Showing results by author "Georgette Heyer" in All Categories

Arabella, the daughter of an impoverished country parson, dreams of a new life in London. But her beauty and charm will only get her so far - and when Arabella embarks on her first London season armed with nothing but a benevolent godmother and her own notoriously short temper, she quickly runs afoul of Robert Beaumaris.

When Gregory Matthews, patriarch of the Poplars, is found dead one morning, imperious Aunt Harriet blames it on the roast duck he ate for supper. After all, she had warned him about his blood pressure. But a post-mortem determines that the cause of death is much more sinister. Murder. By poison. Suspicion falls immediately amongst his bitter, quarrelsome family. Each has a motive; each, opportunity. It falls to Superintendent Hannasyde to sift through all the secrets and lies and discover just who killed Gregory Matthews, before the killer strikes again....

Hated for his cruel and vicious nature, ruling his family with an iron hand from his sickbed, tyrannical patriarch Adam Penhallow is found murdered the day before his birthday. His entire family had assembled for his birthday celebration, and every one of them had the ways and means to commit the crime. As accusations and suspicion turn in one direction and then another, the claws and backstabbing come out, and no one is exempt from the coming implosion.

The 60th birthday party of Silas Kane was marred by argument and dissension amongst his family. And then, the morning after the celebrations, Kane is found dead at the foot of a cliff. The theory that Silas accidentally lost his way in the fog is confirmed when the coroner returns a verdict of death by misadventure. But then Kane's nephew, and heir, is murdered, and threats are made on the next in line to the fortune, throwing a new and sinister light on Silas Kane's death.

'Mad Nicholas' to his friends, 'Scourge of Spain' to the enemy, Sir Nicholas Beauvallet has never been known to resist a challenge. When a captured galleon yields the lovely Doña Dominica de Rada y Sylva, he vows to return her and her father to the shores of Spain. But he has no sooner said than done, so he proposes a venture more reckless than any of his exploits on the high seas which have made him Drake's equal and a favourite of the queen. He will take Dominica as his bride even if he must enter the lion's den.

Leonie Bonnard is being drawn into a 12-year-old feud. Justin Alastair, the duke of Avon, is a reprehensible rake with an axe to grind. Decades ago the Comte de Saint-Vire did something unforgivable, and ever since Justin has been lying in wait to settle the score. When Justin meets Leon, a street urchin with a striking resemblance to his nemesis, he aims to use him as a pawn in his plans for revenge on the Comte. Except Leon is in fact Leonie, a beautiful young ingénue who may just steal Justin's heart.

Horry Winwood doesn't play by the rules. So when her family are near ruin and her sister is about to enter a loveless marriage to a wealthy man to settle the family debts, young and headstrong Horry proposes to marry him instead. As her new husband's attentions fall elsewhere, Horry feels increasingly unhappy. Then she meets the attractive and dangerous Lord Lethbridge, and her days suddenly become more exciting. But there is bad blood between Horry's husband and Lord Lethbridge, and as complications and deceptions mount, the social tangle grows ever trickier to unpick.

The acknowledged ‘queen of Regency romance’, best-selling author Georgette Heyer, also penned a dozen delightful mystery novels. Included here are dramatisations of four of her finest stories from both genres, full of her characteristic wit, charm and period detail.

Society believes the worst of Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon. When he encounters a young boy, Léon, who is running from his abusive brother, Avon employs the boy as his page, parading him around parties and other society events in full view of his bitter rival, the Comte de Saint-Vire. But the truth is soon uncovered: Léon is a girl named Léonie and is actually the legitimate child of the Comte and his wife. While Avon is intent on his plan to reveal the Comte’s duplicity and ruin him, he is charmed by Léonie’s kindness, falls in love, and becomes a changed man.

Her eccentric and childless guardian, Mr. Penicuik, is leaving Kitty all of his vast fortune - but with one condition. She must marry one of his five grand-nephews. However, Kitty's clear favourite - the rakish Jack Westruther - doesn't appear at all interested in the arrangement. To make Jack jealous, Kitty impulsively convinces his cousin, the kind-hearted and chivalrous Freddy Standen, to enter into a pretend engagement. But the more time she spends with Freddy, the more Kitty wonders whether Jack is the right choice after all....

