The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer

The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer ISBN-13: 9780373836840 Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages Publisher: Harlequin Books Released: January 10, 2006

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
When Gervase Frant returns unscathed from the wars to claim his title as the new Earl of Stanyon, he faces resentment from his stepmother and half-brother for managing to survive. Then Gervase meets a lovely young woman whom all the young men in the area are in love with--including his half-brother and his cousin. His half-brother has a nasty temper and confronts Gervase in an attempt to make him stay away from her. Then a series of dangerous "accidents" occur, and it's clear that someone wants Gervase dead...


My Review:
The Quiet Gentleman is a historical romantic suspense novel set in the Regency Era in England. I liked both of the romances, with one couple seeming so well suited for each other and the other involving the man coming to appreciate the initially overlooked finer qualities that the woman has. The conflict was created by family resentment over Gervase inheriting the title and estates and between the men vying for innocently flirty Marianne.

The mystery involved who was attacking Gervase and how Gervase was going to resolve all the conflict (including dealing with whomever was attacking him). Sometimes Heyer has the prime suspect really be the "whodunit," and sometimes she has it be someone else. I wasn't entirely sure which it was in this story until near the end, so I had two main suspects until then. I enjoyed trying to puzzle this out.

The characters were engaging, interesting, and acted in realistic ways. The setting and historical details brought the story alive in my imagination. This edition of the book also had a glossary of some Regency slang and a fun short story called, "To Have the Honour."

There was some explicit bad language (mainly that using "God"). There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.