until late at night. He offered no explanation for his strange demeanour, and the general
was too proud to ask for one. He felt that his son was not pleased with him. Not that Kenneth was
anything but polite to him. In fact, he behaved to his father as if nothing had happened. But there was
just a faint undercurrent. The general did not like it.
Page 8
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 8
“Very well,” he grumbled. “But I don’t like motoring in the winter.” Kenneth paid no heed to this last
feeble protest. He put his father
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 8
into the car and tucked him up in a large rug. Then he got in himself and started the car.
Page 9
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 9
“Where the devil are we?” shouted his father. He saw that the fence had a large gate adorned with
barbed wire
Highlight (Yellow) | Page 9
and broken glass. Kenneth opened it and got back into the car. In silence he drove through the gateway
and again got out.
September 17, 2023
A lovable scamp
I am a fan of Georgette Heyer. I have been since I began reading her at age 12. Her characters are always rather unusual, charming, comic, with independent women and strong men.
Short but still Heyer.
I am a fan of Georgette Heyer. I have been since I began reading her at age 12. Her characters are always rather unusual, charming, comic, with independent women and strong men.
Short but still Heyer.
January 11, 2025
Man! This was hilarious. So ingenious. If all thwarted kids did this, the whole second-chance love genre wouldn't exist!
September 16, 2019
Obviously I was acting on impulse myself when I bought this since I NEVER pay 99 cents for a short story. I love short stories, but I want them in a book with 10 or 12 stories and I want that book on sale for $1.99. $2.99 tops.
It seems that some publisher is offering short stories that Georgette Heyer wrote in the 1920's at 99 cents each. But if you can hold out another couple of weeks, you can buy them in a collection of eight stories for $8.99. If my math is correct, this is moving in the wrong direction.
Can't say why I DID buy it. I'm not a fan of the Georgian Romance novels for which Heyer is famous, but I love her mysteries. She also wrote some contemporary novels (contemporary to the 1920's, that is) and they are being "discovered" and offered as e-books. I suspect I'd enjoy those, too.
The story itself is quirky and whimsical and amusing in much the same way of Heyer's mysteries. Kenneth is a young man known for doing outrageous things, but so lovable and cheerful that everyone forgives him. He and his irascible father get along fine until Kenneth wishes to marry a scandalous young woman who SUPPORTS HERSELF.
Pop forbids the match and Kenneth's intended refuses to marry him without parental permission. What to do? Kenneth solves the problem by arranging for bit of what Phyllis Diller used to call "forced family time."
It's a cute story, but there are a number of bad typos that ruin the flow of reading it. And I think 99 cents is too much for 19 pages. If you don't and typos don't bother you, have at it.
It seems that some publisher is offering short stories that Georgette Heyer wrote in the 1920's at 99 cents each. But if you can hold out another couple of weeks, you can buy them in a collection of eight stories for $8.99. If my math is correct, this is moving in the wrong direction.
Can't say why I DID buy it. I'm not a fan of the Georgian Romance novels for which Heyer is famous, but I love her mysteries. She also wrote some contemporary novels (contemporary to the 1920's, that is) and they are being "discovered" and offered as e-books. I suspect I'd enjoy those, too.
The story itself is quirky and whimsical and amusing in much the same way of Heyer's mysteries. Kenneth is a young man known for doing outrageous things, but so lovable and cheerful that everyone forgives him. He and his irascible father get along fine until Kenneth wishes to marry a scandalous young woman who SUPPORTS HERSELF.
Pop forbids the match and Kenneth's intended refuses to marry him without parental permission. What to do? Kenneth solves the problem by arranging for bit of what Phyllis Diller used to call "forced family time."
It's a cute story, but there are a number of bad typos that ruin the flow of reading it. And I think 99 cents is too much for 19 pages. If you don't and typos don't bother you, have at it.
January 1, 2025
Collection
So I love Heyer's writing, and I bought this because it was all the short stories I got as individual stories plus a new one in the collection. It would get a solid 5 stars because of Heyer's writing. However, it has a lot of modern judgemental commentary passed on it by someone modern who has devoted time to study these and then make random obnoxious remarks. Obviously a rabid feminist is the order of the day, and heaven help a girl who wants to get married and doesn't become ASSERTIVE and manly to win the man she doesn't need. It was pretty jarring. However, Heyer's writing is still a delight. And I thoroughly enjoyed the new story!
So I love Heyer's writing, and I bought this because it was all the short stories I got as individual stories plus a new one in the collection. It would get a solid 5 stars because of Heyer's writing. However, it has a lot of modern judgemental commentary passed on it by someone modern who has devoted time to study these and then make random obnoxious remarks. Obviously a rabid feminist is the order of the day, and heaven help a girl who wants to get married and doesn't become ASSERTIVE and manly to win the man she doesn't need. It was pretty jarring. However, Heyer's writing is still a delight. And I thoroughly enjoyed the new story!
September 2, 2019
Cute
Cute story. The characters are well developed. The plot is kind of crazy but I went along for the ride. Dialogue was fun.
Cute story. The characters are well developed. The plot is kind of crazy but I went along for the ride. Dialogue was fun.
September 18, 2019
Always a great read.
Georgette has always given us a great read. This one has been over the top. Her characters dance on the page. I love her.
Georgette has always given us a great read. This one has been over the top. Her characters dance on the page. I love her.
October 22, 2019
Old fashioned romp
A fun story about a young man desperate to get his father’s approval for his marriage. The situation is improbable but the story is fun.
A fun story about a young man desperate to get his father’s approval for his marriage. The situation is improbable but the story is fun.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews