fb2Written in Georgette Heyer's lightest vein, this is the story of the adventures in Regency London of the Merriville family: Frederica, riding the whirlwind and directing the storm; Harry, rusticated from Oxford and embarking with enthusiasm on the more perilous amusements pursued by young gentlemen of ton; the divine Charis, too tender-hearted to discourage the advances of her numerous suitors; Jessamy, destined for the Church and wavering, in adolescent style, between excessive virtue and a natural exuberance of spirits; and Felix, a schoolboy with a passion for scientific experiment. In Frederica, Georgette Heyer created one of her most engaging heroines; and in the Marquis of Alverstoke — a bored cynic who becomes involved in all the imbroglios of a lively family — a hero whose sense of humour makes him an excellent foil for Frederica.
Miss Annis Wychwood, at twenty-nine, has long been on the shelf, but this bothers her not at all. She is rich and still beautiful and she enjoys living independently in Bath, except for the tiresome female cousin, who her very proper brother insists must live with her.
When Annis offers sanctuary to the very young runaway heiress Miss Lucilla Carleton, no one at all thinks this is a good idea. With the exception of Miss Carleton's overbearing guardian, Mr. Oliver Carleton, whose reputation as the rudest man in London precedes him. Outrageous as he is, the charming Annis ends up finding him absolutely irresistible.
The superlatively analytical Inspector Hemingway is confronted by a murder that seems impossible—no one was near the murder weapon at the time the shot was fired. Everyone on the scene seems to have a motive, not to mention the wherewithal to commit murder, and alibis that simply don't hold up. The inspector is sorely tried by a wide variety of suspects, including the neglected widow, the neighbor who's in love with her, her resentful daughter, and a patently phony Russian prince preying on the widow's emotional vulnerability and social aspirations. And then there's the blackmail plot that may—or may not—be at the heart of the case…
Adam Penhallow’s death seems, at first, to be by natural causes. But Penhallow wasn’t well liked — so bad tempered, that both his servants and his family hated him. It soon transpires that Penhallow was murdered, poisoned, in fact, on the eve of his birthday celebration, and there are more than a dozen prime suspects.
Affairs of honour, affairs of the heart, and all the gallantry, villainy and elegance of the age that Georgette Heyer has made her own are exquisitely revived in these eleven short stories of the Regency.
Judith Taverner and her brother, Peregrine, are orphans. The death of their eccentric father left them well provided for but consigned to the guardianship of a man they have never met, Julian St. John Audley, Lord Worth. When repeated requests for an introduction to him go unanswered, they set off to London to force a meeting. En route, they spend the night in the village of Grantham, where they make the acquaintance of their Uncle Bernard. Judith and Perry, knowing that their father had disowned his brother many years ago are reluctant to acknowledge the relationship, but Bernard proves to be polite and charming. They also run afoul of an arrogant aristocrat when Perry mishandles a borrowed gig on the road and causes a near-accident. On reaching London, Judith and Perry are amazed and horrified to discover that the insufferable nobleman who made their lives a misery in Grantham is none other than Lord Worth himself.
Sir Gareth Ludlow knows it is his duty as a man of honour to restore so young and pretty a girl as Amanda, wandering unattended, to her family. But it is to prove no easy task for the Corinthian.
Sylvester, Duke of Salford, has exacting requirements for a bride. Then he meets Phoebe Marlow, a young lady with literary aspirations, and suddenly life becomes very complicated. She meets none of his criteria, and even worse, she has written a novel that is sweeping through the ton and causing all kinds of gossip... and he's the main character!
When young, plain Horatia Winwood informs the Earl of Rule that her beautiful older sister, Lizzie, doesn't want to marry him and offers herself instead, the Earl, surprised and intrigued by the spirited, unconventional Horry, agrees, setting the stage for a romp rife with misadventure, jealousy, plots, duels, and romance.
Beautiful Penelope Creed had known Piers Luttrell from childhood. They had early pledged their love to each other, eagerly awaiting the day they could turn it into a lifelong reality.
But now there was another man in her life. A dashing figure of a London dandy, the witty, worldly, handsome Sir Richard Wyndham, a man who made his own rules of life and love, a man who was everything Piers was not.
How could she choose between them? How could she even compare these two who shared nothing in common? Nothing, that is, but her heart ...
A diffident young man of 24 years, easily pushed around by his overprotective uncle and the retinue of devoted family retainers who won't let him lift a finger for himself, the Duke sometimes wishes he could be a commoner. One day he decides to set out to discover whether he is "a man, or only a Duke."
