Long famous for the historical romances that entranced the teenage girls of earlier generations, Georgette Heyer turned her hand several times to whodunits in the English countryside. Detection is Unlimited when every delightfully drawn citizen of a tiny village offers Chief Inspecter Hemingway theories as to who murdered the socially pushy newcomer. Supects, humour, and romance abound and in the end, Hemingway sees through the false clues and solves the problem with his "special flair."

To my way of thinking this is Georgette Heyers best mystery. I am not usually a mystery reader but I like her gothic romances and I thought I would try this one. She has such a good sense of humor and this book did not disappoint me. I have since read all of her mysterys that I could find. In this one Heyer takes one crabby bachelor uncle, one sweetness and light uncle, an actress niece and her long-haired playwrite, a sarcastic nephew and his blond bimbo fiance, one friend of the family, one business partner, and mixes them with a Christmas party. Out comes an impossible murder. I never figured out "who done it" until the very end. Heyers Inspector Hemingway is a great character and I would know him in a minute if I met him. Georgette Heyer at her best, it's well worth the reading if you can find it.

Georgette Heyer was extremely fond of the lethargic, intelligent, sarcastic male character; it was inevitable that she will make such one into a hero in one of her novels. Both the hero and the heroine are extremely appealing characters; the plot is rather simplistic for a Heyer novel (even for her romance), but the characterization of the hero (see above) and of Penelope more than make up for it. Penelope is indeed one of my favorite Heyer females; she is intelligent, charming and innocent, and is believably appealing for such a character as the hero to be (finally) a woman whom he can fall in love with. A gender switch confusion adds to the fun (though it's not made too much of). Strongly recommended.

This was the very first Georgette Heyer book I ever read and probaly the best. I fell in love with her strong yet real characters. They can make you forget your ho-hum life and transport you to Regancy England with the turning of a few pages, where everything and everyoone is beautiful. This book made me go to all 9 libraries in my county looking for more. Thank you whomever decided to bring Georgette Heyer back to print. If you love a good romance and do not want to read a story filled with more sex then story I recommend this book you will be hooked too.

Georgette Heyer's "The Corinthian" starts off deceptively simply. One of London's foremost Corinthians [fashionable sportsmen], Sir Richard Wyndham, is walking home drunk, and brooding despondently on his forthcoming betrothal. Suddenly, from an upper window, a young stripling drops into his arms. He quickly discovers that the young stripling is a actually girl dressed as a boy who is escaping from her Aunt's house and determined to return to find her childhood sweetheart.

Pen Creed, the cross-dressing heroine of the piece can't dissuade Sir Richard from coming along with her and she happily leads him into a labyrinth of problems. From that point Sir Richard is thrown into a series of increasingly twisted, confusing and hilarious events. In between stolen diamond necklaces, suspect looking pick-pocketing coves, an eloping couple and a pursuing Aunt this has to rate as one of Heyer's more complex plots. Numerous stories converge and overlap - and to try to explain it would be a bit like trying to explain the plot of the Marriage of Figaro - impossible.

Needless to say Sir Richard's wit and good humour along with Pen's sense of the ridiculous coupled with her solemnly-uttered naievetes makes this one of Heyer's funniest and most enjoyable books

Its an easy read and make be a good introduction to Heyer for first time readers.

This is one of the earlier Heyer romances and, while it displays many hallmarks of her signature style -- the language, the references to current styles, the immersion in the period -- and begins delightfully, the parts don't quite come together. Lord Rule makes a charming hero but, in the end, Horry is too childish to make a satisfying romantic heroine. The material -- young bride with improvident brother tries to salvage her whirlwind marriage to an older man -- is handled more successfully in April Lady. A more satisfying child bride is Hero Wantage of Friday's Child (a book which boasts one of the great opening scenes of all time, plus a terrific screwball finale). Read this one for the hero, not the heroine.

