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"Lively, amusing ... done to a turn!"
- Kirkus Reviews

A fateful mistake...

When Elinor Rochdale boards the wrong coach, she ends up not at her prospective employer's home but at the estate of Eustace Cheviot, a dissipated and ruined young man on the verge of death.

A momentous decision...

His cousin, Mr Ned Carlyon, persuades Elinor to marry Eustace as a simple business arrangement. By morning, Elinor is a rich widow, but finds herself embroiled with an international spy ring, housebreakers, uninvited guests, and murder. And Mr Carlyon won't let her leave ...

WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT THE RELUCTANT WIDOW:

"Delightful and purely entertaining. The plot involves comedy, intrigue, espionage, cloaks and daggers, and things going bump in the night - served with a sauce of witty repartee that is the Heyer hallmark. Unforgettable."

"One of my favorites!"

"A delightfully funny and mysterious romp."

"Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen."
- Publisher's Weekly

Average Customer Rating:

The Reluctant Widow: A Satisfying Mystery and Romance

Customer Rating:

An honest mistake - that of entering the wrong coach - brings Miss Elinor Rochdale to a musty dilapidated mansion in the dark of night instead of to the house where she is expected to begin her position as governess to two young children. A butler escorts her to the library, where a nattily dressed man stands in front of the fireplace. Elinor and the stranger embark on a lively verbal exchange based on a series of misunderstandings, for he believes she has responded to his advertisement for a wife, and Elinor believes he is the husband of the woman who hired her for her services. It turns out that the man is Lord Carlyon, the responsible older brother of a tribe of siblings and the legal guardian of his alcoholic nephew. Lord Carlyon asks Elinor to marry the dissolute young man so that he may escape the suspicion of coveting his relative's house and lands. He assures her that the marriage would be in name only, and that she stands to gain more than lose in this devil's bargain, for his nephew is not long for this world. Elinor, horrified with such a scheme, wishes only to find the quickest way out of this scrape. But she is penniless and alone, and at the mercy of this stranger's kindness. Then events beyond both Elinor and Carlyon`s control take the decision out of their hands, and Elinor is speedily married to a baseless character who could scarcely be bothered to look at her, for his motivation in marrying her is revenge and hatred for Carlyon. By morning Elinor's husband lies dead, and so begins The Reluctant Widow. The Reluctant Widow is among the GH novels that features a mature couple, though when I say mature I am speaking in Regency terms. At 26, Miss Elinor Rochdale considers herself to be firmly on the shelf. And although our hero cannot be much older than she, he has been head of his family for so long that his demeanor is (dare I say it?) a bit directive. We know from the moment that our feisty Elinor meets the immovable object named Ned Carlyon, which of these two strong personalities will have the upper hand. However, we are always sympathetic towards our poor heroine, who has found herself in the most trying of circumstances. After her father so disobligingly gambled the family fortune away and committed suicide, her fiancee ditched her! Instead of succumbing to the vapours, our plucky heroine has made the best of her situation with a "can do" attitude that Carlyon quietly recognizes and admires. Unaware of his feelings, she lets him know that she is incensed to be the widow of a man who was universally loathed, and when she discovers that her new house can be entered through a secret stairway, and that a foul spy plot has put her life in danger, she does not hesitate to speak her mind regarding our hero's seeming lack of concern for her safety; but her words roll over Carlyon like water over a labrador retriever's coat and they do not seem to penetrate his thick skull or ruffle his calm assurances, which infuriate her even more. One guarantee about a Georgette Heyer novel is that the reader will always be treated to an intricate plot in which no thread is left to dangle. This Heyer tale is more convoluted than most and though it contains those dark elements that characterize a Gothic novel, the combination of broad comedy, dark mystery, and spirited romance make this particular reading experience an unforgettable one. My only quibble with the novel is that we do not see enough of Elinor and Carlyon together. As with Sleepless in Seattle I kept hoping that our hero and heroine would finally realize their love for each other, but when this momentous event occurred, the scene was all too short and the novel ended much too swiftly to completely warm the romantic cockles of my heart. All my other cockles, however, were more than satisfied. Read the rest of my review of The Reluctant Widow on Jane Austen Today.

