The Quiet Gentleman

Yay, my first Georgette Heyer!

I’m happy she wrote so many books, because I love her writing. So witty. I’ve never encountered a protagonist quite like Gervase. I loved his calm, thoughtful, firm way of dealing with people, friend and foe. He made me think of my college advisor who was nicknamed “the velvet bulldozer” because of his knack for gently, kindly, getting his way. Drusilla was fantastic! I laughed and cheered for her so much as she went about her business, being reasonable and fixing everything.

This had a touch of romance, but it was more of a mystery with humorous social commentary. Because I’m secretly a detective—and a genius—I figured out who was trying to kill Gervase. But it was still fun getting there, show more and I loved how Gervase’s friends were all forcing their protection on him. Martin’s Bow Street Runner was the best!

I started this on audio, and James MacCallum did a nice job portraying so many different characters. I’m not sure I liked how he did Gervase. He came off sounding rather pompous, but otherwise, I really liked his performance. Had to switch to e-book at around the halfway point so I could blow through to the end. show less

When Gervase Frant, new Earl of Stanyon, returns unscathed from the Napoleonic Wars, he finds a unwelcoming household. His stepmother is miffed at his survival, his half-brother resents him as a rival, and somebody is going to great lengths to kill him. Gervase sighs and sets out to straighten the familial tangle.

I can't read Georgette Heyer anymore without noticing the elements recycled from her other books, so: The Quiet Gentleman uses a lot of the Gothic props (albeit to much greater effect) last seen in Cousin Kate; like A Civil Contract, it features a male protagonist (which is unusual for Heyer), and, like The Black Moth, the ostensible "romance" is so far in the background as to be overlooked.

But the key difference, in regards show more to that last point, is that while The Black Moth was weakened (or at least made uneven) by the remote role of its lovers, The Quiet Gentleman is strengthened through its preoccupations. The center of the story lies with Gervase and his brother Martin, and their complicated relationship drives the novel. In contrast, the charm of Gervase's romantic attachment lies entirely in its obscurity: even if you're attuned to the genre signals, it sneaks up on the reader. (Arguably, this is because the relationship is never properly developed or explained, but! The reader is too busy thinking about Martin and Gervase! Preoccupations!)

The Quiet Gentleman fits more more tightly with the conventions of genre mystery, and in that model, it's less innovative and interesting. Heyer goes to such great lengths not to implicate one character in particular that the reader can pinpoint him as the villain by page 50. (And, much like the heroine's love, the villain's motives are arbitrarily discovered and resolved in the last ten pages.) But Heyer does such a good job engineering Gervase's household as a tight family unit that, despite the glaring obviousness of the villain, the reader can't avoid feeling a wrench when the villain's identity becomes steadily more obvious. If only Heyer had developed the villain -- made the villain more than a one-dimensional saint who turns into a one-dimensional sinner -- The Quiet Gentleman would be a great novel. But...no. Heyer's strength is not multi-dimensional characters.

Which is why Martin Frant is such a surprisingly and pleasing character, because he is multi-dimensional, because he has well-developed motives and regrets, and because his relationship with brother Gervase is both affectionate and antagonistic. And, as the novel's conclusion reveals, Martin's feelings are not one-sided: Gervase has been involved in his own quiet campaign of protection and provocation. show less

Ahh, this is excellent. Gervase returns to his ancestral pile to a less than warm welcome from his step mother and half brother. Martin has long anticipated being the heir, and with Gervase at war in Spain, that was always a possibility. But has he started to take matters into his own hands? Is it such a big step form hoping that Gervase would not come back to taking steps to put him out of the way???
The tale is muddied by the presence of the delectable Marianne Bolderwood. There seem to be many rivals for her hand, and Martin does himself no favours in that direction either.
In the fairly small family party there is also Miss Morville, whose parents have enlightened views (although Mrs Morville turns out to have a fine grasp of the show more difference between theory and practice). Miss Morville is one of the those thoroughly sensible and practical young ladies, who doesn't swoon or do anything so melodramatic, and so fades into the background and just forms part of the furniture. Fortunately for her, her excellent qualities are spotted, although she does manage to swoon just at the right moment.
Part of me feels sorry for Gervase, having stepped into an uncomfortable situation not of his making, but he rises to the occasion quite admirably and sets out to work out what exactly is going on in the family pile - and who it is wants him out of the way.
A thoroughly enjoyable escapade all round. show less

Oh, was this a fun read! Considered one of Heyer's historical romances, I'd argue it has a much stronger mystery plot than anything else (which of course makes me happy).

Unscathed from the wars, Gervase Frant finally returns to his father's estate to claim his title as the new Earl of Stanyon. But his stepmother's resentment and his half brother's open disdain put a chill on Gervase's welcome. Now he must establish himself as the new head of the house and ignore his family's rising hostility.

But Gervase begins to find himself the victim of repeatedly cruel accidents. Soon it becomes increasingly clear that someone wants the new Earl of Stanyon dead.

There are shades of Mrs. Bennett in Gervase's step-mother that had me chuckling under show more my breath as I read, and Gervase himself was smooth as silk, level-headed and the kind of alpha male that doesn't need to assert his alpha-ness, he just is. Miss Moreville is an excellent character as well; wonderfully level-headed and not the last bit silly or 'romantic', while Martin is the male personification of silly and romantic.

