This is a reread from my youth, though I didn't remember much about Arabella. It was moderately charming. The heroine is the eldest daughter of a parson who is respectable but not rich, given his numerous offspring. Her godmother agrees to sponsor her for a season in London. The whole family is depending on her to contract a good marriage so that she can bring out her younger sisters. En route, her borrowed carriage breaks down outside the hunting lodge of Mr. Beamarais, our hero. He's got everything--wealth, looks, high social standing. He's also got the attitude to go with it, so when she overhears him complaining to his friend of the lengths women go to when chasing him, she gets angry and pretends to be a fabulous heiress. The word gets out and suddenly she's the most sought after debutante.

This romance falls into the comedy of errors and misunderstandings category. Our hero of course guesses the truth immediately but goes along with the game (and even eggs it on), charmed by Arabella's innocence and integrity and waiting for her to trust him. She doesn't know how to confess her lie and can't accept any of the marriage proposals under false pretenses, so she's in quite a quandary. In the meantime, she embroils Beaumaris in various scrapes, and when her brother decides to acquire some town polish while on break from college, the scrapes only get worse. Of course, it all comes right in the end, thanks to our masterful hero and despite the naive heroine. Not my favorite style of romance, and this doesn't compare to April Lady in terms of naivete and romp. ( )

Arabella Tallant is the eldest daughter of eight children and considered a Beauty. The Tallant family lives in a cozy parsonage, the father being Reverend Henry Tallant, in genteel poverty. With little aspiration for Arabella contriving a great match in Yorkshire (a must to help marry off the rest of the girls and provide a living for the son's) Mrs. Tallant's long-held dream has been to have Arabella's godmother, Lady Bridlington, sponsor a London season for Arabella. When the invitation comes Arabella is very aware of how fortunate she is and resolves to make a good match to help support her family. Although she is a soft-hearted, conscientious girl, Arabella's temper gets the better of her when she overhears a careless remark made by the Nonpareil Beaumaris (one of the richest and most sought after bachelor's in England), leading her to prevaricate on her birth and circumstance...that she is The Rich Tallant!

The novel is a delightful bit of silliness. Its hard to believe such an eligible, rich bachelor as Beaumaris would have a heart of mush inside his facade of "cool civility" but Heyer always has a way of making her heros and heroines endear themselves to you. Beaumaris talks about his noble consequence but always in the end his actions are kinder than his words belie. Arabella is sweet and naive, although tenaciously single-minded in what she believes is right and wrong...causing much confusion and muddling of events in the Bridlington household and for the beleaguered Beaumaris...but he would not have it any other way!!!

Although at 312 pages shorter in length than most of her novels, and with the classic wit, strong characterization, and humorous happenings we have come to expect, Arabella is another winner from Heyer.

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This is by far the most cleverest plot that Georgette Heyer has created. Granted, I wouldn't call myself someone who has read a great part of her novels yet, but I'm getting there.

Arabella is headed to London to stay with her godmother who is going to introduce her into society. On the way there, her carriage breaks down and while waiting for help to arrive (where's a gas station when you need one?) she takes shelter in a nearby home that belongs to none other than the infamous Nonpareil Robert Beaumaris.

Beaumaris wasn't born yesterday. He has been bamboozled into meetings with marriage-seeking ladies who conveniently get into 'accidents' just to meet him for years. Mortified, Arabella - a daughter of a Vicar - concocts a clever story that she is a wealthy heiress. Figuring this is false, Beaumaris decided to play along due to boredom. But boredom eventually leads to something more.

A lie such as that can only bring about shenanigans from there. Once word gets out that a heiress is town, every fortune seeking bachelor is vying for her affections.

Arabella is witty story that brings with it a lot of laughs. A sweet, strong heroine and a devilishly clever hero and a strong plot makes this a definite Heyer must read. ( )

This is about as contrived as Heyer's plots ever are: one of those plots which could easily have been solved if the people involved ever actually sat down and talked to one another. I caught myself rolling my eyes at several points. This wasn't helped by the fact that this is so much more a romance than it is a comedy; I have always found the less palatable elements of Heyer's work considerably sweetened by a good dash of comedy. I wasn't overly fond of Arabella, but Beaumaris was entertaining enough, especially since he was both thoroughly aware of his own flaws, and thoroughly unconcerned by them. One of the better ones, but not a favourite. ( )

This is a charming book. While a bit slow in the beginning, once it gets going, it introduces utterly fascinating characters and a lively and engaging plot. Arabella is a wonderful heroine - very much a lady, but not so held down by the dictates of society that she is afraid to stand up to society's dictates. Robert is a fantastic character as well - some of my favorite scenes in the book were the ones with him and Ulysses. I really enjoyed this book! ( )