Black Sheep (1966)

Abigail Wendover, the younger of two spinster sisters, is raising her adolescent niece, Fanny, in Regency Bath with her sister, Selina. Abby returns from a short time away and finds Fanny firmly in the sights of Stacy Calverleigh, perfidious dandy and fortune-hunter. While Selina is taken with his fine manners and outward poise, Abby knows better. When Miles Calverleigh, Stacy’s uncle, unexpectedly lands in Bath, she seeks to enlist his help in separating niece from nephew. Alas, the middle-aged Miles has no interest in and absolutely no connection with the young Stacy. Long the “black sheep” of his family, he is only now returning to England from India where he was banished by his family decades ago to hush a scandal. Understandably (and wonderfully humorous in Heyer’s capable hands), Miles’s behaviour after such a lengthy absence from polite society is not quite well-oiled enough for the taste of that venerable institution: “his manners were careless; and his morals non-existent.” (Ch 5) That said, when he sets his sights on Abby, perhaps she will decide he is just the breath of fresh air that she needs. As to his tempering his indifference to “civilized society,” that will take considerably more work:

“He accepted, out of a vast and perhaps idle tolerance, the rules laid down by a civilized society, and, when he transgressed these, accepted also, and with unshaken good-humour, society’s revenge on him ... He did not defy convention: when it did not interfere with whatever line of conduct he meant to pursue he conformed to it; and when it did he ignored it, affably conceding to his critics their right to censure him, if they felt so inclined, and caring neither for their praise nor their blame.” (12)

Black Sheep is an absolutely delightful read! Georgette Heyer is new to me, but I definitely plan to spend more time in her Austen-esque world of historical romance. Highly recommended! ( )

Black Sheep is one of my favorite Heyers. The tale of Abby, the younger of two old maid sisters raising their niece Fanny in Bath, she finds herself in a tight situation when she returns from visiting family to find Fanny possibly snared by a fortune hunter. By total coincidence, his black sheep Uncle Miles has just returned from India, whence he was banished to hush up a scandal. He could care less about his nephew or society, but Abby, on the other hand, is another matter entirely.

As is always the case with these books, there is the constant threat of elopement, even though as Miles points out, it's not half as easy to elope as you might think. If you like this one, you'll also like Lady of Quality, which is essentially the same plot, only with a runaway girl instead of a fortune-hunting rake. Highly recommended. ( )

Another fun novel from Heyer! I found this novel a little simpler in terms of plot compared to her other novels, but it was still enjoyable with some fine issues raised about family and growing up. You could read my full review of the novel over at my blog (contains some spoilers!): http://www.rulethewaves.net/blog/?p=3681 ( )

This was my first Georgette Heyer novel, and it definitely won't be my last! The characters are memorable: Abby, the younger of two "old maid" aunts (the other is the rather dottery and slightly hypochrondriac Selina) who are raising Fanny, an irrepressible seventeen-year-old in love for the first time with a possible fortune hunter, and Miles, the "black sheep" uncle of the fortune hunter who cares nothing for the rules and dictates of society but an awful lot for Abby...their dialogue had me laughing, and I've already re-read my favorite parts more than once. A delightful read and escape into an Austenesque world!
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One of Heyer's good romances, with an interesting hero who really had ruined himself in "good society" earlier. ( )