Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer ~1955. This edition: Heinemann, 1955. Hardcover. 327 pages.
My rating: 7/10
This post is absolutely singing to the choir of Heyerites of whom I know there are many in my circle of fellow like-minded readers. You others, feel free to click away.
I picked up this handsome Heinemann edition of this new-to-me novel a week or so ago, and I’ve just finished reading it.
(And while we’re still at the cover point, don’t you love these Heinemann dust jacket illustrations? Far and away the best of the lot. Impeccably period correct, and so crisp and detailed, with hardly a glimpse of the determined frou frou which the cover art of the many later editions is overloaded with.)
I find my immediate response to the text behind that cover is love-hate, shades of the key troubled romance which drives this completely predictable bit of diverting froth.
I mean, I guessed every single one of the eventual matchups as soon as the characters in question stormed, crept, flounced, swanned, artlessly frolicked etc. their way onto the stage. Too, too easy – the suspense was zero. (But we’re used to that with Georgette Heyer, aren’t we? No prizes for guessing the match-ups!)
Starting things off with the funeral and will-reading of a wealthy nobleman sets the scene quite nicely. Subsequently two of the main female characters are in mourning the whole way through, which drives some of the complications soon ensuing, as our characters mustn’t cross the etiquette line which rigidly defines just what a bereaved widow/daughter can or can’t do in the months following the death.
Fanny is the very young widow; Serena is the somewhat older stepdaughter by a previous wife of the dearly departed; the two confound expectations by being very best of friends, though their personalities couldn’t be more different. Serena is proud and willful, Fanny meek and mild. Each defers to the other, though, and their affections for each other are genuine, which is a lovely touch. United they stand, covering for each other as needed, with varying degrees of talent and success.
Serena’s father has left his widow very well provided for, but he has pulled a bit of a rotten trick on his daughter, leaving her portion of the massive family fortune tied up in a trust administered by – get this! – Serena’s previously jilted ex-fiance.
As can be expected, sparks immediately fly.
Throw in a generous handful of star-crossed lovers, a comically “vulgar” grandmother figure, an overbearing and ambitious mum, and a whole peanut gallery of gossiping upper class observers.
Stir well.
Stand back.
When the mixture stops moving, everyone is where they should be, and the one superfluous suitor has quit the scene, gone off to heal his wounded heart elsewhere.
This is basically the Beatrice and Benedick storyline, with a few tweaks here and there. The chief lovers spend every meeting moment sparring, more or less equally, until manly forcefulness drives the final scene, wherein the proud lady goes all over swoonish and apologizes all round for her wilful ways, though we note that she doesn’t vow to permanently change.
Pleasant enough reading for a rainy autumn evening, of which we’ve had our fair share lately.
I haven’t even come close to tracking down Heyer’s entire Regency oeuvre, but compared to those I’ve bumped up against, I’d have to place this one smack dab in the center of the pack. I liked it quite a lot, but ultimately didn’t love it.
Luckily there are lots more to choose from, and the re-reading value is high across the board. I find myself mulling over a return to one of the top-end Heyers. Perhaps The Quiet Gentleman, one of my favourites so far, to luxuriate in a bit of harmless daydreaming about the anti-Ivo therein portrayed!
Leaves & Pages 
Gotta love Heyer. She’s in a class by herself. Fun overview, too!
Bath Tangle has grown on me since I first read it but I’d still agree it is firmly middle of the pack for Heyer. Have you read The Foundling yet? If you’re looking for an anti-Ivo hero, it’s a great choice (ditto False Colours).
I’ve not yet found The Foundling, but your recommendation (and Helen’s) puts it well up on the look-for list. Thank you!
I haven’t read Bath Tangle but I’ll look out for The Quiet Gentleman first. I agree with you about the cover, very stylish.
Ah, yes, agree with all you say. Except. Georgette’s Regency novels are so much more than just romances. Her historical accuracy is renowned, her pacing is faultless, her characters are three-dimensional and,as for her dialogue, I have to fall back on the oft-used ‘sparkling’. Bath Tangle is not one of my favourites, either. I agree with comment above about the male protagonist in The Foundling and will add that Freddy, another surprising lead role in Cotillion has won my heart – with none of the usual hero’s attributes. But for laughing out loud, it’s Friday’s Child – some of the minor characters are priceless especially Ferdy. Add to all that, superb writing: heaven in a book.
Yes to everything you have said here! The dialogue is utterly brilliant; the author never breaks out of the world she is writing about; impeccable writing. Haven’t yet read The Foundling or Cotillon; I have a long way to go before my Georgette Heyer shelf is complete. Some good reading still ahead. I do have a good number of the Heyer mysteries as well, and I must say that they leave me less enthralled than the Regency books.
Oh, I do covet those Heinemann editions. They are perfection!
The very best. 🙂
Those ARE great covers, and when you said dust jackets, I had a moment of thinking that someone was releasing NEW editions of Heyer in hardback, and I was very excited for the possibilities around Christmas gifts for my mum. Alas!
Wouldn’t that be great – a new crop of Heyer hardcovers? 🙂 Sadly that is not the case. Though at least the newer softcovers are a decent size with largish print, though the girly covers can be a bit overdone, so screamingly “costume drama romance novel”, making for rather awkward public reading, if you know what I mean. 😉
Ha, ha! A few years ago I was in a well-respected book shop in Sydney and stopped to watch a young sales assistant load the Georgette’s onto a shelf under the heading, ‘Romance’, along with a range of eye-popping covers of the latest bodice-rippers and Gothic romances. I was outraged, especially as I had just noticed the latest Joan Collins offering in the section labelled ‘Literature’. I’m still recovering!
It must have been hard to resist taking the salesperson aside for a little educational lecture!
I must have read this, because I read them all at about 15 yo, but no memory at all. My favourites, with frequent re-reads, are Black Sheep, Corinthian, and Unknown Ajax. And those I will keep forever and read every couple of years..
I have just finished reading The Private World of Georgette Heyer, by Jane Aiken Hodge, and I was most interested to discover that The Unknown Ajax was one of her (Georgette Heyer’s) favourites. I haven’t read that one yet; still have it (and others) to look forward to! Bath Tangle was certainly okay, though not exceptionally wonderful, so your failure to remember its details is not to be wondered at. The mixture as usual. 🙂