A review by anya_reading
Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer

2.0

The is the second Georgette Heyer book I've read (the first was The Reluctant Widow, which I disliked).

I didn't straight-up dislike this book as much as The Reluctant Widow, but it almost felt like I was reading the same book.

Lady "past her prime" who is pretty and comes from a good family? Check.

Fiery arguments with lead male protagonist? Check.

The cousin who stays with the main character was annoying as all get-out, and by the end of the book, it's plain that everybody also feels that way. I'm amazed the old lady didn't figure it out for herself, or that they couldn't just get rid of her...

I couldn't really bring myself to like the lead male protagonist, Oliver Carleton, but I felt like he made a good match for Annis, because for as respectable as she was in society, it seemed like she was just getting tired of everyone around her. He is improper in almost every way, but I guess they'll never get bored!

This was hard to slog through, though I finished it in about a day. While I appreciate that the ladies in these stories are fiery and don't take people's crap, I also wonder how proper that would have been for the time. (Maybe I should just let accuracy go and try to enjoy it anyways? If I am wrong in supposing genteel ladies to have been much less feisty back then?)