I have read and re-read all of my Georgette Heyers every few years since 1973,and shall probably continue to do so for the next 30 or more years.Her dry,acerbic heroes,spirited heroines, and the not-too-bright characters who confuse everything and hence contribute to the plots,all add up to a great read.

I have a long list of Heyer favourites,but the Convenient Marriage tops the list.The Earl of Rule is a perfect hero,Horry isn't such a perfect heroine but very likeable all the same,but the stars of the book would have to be Horry's brother Pelham, and his singularly inept friend Sir Roland Pommeroy,who gamely try,and fail,to rescue Horry from her various scrapes.

Highlights for me are the drunken scene in Half-Moon Street and subsequent confusion at Lord Lethbridge's house;also when Pelham,Sir Roland,and Captain Heron take to the high toby,particularly when Sir Roland attempts to buy a horse from a very irate victim;and when Sir Roland invites Rule to a card party.This last is worth a quote:-
(Sir Roland has gone to Rule's house in a desperate bid to keep him away from a party in Vauxhall Gardens,using a card party,for which he needs a fourth player,as his excuse)
'Now don't say you cannot come!Can't play whisk with only three people,my lord.Most awkward situation!'
'I am sure it must be,'agreed his lordship sympathetically.'And I expect you have tried everyone else.'
'Oh everyone!'said Sir Roland."Can't find a fourth at all.Do beg of your lordship not to fail me!'
.....The Earl appeared to meditate.'I am of course very fond of whisk.'
Sir Roland breathed a sigh of relief.'Knew I could count on you!Beg you will dine first-five o'clock.'
'Who are your other guests?'inquired his lordship.
'Well,to tell you the truth-not quite sure yet,'said Sir Roland confidentially.'Bound to find someone glad of a game.Have it all fixed by five o'clock.'

and a stammering heroine! As always, Heyer's dialogue is spot on, her characterisation warm and powerful, and her characters very strongly drawn. The Convenient Marriage is considered in some circles to be one of the finest ever examples of a romance that portrays a flawed and unorthodox heroine, with its portrayal of the stammering, plain Horatia, and her marriage of convenience to the extremely handsome Earl of Rule, thus releasing her sister from any obligation to marry Rule. How Rule discovers the truth of his heart, and that he loves his funny, extravagant little wife, makes for moving reading, whilst Heyer gives us abundant humour in her portrayal of the mincing, petulant dandiprat Crosby Drelincourt; and in the escapades of Horatia. It is all the greatest of great good fun, and one of Heyer's most easily accessible books - its readability, exuberance and humour make it an excellent book for a potential introduction to the world of Georgette Heyer. However, this book is NOT a Regency Romance, but a Georgian Romance, and if you don't think it's as historically accurate as she usually is, consider that it is set in 1770 - about 50 years earlier than usual! It's still a lot of fun.

I'm an avid Georgette Heyer fan, & I'll say this of her-among all the Regency authors, she's the best!! With her its not just romance alone, but humour,sarcasm,wit all get combined to produce a novel to captivate the reader. This book tells about the vivacious heroine Judith Taverner & her battle(of wits)against Lord Worth. It also has a little pinch of mystery- who wants Peregrine dead? But if i tell u the answer to that, u won't read it, will you? so i'll keep mum, & go ahead, buy this book. You won't regret it!

I have read all of Georgette Heyer's books, and Regency Buck remains my favorite -- after a few dozen readings! The mysterious plot, the wonderful dialogue, the splendid Regency settings, the chemistry between the impulsive heroine and the sardonic hero -- all these add up to a Regency masterpiece and the ultimate rainy night comfort read! (I did not, however, enjoy the audio-book version read by Flo Gibson; she makes all the characters -- even the magnificent Lord Worth -- sound odiously prissy).