The mystery itself was truthfully not really mysterious; Heyer was too heavy-handed for the ending to be anything but obvious, and not a little tragic, but I loved what she did with the rest of the story and the characters; everyone got what was best for them, if not what they wanted. In an oeuvre that covers the spectrum of quality writing, The Quiet Gentleman definitely sits nearer the top. I hope my luck continues with my next Heyer read. show less

This is an old favorite Heyer of mine, and I know lots of passages almost by heart, but I hadn't read it in ages. I bought the audiobook years ago and finally got around to it. The narrator is Cornelius Garrett, who has an old-style approach (think Frederick Davidson). Sometimes those types of interpretations don't work for me, but I really enjoyed this one. Garrett brings out the comedy of manners aspects, which I sometimes gloss over in favor of the romantic storyline.

This is actually one of Heyer's less romantic novels, and her heroine, Drusilla, even says "try as I will, I cannot be romantic" at one point. And she really can't, although she is delightful in many ways and I can certainly see why St. Erth falls in love with her. He, show more on the other hand, is the classic romantic hero -- blond, beautiful, and very accomplished. But he's also kind and caring and patient.

The plot is one of Heyer's mysteries set in the countryside, in this case at Stanyon Castle. St. Erth, the heir, has given up his cavalry officer position upon inheriting the Earldom, but his return is not welcomed by his stepmother or his half-brother, Martin, since both had hoped for his demise during the Napoleonic Wars. But Martin is now relegated to younger-son status and both mother and son lament what might have been. Somehow Heyer manages to make Martin likeable and his mother sympathetic despite this. The only family member who welcomes St. Erth's return is his cousin Theo, who manages the estates. Drusilla, who is staying with Lady St. Erth as a temporary companion, is curious to meet him but not expecting much of a cavalry dandy.

Soon after his return it becomes apparent that someone is trying to murder St. Erth. Martin would be the obvious culprit, but surely that's too obvious? But St. Erth is not just moving into Stanyon Castle, he's become the prime catch of the neighborhood and a threat to Martin's interest in the lovely Marianne.

I picked up on the hints about whodunit much earlier in the audiobook, not because they were telegraphed but because when I listened to every word they were more apparent. The dialogue is wonderful, Heyer's dry humor is everywhere, and the cant wasn't overdone. The romance is just hinted at, barely, but the final scene is extremely satisfying. *happy sigh* show less

I found the beginning of The Quiet Gentleman so slow that I put it down and didn't pick it up again for at least a week. Gervase Frant, the new Earl of St Erth and possessor of some strange names, isn't exactly welcomed home by his stepmother and younger half-brother, and seems set to - predictably - fall in love with the local beauty, but the story didn't seem to be going anywhere.
And I didn't care about enough of the characters enough to be happy meandering around their immediate surrounds with them without much plot.

However, I persevered and I am really glad I did! The tension picked up and The Quiet Gentleman surprised me.

It isn't as humorous as some of Heyer's other novels, because it's a more serious story, but there are still show more some funny scenes. (Why aren't there any BBC-type adaptations of Heyers novels yet?) And there's character development, and characters showing awareness of Gothic tropes, and a mystery that didn't unfold as I expected. This is the best Heyer I've read in ages!

My favourite character is Miss Drusilla Morville, because she's so level-headed and resourceful, and that was satisfying to read about.

Not even when his lifeless body had been carried into the Castle had she conducted herself like a heroine of romance! Had she fainted at the sight of his blood-soaked raiment? Had she screamed? No! All she had done had been to direct Ulverston to do one thing, Turvey another, Chard to ride for the doctor, while she herself had done what lay within her power to staunch the bleeding.
At this point the prosaic [side of] Miss Morville intervened. "Just as well!" she said.
"He would have liked me better had I fallen into a swoon!" argued Drusilla.
"Nonsense! He would have been dead, for well you know that no one else had the least notion of what to do!" show less

Gervase Frant returns from fighting in the Napoleonic wars to inherit his seat as the Earl of Stanyon. His family is not at all happy to find that he is still alive as they all assumed he would die a horrible death and leave his half brother to inherit the estate. As his step mother says, in droll English fashion, serving at the front lines of a war is, to her mind, “most unhealthy” and it really was a pity that he didn’t die doing it. But, he is alive and his family now has to deal with a step brother heading the household and no one is happy about it. In fact someone is so unhappy that “accidents” begin to befall the new Earl and he soon realizes that not only does someone not want him at Stanyon, someone wants him dead.

This show more novel was a delightful mix of mystery, historical and regency romance all twirled into one with lots of intrigue, suspense, mystery and yes just a touch of romance making this a wonderful read.

I also liked the heroine was named Drusilla and wasn't necessarily considered a beauty. She was sensible, a little plump, short, and didn't have anything really to recommend her aside from her ability not to fall down into fits the moment something tense happens requiring a swoon. A rarity in the regency, unheard of in romance novels, but Georgette Heyer makes it work to comedic effect and makes you love the character all the more.

With Heyer's witty dialog, engaging and sparkling characters and her humorous portrayals of characters, repartee, and the situations that come out of them this was truly an engaging and wonderful read. It was a breath of fresh air after I was finally starting to get a little sick of regency romances. Not sick of them anymore! I think I might even be interested in giving her modern day mystery novels a whirl, if they are anything like The Quiet Gentleman I won't be disappointed.

Favorite Quote:
"Depend upon it, you are just the sort of girl a man would be glad to have for his sister! You don't even know how to swoon, and I daresay if you tried you would make wretched work of it, for all you have is common sense, and of what use is that, pray?"
-Drusilla Morville show less