From my blog, http://www.ladydisdainnotes.blogpsot.comTo me, Georgette Heyer’s novels are like the occasional luxuries you allow yourself to indulge in once in awhile. It has almost everything an Austen fangirl like myself can ask for: cravats, Hessian boots, tea, balls, coiffures, engaging heroes and quirky heroines. It’s like brain chocolate with a lot more effort put into it. Oh, so tempting and oh so fulfilling. Which is why, I tell myself, that I ended up reading Heyer’s Black Sheep when I should have been giving all my attention to the numerous assignments I was swamped under at the time. In any case, it proved to be a most entertaining diversion. The story begins with Abby Wendover arriving in a carriage at her home, which she shares with her elder sister, Selina and their niece, Fanny. Abby has been away for some time at another sister’s house, and as the two catch up on missed events the readers, too, come to know how Abby and Selina have both been assigned to act as wards for their very beautiful and equally flirtatious little niece. Abby, much to her surprise, comes to learn of her niece’s engagement to a Mr. Calverleigh, a gamester and fortune-hunter. Abby, nursing the best interests for her niece at heart, and increasing suspicions of Mr. Calverleigh, hopes to break off this engagement as smoothly and as quickly as possible. Abby who has not yet met her niece’s fiancé, is surprised to run across a disheveled, carefree, unassuming man who also goes by the name of Mr. Calverleigh. After much confusion, she is able to determine that he is in fact Mr. Miles Calverleigh, the uncle of her niece’s fiancé, Mr. Stacy Calverleigh, and she attempts to enlist his help in breaking off the two youngster’s unwise engagement. There is some difficulty in this, as Miles Calverleigh, being the black sheep of the family, and having been exiled to India for much of his boyhood, does not feel inclined to dabble in any family affairs. I loved this romance. I loved how well the hero and heroine got on with each other. While it’s amusing to read the typical hate-at-first-sight, Mr. Darcy and Lizzy-like encounters, it’s also refreshing to see two characters who immediately take to one another, complementing each other’s best qualities and so obviously and immediately enjoying one another’s companies. Their conversations were so quirky and humorous that I couldn’t help but laugh aloud through a lot of them. It’s a friendship that blossoms into love which is probably the best kind in my humble and limited (oh, how limited!) experience, anyway.Needless to say, Heyer possesses that knack for dialogue which so many amateur writers (including myself) aspire to; dialogue which is so simple in its realism, and manages to both move the plot as well as inject a bit of humor into the story, while continuing to develop the character’s personalities. The characters themselves are well-drawn in a believable and uncomplicated fashion. This is not a story that requires the reader to be emotionally invested in the plot or its characters – unless it’s investment through laughter, but I fail to understand how anyone could view that as a loss. Abby, as the heroine, is both appealing and admirable, in her ever pleasant-humored disposition and her desire to manage problems with as much subtlety and reason as possible. Miles Calverleigh, too, was an entertaining and unlikely hero; he’s not Heyer’s typically well-groomed and elegant rake. He’s described as ‘loose-limbed’ and his fashion sense is limited to throwing on whatever happens to be at hand. He’s the kind of man who probably doesn’t shave very frequently, which is, of course, no great loss because this reader loves her a man with some stubble. And a man in a coat and cravat (however carelessly tied) and Hessians, with stubble? Pretty much Regency hottie heaven for moi. Here’s an extract of the humorous meeting between Miss Abigail Wendover, and Mr. Miles Calverleigh, Snr. At this point, she is not aware that there are two Mr. Calverleighs. I’ve tried to cut out as much as possible, and though it’s still quite long, offers a tantalising, but small, glimpse of much of their easy banter:____ "Mr Calverleigh?""Yes?"If he was surprised, Abby was wholly taken aback. She had formed no veryprecise mental picture of him, but nothing she had been told had led her toexpect to be confronted with a tall, loose-limbed man, considerably olderthan she was herself, with harsh features in a deeply lined face, a deplorablysallow skin, and not the smallest air of fashion. He had been described to her as a young, handsome town-beau, and he was nothing of the sort. "Oh, I beg your pardon! I mistook—I mean,—I mean—Are you Mr Calverleigh?""Well, I've never been given any reason to suppose that I'm not!" he replied."You are? But surely—?" Recollecting herself, Abby broke off, and said, with allthe composure at