Customer Reviews

Black Sheep

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's always good to return to Georgette Heyer once in a while. I hadn't read Black Sheep for several years, and it made a delightful read. As I'm getting a little older myself, I'm coming to appreciate, and much prefer, Heyer's older heroines, such as Abby here and Serena in Bath Tangle.

Abby, supposedly on the shelf at 28, is certainly no stereotypical maiden aunt, despite the fact that she has a niece and is unmarried. Having been brought up in a strict family, she finds that propriety irks her; and yet, ironically, she is faced with having to instil a sense of propriety in her impulsive 17-year-old niece.

For Fanny, the niece, has fallen in love with a man everyone - except Fanny and Abby's older sister Selina - can see is no more than a fortune-hunter. But Fanny simply won't listen to reason, and Abby begins to fear that she'll elope with Mr Stacey Calverleigh. But then, a stranger appears on the scene: Mr *Miles* Calverleigh, Stacey's uncle.

Miles Calverleigh is, apparently, the black sheep of the title; having been guilty of too many indiscretions when young - including that of an abortive elopement with the woman who became Fanny's mother! - was sent to the Indies. There, he worked hard and made his fortune, but on his arrival in Bath he does not appear to have lost any of his disregard for convention. He is utterly careless of propriety, and insists that he feels no sense of obligation to family - therefore he refuses to help Abby in any way by warning off his nephew.

Despite his unhelpfulness, and his habit of teasing her outrageously, Abby finds herself drawn to Miles...

Heyer's inimitable witty style is in evidence, as ever, in this book. There is some hilarious dialogue, as well as very acute observations on human nature. Her secondary characters are, as always, very well drawn, and her cameo characters wonderful caricatures of the type of people we all meet: gossips, pinch-purses, the upright type who disapprove of anything and everything. And who could avoid falling in love with Miles?

A side note - I am appalled that the editorial review above managed to spell the main characters' names incorrectly.

The first time I read this novel, I wasn't too impressed. It's true that Heyer does use Black Sheep's plot (or one VERY similar to it) in another book, Lady of Quality. However, I think Black Sheep accomplishes much more than Lady of Quality and is one of Heyer's best works, both in terms of romance and in terms of memorable characters. My second reading of the book caused me to fall in love with it. In my opinion, Black Sheep is probably the most romantic of Heyer's novels because the couple falls in love early on in the novel, and you can then see how they progress. Miles Calverleigh is wonderful, and his humor, together with Abigail's, is spot on. If you are a Heyer fan, this is certainly on a Must Read book list, and if you are Regency England fan, then Heyer is a Must Read author list.

Black Sheep is very likely my favorite of Miss Heyer's remarkable books. Abigail is proper, but not cardboard - responsible, but not hidebound. She is the perfect foil for Miles and his complete disregard for the manners and perceived obligations of his class. They are entirely enchanting in their irresistible attraction to each other; and, of course, Miss Heyer's dialogue is deliciously funny. If you like Heyer, you'll love this one (I enjoy it more each time I read it!).

Black Sheep was the book I read on a long haul return flight recently. Exactly what was needed to keep me interested and amused whilst enduring the flight.

I have always had a soft spot for this novel because Miles Calverleigh is someone, when I was 16, I was desparate to find. Yes, and then keep him all to myself. Georgette Heyer does the Rake better than anyone who has ever tried to do it. Although Damerel in Venetia is my all time favourite Rake, Miles Calverleigh, with his sense of humour, his relaxed attitude towards life and his acute insight into human foibles is amusing, admirable and fanciable. The ruthless way he sets up his despicable nephew, Stacy, is hilarious.

Black Sheep is written with Heyer's usual flair and insight, the dialogue is first class and the heroine, Abigail Wendover, is the sort you'd like as a friend.

Read it - read it and see how the regency genre ought to be and realise how few writers since Heyer have managed to achieve it!

"Black Sheep" is not one of Heyer's most well-known novels, but in my opinion, it is one of her best. The dialogue is sharp and snappy, the characters engaging, and the setting of Bath offers a nice change of pace from the customary London. And then there is Miles Calverleigh -- not your typical "rake", but still wonderfully irreverant and in possession of more than his fair share of charm.