The antagonism between the %th Earl of Worth and his ward, Judith, starts off early in the book. An unfortunate meeitng, and bad first impressions. All this of course doesn't seem so good when Judith's brother seems to be the target of some conspiracy. Who profits most from his death? a dark horse of a cousin, and whoever weds Judith. Does the Earl have any dark designs? I can't give this one away. It's a read-it-yourself. Of course the conversation sparkles, the characters are real, and the descriptions stand before you. Cant miss it.

This is one of Heyer's most complicated murder mysteries. It is absolutely stuffed full of red-herrings.

As usual Heyer takes us to a classic English village, sometime in the 1930's, and into the home of Ermintrude, her daughter Vicki, Ermintrude's second husband Wally Carter and Wally's young relative - Miss Cliffe. Add to that mysterious Russian Princes, strange goings on in various shrubberies and unexpected shooting and you do have a very nice base for a mystery in the usual ironic Heyer-style.

In classic Heyer way she also mixes in a little romance, but in very un-Heyer-like move she does a switch in the romance which never ceases to annoy me each time I read it. In the beginning we are made to think that Mary Cliffe is the lead heroine and Vicki, daughter of the singularly eccentric Ermintrude, as the flaky it-girl. Somewhere in mid-book things suddenly do a volte-face and we are expected to accept Vicki as the heroine....anyway...

I don't know that this is one of Heyer's best mysteries, I rather like Behold Here's Poison - best - but it does deliver in wit and substance. It also offers a very satisfying mystery to try to work out.

Georgette Heyer was considered an excellent mystery writer when she began writing her stories in the 1930's. No wind of blame was written in 1939 and tells a neat story of murder and social manners of the time. There is an inspector and his superintendent, many clues spread throughout the story and a little love story all rolled into one. A great read if you enjoy English village mysteryies.

I love Georgette Heyer, and this book just didn't do it for me. The writing is still great, that can't be denied, utterly charming descriptions and dialogue. I think what got to me was the utter lack of romance here. There weren't even hints to suggest that a romance might be brewing, and I really felt that I was just going on faith that this was indeed a romance novel and I would be rewarded in the end for my perseverence. And I was, I suppose, but I really didn't get any warm and fuzzy feeling out of it. I wasn't reading it because I wanted to read a mystery novel, so by the time she got to the denouement, I was so starved for romance that I couldn't have cared less about the resolution of that part of the plot.

In short, unless you are a die-hard fan of her style, I wouldn't go out of my way to obtain this one.

This was the quote on the back of the book. The story itself begins in a decidedly Gothic fashion, with a seemingly dark, irascible hero, a heroine swept along by fate and a malevolent drunkard who plays her short-lived husband. The stage is set; some papers are missing that must not be allowed to fall into Bonaparte's hands and of course, they're probably secreted in the heroine's new home.

Some familiar personalities make their appearance in this novel; the hero's younger brother is modelled along most younger brothers/cousins, such as Ludovic of The Talisman Ring and Richmond of The Unknown Ajax. Basil, the sneaking and probably up-to-no-good fop is practically the twin of the evil Beau from The Talisman Ring. In fact, this story is a lot like the Talisman Ring, only without the guffaw-inducing nature of that worthy book and with a tamer ending. All in all, a good mystery infused with a lot of humour.

As a long term, well as long as possible at 16, fan of Heyer regency novels, I love the Reluctant Widow. Admittedly the romance between Eleanor and Edward is not nearly as fleshed out as in her other novels because of the focus on the mystery, but I enjoy it anyway. This is mainly because of Nicky. Nicky is a wonderful character and one of the funniest Georgette ever created, along with Rupert in These Old Shades. The book is a delightfully funny and mysterious romp and I heartily recommend it to any Regency lover.

I still love to read Georgette Heyers books in between other,more meaty books.I own every one written by her and have had this collection for many years. This story is a particularly light weight but still engaging story about a "spinster" of 29 years,thought to be well on the shelf and destined to be just an unpaid servant to her family. She befriend a beautiful,17 year old,just out of the schoolroom.The characters are beautifully drawn and a delicious love story evolves between the older woman and the handsome Sir Gareth Ludlow.Georgette Heyer conveys wonderful love stories without naked bedroom scenes and tasteless lust.

