Product Description

Miss Abigail Wendover's efforts to detach her spirited niece Fanny from a plausible fortune-hunter are complicated by the arrival in Bath of Miles Caverleigh. The black sheep of his family, a cynical, outrageous care-for-naught with a scandalous past - that would be a connection more shocking even than Fanny's unwise liaison with his nephew! But Abby, adept at managing her sweet silly sister Selina, her lively niece, and the host of her admirers among Bath's circumscribed society, has less success in managing her own unruly heart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18380 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 252 pages

About the Author
Author of over fifty books, Georgette Heyer is the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, who made the Regency period her own. Her first novel, The Black Moth, published in 1921, was written at the age of fifteen to amuse her convalescent brother; her last was My Lord John. Although most famous for her historical novels, she also wrote eleven detective stories. Georgette Heyer died in 1974 at the age of seventy-one.

Customer Reviews

Return of the Black Sheep
'Black Sheep' is one of Georgette Heyer's later Regency novels and shows all her skills as a writer, including her much-praised historical accuracy for this period. The 'Black Sheep' of the title is Mr Miles Calverleigh, a gentleman who was sent to India twenty years before after shaming his family. Unfortunately for Miss Abigail Wendover, the absent Mr Calverleigh's nephew Stacy is apparently trying to beguile her spirited niece Fanny in order to get his hands on her fortune. Abigail and her sister Serena have stood as parents toward Fanny for many years but Abigail begins to discover that Fanny has grown up enough to want to rely less on her aunt and more on her own heart.

It is into this situation that Miles Calverleigh steps, having finally returned from India. The first scene between him and Abby, a case of mistaken identity, is a wonderful example of Heyer's skill in writing two spirited and interesting characters. Abigail tries to get Miles to help separate his nephew from her niece but she finds herself thwarted by his apparent lack of interest in the cares of others and his apparent wish to thwart her own strict views on being a support to her own sister which may prevent her from following her heart.

There are some similarities between this book and 'Lady of Quality', also written late in Heyer's career, not least in the age of the heroes and heroines who aren't the youngsters of 'Friday's Child' or 'Cotillion' but are mature people who may perhaps feel that the opportunities in life have passed them by. As usual the side characters are excellent in this story, including the very amusing Mrs Clapham and even the straighlaced James Wendover. This book seems to contain less of the cant phrases that can render some characters in other books almost incomprehensible but the overall standard of dialogue is excellent. 'Black Sheep' makes an excellent introduction to Heyer's Regency novels and can be enjoyed again and again.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

Loveable Tanned Rake, Mischevious Noble Lady - Another Heyer Addiction!
I love reading, and if ever I want a book to take me out of myself after a long day, I reach for Georgette Heyer...
On my list of GH favourites, Black Sheep has to rate fairly high. Not only does it capture the feeling of beautiful Regency Bath so well that I feel I am taking a turn about the famous Pump Room and elegant streets myself, but it brings together two infectious characters that I immediately warmed to. Abby the heroine, described by herself as a 'staid old aunt' when in fact she is a stylish witty woman in her late twenties, has never been attracted to any man enough to relinquish her single status. Until, that is, the arrival of the indolent, rakish Miles, the 'Black Sheep' of the noble Calverleigh family banished to hot climates years before for his wild ways. The tale centres on the love story of these two whilst Abby struggles with the guardianship of her wilful, pretty niece, who is heiress to a tidy fortune and being pursued by the slimy if artful Stacy Calverleigh, Miles's impoverished nephew.
A wonderful story with a good mix of humour and some nice little twists provided by cheeky Miles. Get comfortable, open the book and enjoy!

A really positive, to the point recommendation.
Georgette Heyer is a master of writing historically accurate fiction without swamping the reader with dry facts. Opening one of her books is like stepping back in time without having to put up with the nasty bits. This book is no exception. The characters are lovingly drawn and the story is funny, heartwarming and enchantingly romantic without being sappy or too mushy. The heroine is sparky and intelligent, the hero is sexy and as the title suggests just a little disreputable. Perfect.