The Reluctant Widow

I really enjoyed this one and read it straight through, which I haven't done with a book since "Gone with the Wind." Am a little disappointed we didn't learn more about the Macclesfields LOL but otherwise this was a lark of a book. The hero and heroine, indeed the entire family exhibited the "unbearable lightness of being" the English are so famous for. Loved the humor and that Brit ability to carry on bravely, no matter what life hurls at you. Alas, the home remodeler in me would love to have a go at that house! But no matter read this book and curl up with some hot chocolate and bread and butter. (or burgundy!) A pity BBC doesn't make a mini series from this one. By the way, in a nod to the other reviewers here: I think it is clearly a case of love at first sight for Ned and the widow-to-be! This book has one of her better dog characters, as well as the terrific younger brother. The sister was also delightful and I have to say I even liked the villain. He had a certain style as well.

I have been reading and collecting Georgette Heyer novels since I was 18. I actually discovered them by accident in a used bookstore where my older brother had a job. (One must patronize establishments where family members are employed.) I have loved her novels right from the start. I have read all of them more than once. Some I have read many times. The Reluctant Widow is one of the special ones that I have read so often I have lost count of how many times I have read it. I have noticed with the passing years that the novels that I first liked the most, the really romantic ones, have palled some over the years and that it is the funnier ones that I read over more and more. Maybe it is because I was lacking romance in my life when I started reading Georgette Heyer but now I have had more than enough romance and I appreciate humor more. It's true that there is not much romance in this novel, or not much outward signs of romance. It really is more of a comic mystery than a romance. Yet having read it so many times, I can now detect the subtle signs of developing love between Elinor and Ned, especially Ned. It seems that time after time Ned comes up with reasons why Elinor cannot leave and get on with her life. After reading it so many times, I think that Ned may very well have fallen in love with Elinor at first sight but is reticient to do anything about it for quite a while. To be truthful, the romance in all of Georgette Heyers novels is always secondary to the plot. In many of her novels, the hero does not make clear his intentions until the last chapter, sometimes even as late as the last 2 pages of the novel. If you are a romance addict, this can be very tiresome, having to wait so long for the romantic part. This Georgette Heyer novel is definitely one of her 5 star novels when considered as a novel and not necessarily as a romance. The comic elements in it never fail to amuse, no matter how many times it is read. It is a funny historical novel set in the regency period of England with just a tad of romance in the end.

As a long term, well as long as possible at 16, fan of Heyer regency novels, I love the Reluctant Widow. Admittedly the romance between Eleanor and Edward is not nearly as fleshed out as in her other novels because of the focus on the mystery, but I enjoy it anyway. This is mainly because of Nicky. Nicky is a wonderful character and one of the funniest Georgette ever created, along with Rupert in These Old Shades. The book is a delightfully funny and mysterious romp and I heartily recommend it to any Regency lover.

The Reluctant Widow is exactly what a book of this type should be: delightful and purely entertaining. The secondary characters in Heyer's best books leap off the page, vivid and hilarious. The plot involves comedy, intrigue, espionage, cloaks & daggers, and things going bump in the night - - served with a sauce of witty repartee that is the Heyer Hallmark. Unforgettable.