Particularly appealing to me is the fact that this novel doesn't end in a conventionally neat and tidy way (even though the ending will have you gasping in surprise and delight!). We're left with the sense that the couple will still have a few hurdles to cross, but cross them they will. :)

Miles Calverleigh vies with Hugo Darracott (of The Unknown Ajax) for the title of my favorite Heyer hero. The novel takes place in Bath, a spa town. If Regency London is like New York, Bath is like Palm Springs -- lots of retirees of good social standing. The pace is quieter, but hardly rural. So this is hardly the place for a man who snaps his fingers at society's opinions, but that's where Miles winds up. Miss Abigail Wendover is one of the lights of Bath society -- beautiful, well-off and well-bred; her family is very distinguished. She lives with her silly and clinging elder sister and her affectionate niece Fanny. Alas, Fanny has fallen under the spell of a fortune hunter, and Abigail hunts for a way to wean Fanny of the attachment without ruining their good relationship. Meanwhile, Abigail herself is falling under the spell of the fortune hunter's uncle Miles, who appreciates (nay, encourages!) her deplorable tendency to levity. He has no patience with the social restraints that Abigail has accepted, but how can she throw over society's approval without condoning Fanny's determination to do the same?

Please note that the author of this book is Georgette Heyer - I have no idea who Barbara Leigh-Hunt it, who is listed as the author by Amazon.

There are two bad boys here, both of them Calverleighs, but the younger, Stacey, is really bad. He's a fortune-hunter who is trying to con Fanny, a young heiress, into an elopement. The older, Miles, is Stacey's uncle, lately returned from his banishment to India, twenty years before, for trying to elope with Celia, who later became Fanny's mother!

But Miles had really loved his Celia, unlike Stacey, who doesn't care a bit for Fanny. Then there is Abby, Fanny's aunt, who is only 28 but acting as her guardian. Abby has to try to extricate Fanny from Stacey's lures, but since she is falling under the spell of the extremely funny Miles, it's a difficult task.

This book has some of Heyer's funniest dialog. Although very similar to her last novel, "Lady of Quality" (also a whopping good read), this one stands on its own and is well worth reading. And rereading. And so on. I've read it many times in the past 40 years, and it still makes me laugh. The ending is marvelous, and all the resolutions perfect in their way!

First, I must say that when Georgette Heyer is good, she's incomparable. And the two wittiest dialogues I have ever read are in The Black Sheep and The Reluctant Widow. At some point in each of these books, a man and woman are carrying on a discussion about two entirely different things and it's just wonderfully funny as it dawns on the reader that they aren't on the same page. I don't know of anyone else in the Romance genre who has pulled this off as well. I'm surprised no one has ripped off either of these storylines - they are highly original and thoroughly entertaining. I only wish these two books were available on CDs or audio download. They are amongst her best.

Set in high society Bath, this novel started a bit slowly for me, but once the "Black Sheep" appears, in the form of an iconoclastic former bad boy back from twenty years in India, the pace picks up and never slows down.

I was left wishing for more, and am looking forward to reading more of Heyer's novels. The witty, quaint language and strange customs are great fun, and the book made me laugh out loud several times. The strong woman character stands up to her domineering male relatives, her manipulative female ones, and to the strict social mores of the time. I had avoided her books, fearing they would be fluffy and prim, but she's a master of the historical romance, and attraction and sexuality are definitely there. Highly recommended.

I've now read about a dozen of Georgette Heyer's books. I love her witty dialogue and outstanding characterization. I like the fact that her books are "clean" with no more sexual content than a kiss, usually at the end when the couple is engaged. Of her books, about 1/3 receive a 5-star from me, 1/3 a 4-star, and the other 1/3 3 or less. This is one of those middle 4-star books.

The main thing that kept this book from being one that I "love" is the relationship between Abby Wendover and Miles Calverleigh, the black sheep of his family home from years of banishment in India. I love their witty back-and-forth repartee, which is a bit more outlandish than usual (such as about how do people actually manage to carry out elopemnets?) since Miles cares little of proprieties and Abby is an "old maid" and less timid. (but at one point further along in the book it became clear that Miles loved Abby, and it didn't seem believable to me. In addition, Miles' character is also rather uncaring about other people in general, which made his character less appealing to me. This probably had an effect affected my overall enjoyment of the book.

This is still a good book, and one that I will quite likely read again, but it's not one of my favorites. That honor goes to A Civil Contract, The Nonesuch, and The Foundling. If you have yet to read any of Georgette Heyer's books, I would recommend starting with one of those.