This is a truly brilliant Heyer with an adorable and very real heroine and a hero who is very human! Sparks fly, humour abounds and the lesser charcters are masterfully portrayed. Improves on second and third reading too. A wonderful book.

uk" (Canada) -

Sylvester, the Duke of Salford, needs a wife, and is convinced that he only has to ask to be accepted. He compiles a list of suitable candidates, some of whom he has not even met, and is persuaded to meet Phoebe Marlow, his godmother's granddaughter, who is a late addition to the list.

But Phoebe is not at all impressed at being considered for the honour of becoming Salford's wife, and runs away! Part of her problem is that she's just written a gothic novel which is in fact a _roman a clef_ in which Sylvester himself is cast as the villain, though she also found him overly arrogant when she'd met him before.

Then Sylvester finds her after her carriage had overturned, and they're forced to spend several days in each other's company....

As usual, Heyer throws in plenty of witty dialogue, an assortment of hilarious and/or likeable supporting characters, and fast pacing as events begin to spiral out of the control of even the supremely confident Duke.

A wonderful novel, worth reading over and over: as with the best Heyers, there's plenty of subtleties you'll miss the first time and will spot on re-reading.

paced and entertaining. If you read her biography you will find that Georgette Heyer did extensive research but this is never forced down our throats. Authentic background details are casually mentioned but not so they need lengthy explanations. The characters use the slang of the period but not so in such a way as to make it impossible to understand what they mean. Georgette Heyer has had innumerable imitators but sadly no equals. Nearly all of Georgette Heyer's books are excellent but in my personal opinion "Sylvester" is one of the best.

Comparisons to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" are inevitable. In both novels the hero's pride makes the heroine dislike him. This animosity in turn leads the heroine into difficulties. There is even a very similar marriage proposal scene with the hero explaining how hard he has fought his feelings as the heroine would make an unsuitable wife. However Sylvester, unlike Darcy, is not transformed into a misunderstood hero. Instead Phoebe comes to love him despite his faults, which is much more realistic. In this book Georgette Heyer creates realistic characters who behave in a believable manner but still it makes an entertaining read. If you want long sweaty sex scenes with every grunt and groan detailed this is not the book for you. Instead you will get an intelligent story, realistic characters, witty dialogues, some hilarious scenes (especially involving Edmund and Sir. Nugent) and plenty of romantic tension.

Mrs. N.Pickard