Abigail Wendover, on the shelf at 28, is kept busy when her niece falls head over heels in love with a handsome fortune hunter and Abbie is forced into a confrontation with his scandalous uncle.Miles Calvery is the black sheep of his family- enormously rich from a long sojourn in India, disconcertingly blunt and brash. But he turns out to be Abbie’s most important ally in keeping her niece out of … niece out of trouble.
But how can he possibly be considered eligible when she has worked so hard to rebuff his own nephew’s suit for her niece? And how can she possibly detach from an ailing sister who needs her? This is a heroine who has to be, literally, swept off her feet . . .
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A bit of a throw-back mood for this one: my favorite Heyer novel. It’s funny, romantic, a bit old-school madcap but thoroughly delightful!
It has been a sparkling delight to listen in on this amusing Regency comedy by Georgette Heyer as told by the fabulous Barbara Leigh-Hunt.
Abigail Wendover, a lady of average beauty, comfortable finances, and an avid wit is living contentedly with her oldest sister, Selena, in Bath and helping to rear her sweet, but precocious niece when young Fanny falls head over heels for a suave bounder who is after the heiress’ fortune. Peace is cut up as Fanny determinedly refuses to listen to wise council and plots with Calverleigh to defy her relations because they thwart her romantic hopes. Into this situation comes Miles Calverleigh, the black sheep uncle.
Miles’ ramshackle dress and past reputation don’t endear him in polite Bath society, but his easy ways and quiet generosity bring him loyal friends in some quarters. His teasing and with that matches Abbie’s own make him nearly irresistible except he refuses to butt in to the business of her niece and his nephew even if he doesn’t care about the oily Stacey. Miles is shrewd and knowing. He makes no apologies about his past or his interest in the vivacious Abbie who is nothing like her other staid Wendover relations. She knows she should not encourage him, but she has slowly begun to anticipate his appearances in her life even if she can’t persuade him to help her dear Fanny.
Black Sheep was a sparkling tale from beginning to end. Miles and Abbie were a shining pair and exchanged the wittiest dialogue. They both lit up their scenes apart and even moreso together. Miles is indifferent to the pressures of family or society’s rules though he abides by the latter to some extent. Abbie on the other hand slowly learns to not care so much about pleasing her family’s expectation for her or caring if her actions that are harming no one are the subject of gossip. They were great together.
Miles’ nephew Stacey is selfish through and through and Fanny gets quite willful about having her own way. She sees herself as the heroine in her own romance novel and it gets her into trouble. It was clever fun to see how the least expected person and moment came to the rescue.
Barbara Leigh Hunt is an actress I’ve enjoyed in a few films and TV adaptions and showed a flair for the comedic so it was fun to have her narrate a Georgette Heyer rom com. She did fabulous with men and women, older and younger though I think her voice will take some getting used to for some.
All in all, it was highly entertaining and I had a great time listening to Miles charm Abbie and Abbie fret over her niece as she fell in love. I can definitely recommend this one to those who enjoy light and sweet Regency romance.
Georgette Heyer is a family favorite. My mom introduced us to her books, and we can talk for an hour at a time about her characters, the plots, and quote lines.
Black Sheep is a favorite for me; Miles & Abby are awesome. He’s funny, sarcastic, and much more realistic than a lot of the “leading males” in romance.