Lady of Quality

Rating:
Summary: An Old Favorite
Review: As a teenager, this was one of the few Heyers I possessed. I loved the glimpse into a more elegant world. Over the years I have read it more times than I can count.

The plot and characters are well-described here, so I won't repeat that. They are as familiar as old friends.(I always feel a bit sorry for poor Maria, who means so well--but I'm not sure I'd want to live with her!) Annis can sometimes come across as hard, Mr. Carleton as overbearing, but the relationship between them I love: the shared sense of humor, the quick understanding. This is what a meeting of kindred spirits might actually be like--if it's not "mawkish" to say so;) Certainly I can picture them being happy together.

Fairly recently, I discovered Black Sheep, which parallels Lady of Quality in several ways: The older, self assured heroine who has no need to marry; the slightly disreputable hero; the younger girl; the old maid companion; the staid, disapproving brother. It's by no means a carbon copy of Lady of Quality, though the similarities are strong, but I tend to prefer this one.

One thing I have a problem with is Mr. Carleton's reputation as a womanizer, which is treated as an attractive feature by the author, if not by Annis' relations.

This doesn't quite wash with me. Not because I expect a man of his age to be celibate. It's the idea of buying women of the poorer class for use as "convenients" that bothers me. Remember, these are women he'd never introduce to women of his "own" class, let alone marry.

I mention it because it recurs again and again in Heyer novels, with the heroine always accepting it cheerfully. Granted, for women of Heyer's (or Annis') generation, being open-minded about this was their version of sexual liberation. I personally, however, would prefer a hero who has his affairs with women he considers equals.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and not too sweet
Review: I love this book. I pick it up every couple months (maybe even more often, if I'm in a crabby mood)and read through a couple chapters or even the whole book. The story is entertaining, the characters are definite individuals, and the reading is very enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Lively 'spinster' meets the rudest man in England!
Review: What is a lively, intelligent woman in her twenties to do, if she is bored by the various suitors who have shown an interest in her and she doesn't want to dwindle into a spinster aunt living with her brother and his family? Well, she sets up her own establishment, in Bath, much to the dismay of her family - her prosy brother immediately procures a distant cousin to act as companion and chaperone - or, more accurately, to bore Annis to tears!

So when, one day, our heroine, Annis Wychwood, encounters a young couple who have suffered a carriage accident, she is only too delighted to help. The young woman involved, Lucilla Carleton, is running away from the threat of an enforced marriage; her accomplice in this endeavour is none other than the young man her guardian wishes her to marry! Having got to the bottom of this story, Annis invites Lucilla to stay with her, and writes to Lucilla's aunt and guardian to obtain permission.

And these events result in Lucilla's *other* guardian, Oliver Carleton, commonly known as the rudest man in England and who, apparently, cares nothing for other people, descending on Annis to check her out and ascertain just what is happening. And at their first meeting sparks fly.

Though Annis knows she should be appalled by Oliver Carleton, she can't help but find him amusing. After all, he's the first man who seems capable of rousing her to temper, but then teasing her out of her annoyance; he makes her laugh, and she can talk to him for more than ten minutes at a time without being bored rigid. His disregard for convention - as it concerns everyone else but Lucilla, of course! - should shock her, but Annis finds that she's continually biting back laughter. The appalled reaction of her ever-tedious companion, and of her brother, only serve as even more of a contrast to the enjoyment she finds in Oliver's company.

As ever, Heyer has an array of entertaining secondary characters. You will roll your eyes at Maria, the companion; you'll smile at the earnest Ninian, Lucilla's childhood friend - and perhaps even agree with Annis's sister-in-law's prediction for their future; and you'll enjoy the Bath setting of this charming, amusing book. Definitely a Heyer classic!