her command: "I must tell you, sir, that I am MissWendover!"She observed, with satisfaction, that this disclosure exercised a powerful effectupon him. That disturbing smile vanished, and his black brows suddenlysnapped together. He ejaculated: "Miss who?""Miss Wendover," she repeated, adding, for his further enlightenment : "Miss Abigail Wendover!""Good God!" For a moment, he appeared to be startled, and then, as hiscuriously light eyes scanned her, he disconcerted her by saying: "I like that! Itbecomes you, too."Roused to indignation, Abby, losing sight of the main issue, allowed herself tobe lured into retorting: "Thank you! I am excessively obliged to you! It is anoutdated name, commonly used to signify a maidservant! You may like it,but I do not!" She added hastily: "Nor, sir, did I make myself known to you forthe purpose of discussing my name!""Of course not!" he said, so soothingly that she longed to hit him. "Do tell mewhat it is you do wish to discuss! I'll oblige you to the best of my power, eventhough I don't immediately understand why you should wish to discussanything with me. Forgive me!—I've no social graces!—but have I ever metyou before?""No," replied Abby, her lips curling in a contemptuous smile. "You have not,sir—as well you know! But you will scarcely deny that you are acquaintedwith another member of my family!""Oh, no! I won't deny that!" he assured her. "Won't you sit down?""I, sir," said Abby, ignoring this invitation, "am Fanny's aunt!""No, are you indeed? You don't look old enough to be anyone's aunt," heremarked.This piece of audacity was uttered in the most casual way, as though it hadbeen a commonplace instead of an impertinence. He was obviouslyfencing with her, and the sooner he was made to realize that such tacticswould not answer the better it would be. So she said coldly: "You must knowvery well that I am Fanny's aunt.""Yes, you've just told me so," he agreed."You knew it as soon as I made made myself known to you!" She checkedherself, determined not to lose her temper, and said, as pleasantly as shecould: "Come, Mr Calverleigh! let us be frank! I imagine you also know why Idid make myself known to you. You certainly contrived to ingratiate yourselfwith my sister, but you can hardly have supposed that you wouldfind all Fanny's relations so complaisant!"He was watching her rather intently, but with an expression of enjoymentwhich she found infuriating. He said: "No, I couldn't, could I? Still, ifyour sister likes me—!""My sister, Mr Calverleigh, was not aware, until I enlightened her, that you arenot, as she had supposed, a man of character, but one of—of an unsavouryreputation!" she snapped."Well, what an unhandsome thing to have done!" he said reproachfully."Doesn't she like me any more?"Abby now made the discovery that it was possible, at one and the same time,to be furiously angry, and to have the greatest difficulty in suppressing analmost irresistible desire to burst out laughing. After a severe struggle, shemanaged to say: "This— this is useless, sir! Let me assure you that you have nohope whatever of gaining the consent of Fanny's guardian to your proposal;and let me also tell you that she will not come into possession of herinheritance until she is five-and-twenty! That, I collect, is something you werenot aware of!""No," he admitted. "I wasn't!""Until that date," Abby continued, "her fortune is under the sole control of herguardian, and he, I must tell you, will not, under any circumstances, relinquishthat control into the hands of her husband one moment before her twentyfifthbirthday, if she marries without his consent and approval. I think itdoubtful, even, that he would continue to allow her to receive any part of theincome accruing from her fortune. Not a very good bargain, sir, do youthink?""It seems to be a very bad one. Who, by the way, is Fanny's guardian?""Her uncle, of course! Surely she must have told you so?" replied Abbyimpatiently."Well, no!" he said, still more apologetically. "She really had no opportunity todo so!""Had no—Mr Calverleigh, are you asking me to believe that you—youembarked on this attempt to recover your own fortune without firstdiscovering what were the exact terms of her father's will? That is coming itvery much too strong!""Who was her father?" he interrupted, regarding her from under suddenlyfrowning brows. "You talk of her inheritance—You don't mean to tell meshe's Rowland Wendover's daughter?""Yes—if it should be necessary for me to do so—which I strongly doubt!" saidAbby, eyeing him with hostility. "She is an orphan, and the ward of mybrother James.""Poor girl!" He studied her appraisingly. "So you are a sister of RowlandWendover! You know, I find that very hard to believe.""Indeed! It is nevertheless true—though in what way it concerns the point atissue—""Oh, it doesn't!" he said, smiling disarmingly at her. "Now I come to