I just read this book 2 days ago, & I must say, it could have been a little better. This book features the impressive, but kind Sir Gareth Ludlow, the beautiful, spirited & wildly imaginative Amanda, & the quiet, docile Lady Hester Theale. The adventure begins, when Sir Gareth, on his way to Brancaster (Lady Hester's house), comes across Amanda, who accounts her tale of woe. Sir Gareth knows it is his duty to restore her to her grandfather, but she refuses to supply either her grandfather's name or her lover's name. So, he is forced to take her to Brancaster, where it is his desire to offer for Lady Hester. Lady Hester, if I may take leave to mention, is entirely lacking in looks. And moreover, she is 29 yrs of age. Almost an old maid. It is not on account of love, that Sir Gareth proposes to her, but in order to satisfy his sister, by producing a heir. What happens after he reaches Brancaster & the adventures which he encounters, are best left to be read. I won't spoil the story by relating all the adventures. Instead, I'll stop here, & allow you to read it by yourself. It's quite a nice book, if you can get over the wild-spirited Amanda, (I personally couldn't stand any more of they fairy tales which she created), & the some-what rushed ending.

In Sprig Muslin, Georgette Heyer stands romantic convention on its ear. The true heroine of the piece is NOT the beautiful, tempestuous young ingenue, but instead a shy, quiet "spinster" whose humor and courage gradually emerge as the ingenious plot unfolds. Sprig Muslin was not one of my favorite Heyer novels the first time I read it, but I have come to treasure it more with each reading.

I adore Georgette Heyer and snapped this one up with much anticipatory glee. At last, I thought, someone will give this author the respect and scholarly attention she has long deserved. Instead I found the author gave up on scholarship somewhere around the second page of Acknowledgments and instead settled for a compendium of previously published reviews. Yes, there are several rarely published short stories (although not "previously unpublished" ones, since I had already read them) and a few republished pieces by other authors. Certainly if a newish reader wants an extended bibliography of Miss Heyer's works and doesn't mind the having plot endings routinely given away without warning this book might help set the chronology straight. I can't help feeling cheated by paying for something I could have well researched on my own. The one bright spot is that my disgust sent me back to the bookshelves to read "These Old Shades."

Georgette Heyer officianados will want this book. I'm talking about those of us who have a complete list of all her titles and notes about the ones we liked. There isn't much bio on this exceptionally private author, and this effort focuses on a history of critical reviews of Heyer's work. But, it also contains several unavailable shorts published in the 1920s, as well as excerpts from the out-of-print 1998 biography of Heyer by Jane Aiken Hodge, and a 1996 print interview with Heyer's son, Sir Richard Rougier, that are worth the price in themselves. Highly recommended.

Georgette Heyer gets no respect. Reviled by both feminists and literati, her work has been consigned to a small neighborhood in the literary ghetto that is romance fiction. What a sorry fate for a woman whose craftsmanlike prose, unerring eye for the absurd, and genuine wit have delighted loyal readers for 80 years! Heyer is often compared to Jane Austen, as both wrote novels set in the Regency. This isn't really a valid comparison. Austen wrote ironic comedies of manners about her contemporaries. Heyer--who could sling irony with the best of them, when she chose to--wrote what Graham Greene referred to as "entertainments." Although her historical scholarship was formidable, the world Heyer created in her novels probably bears little resemblance to the real Regency. Heyer is more usefully compared to P.G. Wodehouse, a master farceur who created an immensely pleasant fictitious universe. (I've always been at a loss to understand why Wodehouse is remembered with such critical affection while Heyer is routinely dismissed. I have a sneaking suspicion this is because Heyer's audience is composed mainly of women; her work therefore cannot be concerned with the important, weighty issues that so exercised Wodehouse.)