Beginning with an incognito journey into the countryside to confront a blackmailer, he encounters a runaway school boy, a beautiful but airheaded orphan, one of literature's most appealing and well-spoken comic villains, and a series of alarming and even life threatening events from which he can extricate himself only with the help of his shy and lovely fiancé…
Sophy, the "little" niece of Lady Ombersley is sent to London to stay with her aunt. However, somewhere in the decade or so since her aunt last saw her, Sophy has grown into a rather tall, imposing woman, with a personality to match. She is good-natured, sociable, and utterly independent. She soon has the Ombersley household in the palm of her hand — well all except Charles, the eldest son who takes a rather dim view of her. Charles's pious fiancée, Eugenia Wraxton, is also not impressed by her and attempts to bring her into line with London manners — but Sophy, with unimpaired good-manners and immense charm usually manages to get her own way.
Having established herself in the Ombersley Household Sophy soon sees how much they need her. Charles is clearly about marry the wrong woman (Eugenia), his sister, Cecilia is caught up with a clearly unsuitbale poet, and younger brother has Hubert trapped in some clearly dark sort of activity which he cannot escape from. At the same time Sophy's soon to be mother-in-law, Sancia looks to be straying herself.
Sophy's ability to orchestrate this huge cast of characters all to fitting ends is truly marvellous - and highly enjoyable.
Such a daring escape…
Their infamous adventurer father has taught Prudence Tremaine and her brother Robin to be masters of disguise. Ending up on the wrong side of the Jacobite rebellion, brother and sister flee to London, Prudence pretending to be a dashing young buck, and Robin a lovely young lady.
Could cost them both their hearts…
Then Prudence meets the elegant Sir Anthony Fanshawe, and Robin becomes the mysterious hero of the charming Letitia Grayson, and in order to have what they truly want, the two masqueraders must find a way to unmask themselves without losing their lives…
Sir Waldo Hawkridge, known in London society as 'the Nonesuch' for his sporting abilities and perfect manners, is obliged to go into Yorkshire to inspect a property that he has just inherited.
Sir Waldo is a very wealthy and philanthropic man, and intends to renovate the house to turn it into yet another of his charity orphanages.
While there, he meets Tiffany Wield, a positively dazzling young heiress who is entirely selfish and possessed of a frightful temper, as well as her far more elegant companion-governess, Ancilla Trent.
While Waldo's young cousin, Lord Lindeth, falls in and out of love with the young ladies of the neighborhood, Waldo must convince the practical Miss Trent that it is not above her station as a governess to fall in love with him.
Gervase Frant, Lord St. Erth, heir to broad acres and an ancient and variegated pile known as Stanyon, returns from the Napoleonic Wars to find he is something less than welcome in the ancestral bosom. His widowed stepmother would greatly have preferred his glorious death in battle on the Continent. She has no desire to relinquish her position, and she has hoped that her own son Martin would inherit.
The Earl, in his quiet way, quickly makes a conquest of two eligible young ladies on the scene, but it becomes almost immediately apparent that someone at Stanyon would prefer to have him die by a means more sudden than old age.
Georgette Heyer's comical genius never fails to deliver delight.
Eleanor'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, whom Eleanor mistakes for Mr. Macclesfield. Carlyon, meanwhile, believes Eleanor to be the young woman he hired to marry his dying cousin, Eustace Cheviot, in order to avoid inheriting Cheviot's estate himself. Somehow, Eleanor is talked into marrying Eustace on his deathbed and thus becomes a wealthy 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.
Neither Sir Tristram Shield nor Eustacie, his young French cousin, share the slightest inclination to marry one another. Yet it is Lord Lavenham's dying wish. For there is no one else to provide for the old man's granddaughter while Ludovic, his heir, remains a fugitive from justice.
The future of a reckless and adventure-loving captain of the Dragoon Guards appeared very hum-drum and tedious in those days when Waterloo was both a recent, glorious victory and an end to the joys of soldiering. Big, handsome Captain John Staple left the Army because he feared boredom, and was immediately plunged into the kind of exciting hazards his temperament demanded.
John Staple soon found himself involved in perilous activities in which participated such varied and colourful personalities [some extremely honest—others less so] as Jeremy Chirk the highwayman, Gabriel Stogumber the Bow Street Runner, and Nell Stornaway with whom the Captain's heart was soon deeply entangled.
The stabbing of irascible General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith fails to stir up grief in anyone — least of all his family, which is no wonder considering the way he has treated them all during the fateful weekend. He had disinherited his son, humiliated his wife, refused to help his financially stricken nephew and made no secret of his loathing for his son's fiancée, a cabaret dancer. Inspector Harding picks his way through a mass of familial discontent to find the culprit — and find much more besides.