Philip Jettan is ruggedly handsome, but an awkward, tongue-tied youth. The woman he loves, Cleone, just back from London, rejects him because he is not as fashionable as the men she favored in London. Determined to become the kind of man Cleone desires, Philip travels to Paris and transforms himself into an elegant gentleman. After becoming a sensation among the genteel class of France, Philip returns to England to win Cleone's love. However to both of their surprise, Cleone realizes that she wants the old Philip and not the painted puppy he has become.
This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 16 tales by masters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Agatha Christie crime story that has not been seen since 1922. At a time when crime and thriller writing has once again overtaken the sales of general and literary fiction, Bodies from the Library unearths lost stories from the Golden Age, that period between the World Wars when detective fiction captured the public’s imagination and saw the emergence of some of the world’s cleverest and most popular storytellers. This anthology brings together 16 forgotten tales that have either been published only once before – perhaps in a newspaper or rare magazine – or have never before appeared in print. From a previously unpublished 1917 script featuring Ernest Bramah’s blind detective Max Carrados, to early 1950s crime stories written for London’s Evening Standard by Cyril Hare, Freeman Wills Crofts and A.A. Milne, it spans five decades of writing by masters of the Golden Age. Most anticipated of all are the contributions by women writers: the first detective story by Georgette Heyer, unseen since 1923; an unpublished story by Christianna Brand, creator of Nanny McPhee; and a dark tale by Agatha Christie published only in an Australian journal in 1922 during her ‘Grand Tour’ of the British Empire. With other stories by Detection Club stalwarts Anthony Berkeley, H.C. Bailey, J.J. Connington, John Rhode and Nicholas Blake, plus Vincent Cornier, Leo Bruce, Roy Vickers and Arthur Upfield, this essential collection harks back to a time before forensic science – when murder was a complex business.
It is in regrettable circumstances that beautiful Judith Taverner and her brother Peregrine first encounter Julian St John Audley. The man, they both agree, is an insufferably arrogant dandy. But unfortunately for them, he is also the Fifth Earl of Worth, a friend of the Regent and, quite by chance, their legal guardian.
Rich and handsome, the hope of ambitious mothers and despair of his sisters, the Marquis of Alverstoke sees no reason to put himself out for anyone. But when a distant connection applies to him for help, he finds himself far from bored.
Venetia Lanyon has never been further than Harrogate. Then, in one extraordinary encounter, she meets a neighbour she only knows by reputation, the infamous Lord Damerel, and before long is egging on a libertine in his scandalous behaviour.
With Phoebe struggling to meet her family's demands of gentility and poise, a potential match with Sylvester is exceedingly advantageous. When the pair meet again and an unexpected adventure ensues, Sylvester comes to realise that there is much more to Phoebe than her reputation affords .
Gilly Ware, the shy young Duke of Sale, has never known his parents. Instead, he has endured twenty-four years of pampering and pandering from his uncle and valet, which he accepts without quarrel.
Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor Rochdale is swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. By midnight she is a bride, by dawn a widow. A typically thrilling and sweeping tale of romance and tragedy, The Reluctant Widow is Georgette Heyer at her best - the undisputed queen of historical romance.
The only question which hangs over the life of Sir Richard Wyndham, notable whip, dandy and Corinthian, is one of marriage. Wyndham is contemplating his upcoming proposal with considerable dismay, when he chances upon a beautiful young fugitive, Penelope, making a dramatic exit from her home.
But as time goes on, will the Darracotts learn there's more to Hugo than meets the eye?'One of my perennial comfort authors' JOANNE HARRIS'When it comes to Regency novels, [Heyer] was The Master' INDIA KNIGHT'Heyer's novels are delicious' HARRIET EVANS
Handsome, wealthy Sir Waldo Hawkridge is the envy of all those around him. So when the people of Oversett get word of his impending visit, excitement ripples. And when Waldo eventually arrives in the village, his presence leads to the most entertaining of ramifications .
The legend of the Headless Horseman and a proposed marriage de convenance both have their impact on the mystery of a golden talisman ring and Lord Lavenham's young heir, Ludovic.
Adam Deveril, the new Viscount Lynton and a hero at Salamanca, returns from the Peninsula War to find his family on the brink of ruin. It is Lord Oversley, father of Adam's first love, who introduces him to Jonathan Chaleigh, a city man of apparently unlimited wealth, but with his eyes firmly fixed on a suitable match for his only daughter.
Shot-proof, fever-proof and a veteran campaigner at the age of twenty-five, Brigade-Major Harry Smith is reputed to be the luckiest man in Lord Wellington's army. But for Juana, a long year of war must follow ... Georgette Heyer was for over fifty years one of the most prolific, succesful and best writers of historical romance.
When Kit Fancot returns on leave from the diplomatic service, he expects to find his loving family at home waiting for him. Instead, he is startled to find his alluring yet extravagant mother on the brink of financial and social ruin.
And Nell's secretive and extravagant spending is becoming a problem... As she attempts to pay off her brother's never-ending gambling debts, and prevent the Earl's half-sister from eloping with a potentially ruinous match, will Nell's heart of gold lead her - and her marriage - into trouble?
When Lady Hester Theale learns Sir Gareth Ludlow is planning to propose to her, she knows she cannot accept. Hester senses that his heart lies elsewhere - so when Sir Gareth arrives at her home with beautiful Amanda Smith in tow, it seems to confirm her worst fears.