think of it,he had several sisters, hadn't he? I expect you must be the youngest of them.He was older than I was, and you are a mere child. By the by, when did hedie?"This question, put to her in a tone of casual interest, seemed to her to be soinapposite that the suspicion that he was drunk occurred to herWatching him closely, she said: "My brother died twelve years ago. I am his youngest sister, but you are mistaken in thinking me a mere child. I daresay you wish I were!""No, I don't. Why should I?" he asked, mildly surprised."Because you might find it easier to flummery me!"" But I don't want to flummery you!""Just as well!" she retorted. "You wouldn't succeed! I am more than eight-andtwenty, Mr Calverleigh!""Well, that seems like a child to me. How much more?" She was by now extremely angry, but for the second time she was obliged to choke back an involuntary giggle. She said unsteadily: "Talking to you is like—like talking to an eel!'"No, is it? I've never tried to talk to an eel. Isn't it a waste of time?She choked. ''Not such a waste of time as talking to you!" "You're surely not going to tell me that eels find you more entertaining than I do?" he said incredulously.That was rather too much for her: she did giggle, and was furious with herselffor having done so. "That's better!" he said approvingly.She recovered herself. "Let me ask you one question, sir! If I seem like a childto you, in what light do you regard a girl of seventeen?""Oh, as a member of the infantry!"This careless reply made her gasp. Her eyes flashed; she demanded: "How olddo you think my niece is, pray?" "Never having met your niece, I haven't anotion!""Never having—But—Good God, then you cannot be Mr Calverleigh! Butwhen I asked you, you said you were!""Of course I did! Tell me, is there a nephew of mine at large in Bath?""Nephew? A—a Mr Stacy Calverleigh!""Yes, that's it. I'm his Uncle Miles."___I was pretty much chuckling aloud through most of this amusing little exchange. Not only is Abby’s confusion amusing (it’s almost farcical in a Shakespearean style with the confused identity), but so is Miles’ maddening way of answering her questions without actually answering them. If anyone’s in search of a light and entertaining read, with much opportunities for chuckling to yourself, then this is definitely worth a read.
I have an embarrassing confession. I’m so excited I’m giddy like a school girl, and I’m also apparently dumb like one. Until recently, I’d never heard of Georgette Heyer. See, told you – dumb. I had no idea of how many books she’d written on Regency England, about 60 I think, and I, who claim to love an excellent classic historical romance, have never read even one of her books. Not – one. Have I been living in a hole these last 3 decades, stuck in an Austen, Bronte rut the size and scope of my pan-handled state? And so I would still be if not for my occasional scanning of the reading bloggernacle where I recently found a lone review of this book, Black Sheep. Be still my beating heart. This is an excellent book. And I almost took it back to the library unread, shameful, wicked girl!Miss Abigail Wendover is our 28-year-old heroine who lives in Bath with her much older, often thinks herself ill sister, Selina and their 18-year-old ward and niece Fanny. Abby is quite settled in her life, where she is both nurse and confidant to her immediate family. Romance is the last thing on her mind. All remains unchanged until young Fanny thinks herself in love with a scandalous fortune hunter, a much older Mr. Stacy Calverleigh, and it falls to Abby to make Fanny see the light of this man’s true nature. When Fanny and Selina remain unmoved in their undying devotion to this man, Abby, who fears there might be an elopement at any moment, enlists the help of an unlikely ally, Mr. Miles Calverleigh, the black sheep of the family and uncle of Stacy who has just returned from banishment in India. He, however has not the temperament or desire to become involved in the situation, but instead turns his attentions toward Abby, who secretly knows she’s met her match, but outright refuses to admit it all costs.I really liked this book. It was written in the style of Jane Austen, but was much easier to read. Heyer has borrowed much from that great writer but in the end I couldn't have cared a wit. While the main characters were clever and sharp as a tack, it was the secondary characters as well, the nosy elderly neighbors, the friends of the family that gave this book real depth. As I said I’ve not read any of Heyer’s other books so I’ve nothing to compare it to, but for a few days, I was able to escape back in time. No detail was left undone. I felt I was in Bath in the 1800’s. Miles Calverleigh now ranks very high on my list of outstanding male leads, and the ending – well, perfection, sigh... Truly, I can’t get back to the library fast enough.
