I received these books via Sourcebook. I think that I read them in September 2011, and I finally have time to review them.
If you are interested in reading of Heyer's works, Sourcebooks is offering e-versions of the novels until August 20th for $2.99!
Venetia and A Quiet Gentleman deals with two main characters who feel restricted by their roles in English society.
Venetia is a 22 year old orphan. She is taking care of the estate until her older brother returns from war. The younger but sickly brother is about to start classes in Oxford. She moves to London when her sister-in-law and her mother (whom she first met when the ladies knocked on the door) arrive at the estate.
A suitor visits Venetia in London to propose marriage. The aunt advises her to "it would be better to marry a man one positively disliked than to remain a spinster ... even with a disagreeable husband, ... you would be a woman of consequence, and you would have all the comfort of your children, which you know, is a female's greatest interest - and in any event, Mr. Yardley is not disagreeable!"
Of course, Venetia follows her head and manages to find a purpose in her life in the next few years!
Gervase Frant, 7th Earl of St. Erth, or The Quiet Gentleman, could be Venetia's friend. He was expected to die at Waterloo, but to the dismay of his stepmother and half-brother, he survived and returned to the estate in Lincolnshire.
The estate was a mish-mash of styles: fortress, rococo, "Gothick", and Palladium. Each earl had added his preferred style to the home.
Frant finally has a party and wants to dance with Marianne. But she was told by her mother to just do the quadrille, not a waltz; she didn't want to have the "delible stigma of being a fast girl" !!!
This novel also is a mystery. Someone wants to kill Frant. Marianne is injured a couple of times while trying to save Frant.
I need to buy more Heyer books; I learn more about the times, and the roles of women and have fun reading. It will be a great Christmas present to myself! But, I want the paperback versions.
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