Enjoyable romp

Customer Rating:

Georgette Heyer's writing was of course almost always excellent. She wrote in several genres and 'The Reluctant Widow', although apparently a Regency Romance, has many elements that remind the reader that Heyer also wrote mysteries. The story revolves around Elinor Rochdale, a young woman who boards the wrong coach and finds herself in the middle of a strange family drama. Eustace Cheviot, a dissipated and troubled young man, is dying; Elinor finds herself persuaded to marry him so that she can inherit from him when he dies. The persuader is Eustace's cousin Ned Carlyon, a rather enigmatic if friendly figure. After Elinor agrees to the marriage she finds herself a widow by the next morning - and then discovers that someone is trying to break into her new home. Aided (or possibly abetted) by Ned's younger brother Nicky and his rather overeager dog, finding hidden staircases and dealing with various uninvited houseguests, Elinor finds herself embroiled in an international spy ring. There are no real surprises in this story, it's more of a great romp with various semi-gothic events in the unusual house. The hero can be slightly frustrating as he keeps things close to his chest and the romance is really rather secondary to the story, but it's a very enjoyable tale with all Heyer's usual quality of writing and historical research to add to the feel of the story. Those who enjoyed 'The Talisman Ring' will no doubt also love this book. Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

From S. Krishna's Books

Customer Rating:

Though I am a huge fan of historical fiction, I've never read anything by Georgette Heyer. I've heard a lot of good things about her so I was glad when I heard hear books were being re-released. When Danielle from Sourcebooks, Inc. (the publishing company that is re-releasing Heyer's works) contacted me and asked me if I'd like to review some novels, I jumped at the chance. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I opened up The Reluctant Widow. I was apprehensive that the book would be difficult to read and wouldn't be able to hold my attention - imagine my surprise, then, when the first time I looked up from the novel, I was a quarter of the way through it! The Reluctant Widow is very captivating and funny; I was hooked from the very first page. The story took its time to unfold, but dropped enough tantalizing hints to keep me extremely interested in the plot. The characters are also wonderfully written and charming. I absolutely loved Elinor - she was witty, funny, and smart, everything we've come to expect from an Austen heroine. Indeed, many aspects of the book reminded me of the Jane Austen novels I have come to know and love. Ned Carlyon was also a great personage; his affability and charm really were as apparent to me as if I had been standing with him in the pages of the book. One word of caution to readers - this is not a historical romance. Though Heyer is known for her romances, she also wrote straight historical fiction; The Reluctant Widow is an example of this. The main storyline of the book is the intrigue that surrounds the house of Eustace Cheviot; there is little to no romance in the book. One more thing - I know this seems inane, but I loved the feel of this book. The pages were thicker and heavier than usual, which gave the book some gravitas, some weight. It's obvious that Sourcebooks took great care with publishing these books. I'd highly recommend The Reluctant Widow to any Austen fans, or anyone who enjoys historical fiction. If you are looking for romance, I'd definitely look at some of Heyer's other titles. To learn more about the Georgette Heyer books that Sourcebooks, Inc. has re-released, visit Austen Fans. I have to give a huge thank you to Danielle for sending me this book to review - I can't wait to read the next one! Four and a half stars rounded up to five

Better editing, please!

Customer Rating:

I have read one book by Georgette Heyer before and found it a bit silly, but mildly entertaining. This one got good reviews for the most part, and the story line seemed interesting and intriguing, so I thought I'd give her books another try and purchased this one as well as 'Lady of Quality'. However, I am not very far into it and already I am very tired of all the exclamation marks. Exclamation marks everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!! I am not sure if this was something the author insisted on doing, but I would have hoped that if that was her style, the editor would have trimmed back 95% of them. Paragraph after paragraph of dialog this goes on. The sentences are short and choppy, and more often than not end in an exclamation mark. A paragraph may contain 3 or 4 sentences of dialog, and all of them ending with the exclamation mark. I have been trying to ignore this, since as I read it seems like they are all shouting or talking loudly, and I am having trouble getting around it. It really takes away from the different inflections, mood, emotions, etc. that would actually be fitting for that particular sentence, paragraph, and subject. Instead it feels all the same, which of course is monotonous. I have had the fleeting thought of going through the book quickly and marking out most of the exclamation marks without reading the book. But I know that is not worth the effort, and the editor got paid for what she/he was supposed to do, not me. So far, this plot seems silly as well, quite a bit unbelievable at this point, but I will carry on and see if the intrigue I have been promised helps to redeem it from this serious flaw.

classic Heyer romance

Customer Rating:

This is a typical Heyer romance- not one of her very best, but still good fun. I put it in her second tier of books. Although there is a bit of intrigue at the base of this book, it isn't one of Heyer's gothics. It also isn't a classic Heyer comedy of manners. Instead, it is a gentle Regency romance. While the underlying premise is weak, Heyer fans won't mind. Plenty of Regency details, a likeable heroine and hero, and a happy ending.