What do You think about Black Sheep (2004)?
Ah, Georgette Heyer! How did I make it into my twenties without reading a single one of your charming novels? Really, I don't know how that happened. Searching out other stories set in the Regency era would have been the next logical step after exhausting Austen's works as a teenager. Although Austen and Heyer are very different when it comes to style (which makes sense considering the different eras from which they wrote) and depth – one goes deep into social commentary while telling an absorbing tale, and the other stays delightfully light while spinning an entertaining romance – both are very enjoyable. Jane Austen was the better writer (and will always be one of my favorite authors), but Heyer composed such witty dialog that I don't feel like I'm lowering myself too much when I pick one up. :)The characters in Black Sheep stole the show. It wasn't an “exciting” story at all, but the lovable (and despicable) people – both main and secondary – that appeared throughout were wonderful. I adored Abigail and Miles' banter and shared sense of humor. Their conversations were definitely my favorite parts, but reading about Fanny's silly, love-struck blindness, Stacy's detestable motives and slimy personality, James' absurd notions of family pride, and Selina's amusing (and slightly Mrs. Bennet-esque) hypochondriac tendencies certainly added much enjoyment to the experience.
—Tayler McCrery
I'm going to run out of Heyer romances to read in no time at this rate, but I can't quite bring myself to regret it. I'm going to be talking like a Heyer novel, too, and while my girlfriend might regret it, it'd amuse me far too much to pass up the chance to annoy her. Black Sheep isn't the best of Heyer's books, I think, nor my absolute favourite, but it's as fun as you'd expect and I'd probably rank it reasonably highly.I liked it a lot that the main heroine was an older woman -- not old by our standards, of course, but thought to be pretty much 'on the shelf' by her contemporaries! -- and the main hero an older man: Heyer doesn't seem to have got stuck in any particular rut when it comes to her romances. There's a world of difference between impulsive, inexperienced Horry (of The Inconvenient Marriage) and Abigail Wendover, who knows her own mind and recognises other people's motives.As usual, I enjoyed the banter between the couple (something which is, to a large extent, lacking in The Convenient Marriage, which might explain why I liked it quite a bit less) and the end was very satisfying.
—Nikki
This is a charming Regency romance and it was just what I needed after reading several depressing books. Georgette Heyer was known for meticulously researching the historical details of Jane Austen's England, and the reader gets immersed into that period.Black Sheep reminded me a bit of Persuasion, because it was set in Bath and it involved a 28-year-old woman, which was almost a spinster in those days. The story involves Abby Wendover, a well-to-do woman who is concerned that a scandalous fortune-hunter, Stacy Caverleigh, is after her niece, Fanny. Meanwhile, Abby meets Stacy's uncle, who was also considered a black sheep in the family, and finds herself attracted to him. What happens next will be of little surprise to anyone who has read a Regency romance.I am quite contented to know that Georgette Heyer wrote more than 50 books, and I've only read a handful of them. I have many more charming days of reading ahead of me."The melancholy truth is that one's first love rarely bears the least resemblance to one's last, and most enduring love! He is the man one marries, and with whom one lives happily ever after!"
—Diane Librarian