Mary Fahnstock-Thomas's Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective is a long overdue compendium of articles written about this influential yet underappreciated writer. Fahnstock-Thomas has gathered and organized 50 years worth of book reviews, articles, critical writings, short stories, obituaries, and remembrances into this volume. (Among them is A.S. Byatt's excellent 1969 essay "Georgette Heyer is a Better Writer Than You Think." Ms. Byatt has persistently championed Heyer; I can only surmise that she has been summarily tossed out of the Intellectuals Guild for her crimes.) Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective is a welcome addition to the bookshelves of not only the Heyer addict, but to anyone interested in 20th century fiction and good writing. It is beautifully published in softcover by Prinnyworld Press, a small private publishing house (reason enough to purchase this book--support the small publisher!). Despite her modest claims to the contrary, Ms. Fahnstock-Thomas's scholarship is also formidable. To paraphrase Nigel Tufnel, Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective goes all the way up to eleven.

Leave this way down on your list of Heyer's books to read. Heyer's usual virtues of good writing and period detail can't make up for characters who are unpleasant (Rotherham), unlikeable (Serena), or just boring (everyone else, with the exception of Mrs Floore). The story is as slow as Serena finds life after her father's death. Read "Black Sheep" instead for a fun tale about romance in Bath.

On the whole I enjoy this story, although I can see why some readers have a hard time with Serena and Rotherham. I can take them because they are both decent people at heart, in spite of their faults. And their clashes of temper can be fun to watch! The one thing I find really unacceptable is the scene where Serena berates Emily. If you've read the book, you know the scene I mean. (Rotherham also berates Gerard, but he has a purpose. Serena means it.)

I also like the romance that blossoms between Fanny and the man she least expects.

Heyer makes one of her favorite points with both couples, one that is probably snobbish but has some truth to it, about the importance of similar "background" (class).

Serena and Rotherham were both born to the ruling class. Through the story the reader sees that Serena will never be happy outside that world. It's too much a part of who she is.

Hector, Serena's old flame, was born to the more modest rank of "landed gentry" and doesn't want her life. Neither does Fanny, Serena's friend. The life Hector can give her is exactly the kind that makes her happy.

In Heyer's eyes, it is this clash of background and values that makes Hector and Serena wrong for each other. It is the similarity of background/ values that makes both couples right for each other.

The study of Regency manners here is rewarding if you pay attention.

Serena and her Aunt Teresa are a portrait of aristocratic ladies: how they spoke, thought, and gossiped, and what they gossiped about. Fanny, Hector and his mother show the manners and values of the landed middle class, Jane Austen's level of society. Mrs. Floore and Ned Goring represent the up-and-coming merchant class (though Mrs. Floore is really more caricature.)

One problem is that GH makes many elliptical references to political events of the time. Her original readers probably knew what she meant. For the modern reader it's frustrating--she tells just enough to make you curious. It needs footnotes.

The story is well written and plotted. Though it is complicated, everything is kept tangled until the end. Not as easy to do as it seems. It's worth reading for the portrait of Regency life, and several vivid characters, even if you don't like Serena and Rotherham.

In spite of the negative reviews posted prior to this one, I must give this book a thumbs up. I've read this story several times, and each time I gathered new details and discovered a funny line I didn't remember from the previous reading.

Heyer's style of writing, as usual, is sophisticated and informative. The details in any of her books make you inquire more deeply into the period of which she writes.

Personally, I LOVED Rotherham and Serena -- perhaps it's because I'm a bit tempermental myself. The clash between them and eventual realization of their respect and love is amusing. The twist in plot by the end makes for an endearing read. The reader does feel a sort of short-circuited denoument to the story by the time Rotherham and Serena realize their love - one awaits more - though it's not necessarily a drawback (Austen's own writings reflect similar tendencies).

It is not a fast-paced story, but watching the love develop in this story makes me think of a dawn. The sun rising over the horizon has never been a quick event, though it is always a beautiful setting with incredible shades of color to add the most intriguing character to our day.