Bath Tangle

Georgette Heyer
Fiction, Romance

This particular novel centers on the tempestuous and inaptly named Serena, whose father has just died - and tied up her ineritance by having it administered by a cranky gentleman to whom she was once engaged, with the stipulation that she receives it when she marries to his satisfaction. It's obvioius that they're perfect for one another. However, Serena's younger stepmother, who is shy and in awe of Serena, is of a retiring disposition and suggests a trip to Bath, basically treated as a backwater of a town. While there, Serena happens across an old romantic acquaintance and their engagement is soon underway... though it quickly becomes obvious that this handsome military man is far better suited to young Fanny, the stepmother.

What follows is the typical list of machinations that one encounters in a Heyer novel. A number of Heyer fans list this one as among their favorites, yet it never grabbed me the way it did them. Firey temperaments, however, might find much to enjoy in this novel.

***/*****