Arabella by Georgette Heyer - the peril of a small lie

It’s time for the #1949Club, hosted by StuckinaBook and Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, in which bloggers are invited to read and review books that were published in a chosen year. When I first started reading Georgette Heyer’s books I was about 13 and most identified with her younger heroines and now that I am older, I usually recommend Frederica, Venetia, The Masqueraders or Devil’s Cub to first time readers. However, Arabella, and its ingenue heroine, continues to be one of my favorites.

The story begins in in a parsonage in Yorkshire where Arabella Tallant and her younger sisters are considering whether she can afford the right clothes for a season in London, if only her godmother would oblige by inviting her to stay. When her mother announces that the invitation has indeed come from Lady Bridlington and Mr. Tallant has been persuaded that he can trust Arabella’s ability to conduct herself with propriety, she is very excited. As the eldest of four girls, Arabella knows she is expected to marry advantageously and even her unworldly father recognizes there is no one suitable at home.

On the way to London, chaperoned by a former governess from the neighborhood, their carriage breaks down in Leicestershire. Innocently assuming the owners of a nearby hunting lodge would be as welcoming to travelers in distress as her parents at the parsonage, Arabella leads the way with Miss Blackburn nervously following. The owner is Robert Beaumaris, an affluent member of the ton, the most exclusive layer of London society, who is entertaining his friend, Lord Fleetwood. She is impressed by the house and its occupants until she overhears Mr. Beaumaris telling Lord Fleetwood that he is tired of being pursued nonstop by lovely young women. Infuriated, Arabella speaks impulsively to show she was not throwing herself at this arrogant man:

“I,” said Arabella, a most dangerous glitter in her eye, “am Miss Tallant!”

His lordship, murmuring polite gratification at being made the recipient of this information, was surprised to find his inanities quite misunderstood. Arabella fetched a world-weary sigh and enunciated with a scornful curl of her lip: “Oh, yet! The Miss Tallant!”

“Th-the, Miss Tallant?” stammered his lordship, all at sea.

“The rich Miss Tallant!” said Arabella.

His lordship rolled an anguished and inquiring eye at his host, but Mr. Beaumaris was not looking at him. Mr. Beaumaris, his attention arrested, was regarding the rich Miss Tallant with a distinct gleam of curiosity, not unmixed with amusement, in his face.

When Mr. Beaumaris decides to play along, for his own entertainment, by spreading the word in London that Arabella is a rich heiress, she deeply regrets her rash statement. How will she know if anyone likes her for herself? And while Mr. Beaumaris thinks he is playing an amusing joke on the ton, he is unwillingly impressed by Arabella’s vivacity and her sense of social justice, which she won't abandon to impress him. Can she bring herself to tell him the truth or is she better off slinking home to Yorkshire in disgrace?

This is one of Heyer’s most amusing books with all the elements that make them so enjoyable – an unusual and vividly depicted hero and heroine; strong supporting characters, including Arabella’s brother who turns up in London and promptly gets into trouble; Arabella’s good-natured godmother; and Mr. Beaumaris’ grandmother. And don’t forget the regency slang and some wonderful descriptions of clothes, from Mrs. Tallant’s long-ago trousseau to the jonquil crepe over a slip of white satin, ornamented with clasps of tiny roses, Arabella wears for her first London party.  We like our arrogant heroes, don't we, but even better is when they learn the error of their ways and are slightly humbled! The ending is never in doubt but how Georgette gets us there is much of the fun. This is a good choice for someone who has never read any Heyer before.

Title: Arabella
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, hardcover, 1949
Genre: Historical Romance/Regency
Setting: England, 1817 
Source: Personal Copy

Reading Arabella contributed to these challenges:

• Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2026

• 1949 Club