Georgette Heyer has a finite number of character templates. Her heroines come in ingenue, fiesty, and maternal. I like them all, but the maternal ones resonate most with me. Oh, they're not mothers, of course, but they are the older sisters of dependents. They have usually sacrificed their own best hope of getting out of Dodge to take care of their younger sibs, and they are, on the whole, not inclined to whine about it. Venetia is orphaned, her older brother never appears in the book, and she has been taking care of her younger brother all her life. Poor Venetia!

Fortunately, there is A Rake. The heroes also come in standard varieties including Rake, sober and underrated young man, and fops. There are, as there must be in any book, Tribulations. And as it is a romance novel, there is a happy ending. Along the way, she offers to build a willow cabin at his gates, except it is November, so she'd rather not. It's a very erudite wooing. In the end (and I had missed this all the previous times I'd read this), they agree to an open marriage, where she will preside over his orgies. Really. I love you, Georgette.

Read this novel and you cannot help but notice how many truly feeble Heyer imitators are out there. Welcome to the original gold standard.
This charming Regency romance concerns beautiful spinster Venetia Lanyon and dissolute rake, Lord Jasper Damerel.
Venetia lives on her older brother's country estate with her crippled, younger brother, Aubrey. Lord Dameral is the absentee owner of the neglected bordering estate. They meet and immediately recognize and enjoy each other as kindred souls.
Unfortunately, Dameral is not respectable - due to having eloped with a married lady - and believes he is unworthy of Venetia.
Resourceful Venetia refuses to accept his sacrifice of their happiness and sets about overcoming his scruples.
There are complicated plot threads involving Venetia's father's reclusive lifestyle, brother Conway's long anticipated homecoming, and the reason for Venetia's lack of a London Season.
Marvelous dialogue, excellent characterizations and wonderful Regency settings. Recommended.

Some conversations were too long and boring. I wanted it to be over. The author uses the phrase "you see" too frequently for me, which annoys me. This is a traditional regency romance novel about a good girl falling for a rake who reforms. The characters were interesting but not enough to make it worthwhile reading.

Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: none. Setting: early 1800s England. Copyright: 1958. Genre: regency romance.

One of the most disreputable of Heyer's heroes but also one of the most engaging. Not much plot but the usual wonderful dialogue and eye for detail. The developing relationship between Venetia and Damerel is totally believable. Although nothing explicit as usual with Heyer their relationship is one of the most sensual and emotionally moving of any of her protagonists. One of my favourite Heyer books along with Frederica and Sylvester.

One of the most romantic Heyer novels. The hero is a man who made a mistake earlier in life which led to his expulsion from polite society. How will a respectable, intelligent, loving and kind woman respond to him? Can he move beyond bitterness and a lonely, ugly life to find love?

You know the answer! You'll love Venetia, a book which features Heyer's least respectable hero and a heroine with a huge heart.