Black Sheep (Paperback)

by Georgette Heyer (Author)
Key Phrases: pump room, odious nephew, first stare, Miss Wendover, Miles Calverleigh, Sydney Place (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
This is one of Georgette Heyer's dimpled diversions, indeed, sunny as a buttercup, somewhat more simply plotted than some of her earlier low intrigues in the high society of Bath during the Regency. For the most part it concerns Miss Abby, "a mere twenty eight years in her dish," and the surrogate guardian of her niece Fanny whose mother committed some unidentified indiscretion. Fanny now falls in love with Stacy Calverleigh, a fortune hunter, who proposes - heavens, horrors, an elopement to Gretna Green, while Abby falls in love with his uncle who is none other than the man Fanny's mother had run away with.... Black Sheep, more lace than wool, and triumphant trivia. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
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 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 . . . (20080505)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Reprint edition (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402210787
• ISBN-13: 978-1402210785
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,714 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #26 in	Books > Romance > Authors, A-Z > ( H ) > Heyer, Georgette
  #62 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Relationships > Mate Seeking
  #84 in	Books > Romance > Regency

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lively, witty Regency at its best, June 20, 2001

By	Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Black Sheep (Audio Cassette)

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.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Heyer's most romantic, May 27, 2005

By	Chapati (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Sheep (Paperback)

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.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thinking person's love story with warm, intelligent humor., July 9, 1999

By	Robert J. Kasper (New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Black Sheep (Mass Market Paperback)

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!).