The Reluctant Widow
Encyclopedia
The Reluctant Widow is a Regency romance
novel by Georgette Heyer
which describes the story of the heroine Elinor Rochdale who has her life turned upside down when she enters the wrong carriage on her way to be a governess to sustain herself. The story is set in early 1813. It was adapted into a movie in 1950.
Following Eustace's death, a sub-plot surrounding Cheviot and information supplied to the French - with whom the country is at war - comes to light and results in some spirited battles between Elinor and Carlyon. Ultimately, the incriminating information is taken back into safe hands and Elinor and Carlyon fall in love.
Regency romance
Regency romances are a subgenre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency or early 19th century. Rather than simply being versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency romances are a distinct genre with their own plot and stylistic...
novel by Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer was a British historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer...
which describes the story of the heroine Elinor Rochdale who has her life turned upside down when she enters the wrong carriage on her way to be a governess to sustain herself. The story is set in early 1813. It was adapted into a movie in 1950.
Plot summary
The heroine, Elinor Rochdale, daughter of a ruined gentleman, accepts the role of a governess to sustain herself. Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor finds herself in the wrong house, required by the sensible, sophisticated Edward Carlyon to marry his profligate cousin, Eustace Cheviot. In a somewhat dazed state, Elinor soon finds herself coerced into becoming the wife of a dying man, the mistress of a ruined estate and a partner in a secret conspiracy to save the family's name in only one night.Following Eustace's death, a sub-plot surrounding Cheviot and information supplied to the French - with whom the country is at war - comes to light and results in some spirited battles between Elinor and Carlyon. Ultimately, the incriminating information is taken back into safe hands and Elinor and Carlyon fall in love.