Return to Georgette Heyer

Return to Georgette Heyer

Black Sheep

At 28 with a beautiful heiress niece soon to make her come out, romance is the last thing on Abigail Wendover's mind; she's even taken to putting on caps! Upon returning from visiting her middle sisters, Abby learns from her oldest sister that their niece Fanny has a new, charming beau. Abby isn't as easily won over as Selina and the more she hears about this Stacy Calverleigh, the more she is convinced that he is a fortune hunter. Abby becomes determined to put a stop to the romance without driving her headstrong niece into believing that she is the modern Juliet. After paying a call to old friends at their hotel, Abby learns that Mr. Calverleigh is also staying at the hotel and is determined to give him a piece of her mind. She is surprised to see that he is neither young nor a handsome dandy but middle-aged and a careless dresser, certainly not someone worthy of young Fanny. Abby lectures Mr. Calverleigh on the impropriety of courting a schoolgirl and Mr. Calverleigh pretends not to understand Abby as she gets more and more angry and flustered. When Abby discovers that the rude man is not Mr. Stacy Calverleigh, but his black sheep uncle, Mr. Miles Calverleigh, she is determined that he should control his nephew. Miles has other plans, however, and they include spending lots of time trading sarcastic remarks with the one woman who disregards family feeling as much as he! The more time Abby spends with Miles, the more she enjoys his witty manner and lack of social niceties. Alas, poor Abby is preoccupied by trying to prevent her niece's romance and the ill health of her hypochondriac elder sister, not to mention threats from her pompous older brother. Will Abby ever get her turn for romance or will Miles leave her life forever, taking all fun and pleasure away? This comedy of manners first attracted me to Heyer because of the not-so-subtle way she pokes fun at the conventions of the day. Abby and Miles mock the conventions with their witty dialogue and sarcastic humor. They perfectly understand one another and it's easy to see how and why they fall in love. There are very few couples in copy-cat novels who suit so marvelously. The secondary characters seem a little stereotypical, but their interactions with Miles and Abby are so much fun. While this is a comedy, the writing is mature and really makes the reader think about relationships and reconsider old prejudices. There is enough back story and plot details to satisfy readers who prefer more than fluff.

This is a great introduction to the witty style that Heyer is known for and of course I highly recommend it to everyone!