Shot-proof, fever-proof and a veteran campaigner at the age of 25, Brigade-Major Harry Smith is reputed to be the luckiest man in Lord Wellington's army. But at the siege of Badajos, his friends foretell the ruin of his career. For when Harry meets the defenceless Juana, a fiery passion consumes him. Under the banner of honour and with the selfsame ardour he so frequently displays in battle, he dives headlong into marriage. In his beautiful child-bride, he finds a kindred spirit and a temper to match. But for Juana, a long year of war must follow....

In all her 25 years, Venetia Lanyon has never been further than Harrogate. Nor has she enjoyed the attentions of any man aside from her two wearisomely persistent suitors. Then, in one extraordinary encounter, she meets a neighbour she knew only by reputation - the infamous Jasper Damerel. Before she realises it, Venetia is encouraging a man whose way of life has scandalised the North Riding for years.

When the notorious Lord Tracy Belmanoir, duke of Andover and also the infamous Black Moth, is caught attempting to abduct the dark-haired Diana Beauleigh by estranged Jack Carstares, the rightful earl of Wyncham, he's sent scurrying after a thrilling sword fight. Injured in battle, Jack relies on Diana to nurse his wounds and, as their feelings for each other blossom, realizes that he must return to Wyncham, clear his name of previous accusations, and rightly take over as earl. But the Black Moth waits patiently to take what he wants - and he is relentless.

Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor Rochdale is swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. Overnight the would-be governess becomes mistress of a ruined estate and partner in a secret conspiracy to save a family's name. By midnight, she is a bride, by dawn, a widow.

The Black Moth, the literary debut of the British author Georgette Heyer, is set around the 1750s. The intricate plot involves the nobility - good and bad - as they indulge in abduction, cheating at card games, duels, highway robbery, and elopement. Fortunately, repentance intervenes and all the threads come together in a happy ending.

The stabbing of irascible General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith fails to stir up grief in anyone - least of all his family, which is no wonder considering the way he had treated them all during the fateful weekend. He had disinherited his son, humiliated his wife, refused to help his financially stricken nephew and made no secret of his loathing for his son's fiancée, a cabaret dancer. Inspector Harding picks his way through a mass of familial discontent to find the culprit - and find much more besides.

An historical romance set in London and the English countryside with remarkable nuance and descriptions about dress, parties, houses, men and women and their dealings with each other, with special insights into marriage. A wonderful ode to our better selves and what we can be if we move beyond the bumps and bruises in life.

Chi è Frederica Merriville? È questa la domanda che si pone il marchese di Alverstoke quando una signorina, attraente e padrona di sé, si rivolge a lui perché l'aiuti a lanciare nella buona società di Londra la sua giovane e bellissima sorella Charis, e si prenda cura dei suoi fratelli ancora adolescenti. E perché Alverstoke, trentasettenne annoiato e molto ambito dalle donne, dovrebbe acconsentire alla richiesta di una parente lontana e sconosciuta come Frederica? Per far dispetto alle sue ambiziose sorelle? Perché conquistato dalla bellezza di Charis?

It is a complete mystery why anyone would choose to murder the trusted old butler of Norton Manor. Barrister-turned-amateur-detective Frank Amberley has reason to suspect that the shooting involves the nervy young lady discovered at the scene of the crime, a snooping gentleman in the halls of Greythorne and then a second dead body.

When Ernest Fletcher is found bludgeoned to death in his study, everyone is shocked and mystified: Ernest was well-liked and respected, so who would have a motive for killing him? Enter Superintendent Hannasyde, who, with consummate skill, begins to uncover the complexities of Fletcher's life. It seems the real Fletcher was far from the gentleman he pretended to be. There is, in fact, no shortage of people who wanted him dead. Then, a second murder is committed, with striking similarities to the first, giving a grotesque twist to a very unusual case.