A Regency novel
After their father passed away, his nearly grown children, Judith and Peregrine, knew he had named the Fifth Earl of Worth as their guardian. Coming London to introduce themselves to high society, the two were expecting to find Lord Worth to be an elderly man, a contemporary of their father. But Lord Worth was not an elderly man at all. Indeed, he turned out to be the man who had accosted and stolen a kiss from Judith when he happened upon her as she was out taking a stroll unaccompanied.
So things got off to a rough start in their relationship with their new guardian. And it didn't get any better due to Judith's desire to assert her independence and to her dislike of Worth.
Judith and Peregrine are lucky to be very wealthy. Plus Judith and Peregrine are both good looking. So becoming a big hit in society is easy for them. And amazingly, young Lord Worth takes his role as their guardian seriously and his guidance and connections make their success assured.
But wealth can be a magnet for bad people. And Peregrine becomes the target of someone who wants him dead. If he dies without an heir, his share of their inheritance would pass to his sister, Judith. So his death with really only benefit his sister. No one else would get their hands on it. Unless they were married to Judith!
This is one of Heyer's novels that I just never liked as well as most of her romance novels. Judith is arrogant and Peregrine comes off as stupid. Lord Worth is even more arrogant than Judith is. Peregrine's only function in the story is to be the target for the killer.
Heyer features some of the famous personages of Regency high society of the early 1800s including the Prince Regent, Beau Brummel, the Duke of Clarence and Lord William Alvanley, among others. She also describes the Brighton Pavilion in detail. I image she spent much time researching the time period and the people and places.
Here is a review by Susan Holloway Scott on Austenprose.
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