A Civil Contract (Regency Romances)

This is my absolutely favorite Georgette Heyer novel. It does not follow the normal pattern of most of her other books, because the story begins with the hero, Captain Deviril, being obliged to marry for money in order to save his ancestral home. The characters are more than usually well portrayed, from the unlovely heiress, the languishing love of his life, the tasteless tradesman father-in-law,irrepressable sister and gloomy mother. It's delightful and more realistic and sweet than any other of her stories. If you haven't read any of her novels, this is a good place to start.

This is not a "typical" Georgette Heyer romantic novel but it is one of the very best. The difficulties faced in this marriage of convenience are well portrayed and one feels for both the noble Hero and the homely heroine. I think more than in any other Heyer book, she conveys a mood and a realistic feel for what such a union must have been like. A Civil Contract is a tour de force and a good example of the wonderful Heyer writing. I have read this one over and over and each time I discover something new. Don't expect laughs or the usual romantic comedy type secondary characters that show up in so many of her books, be prepared for a slightly more serious tone and you will love this one.

This story was disappointing because even though our "hero" eventually admits that he loves Jenny, I don't believe it. I believe that Jenny loves him, she proves it by her actions and attitude toward him. Oh maybe he loves her like a pair of comfortable shoes. However, there is a great complacency in his love. I believe that when someone loves someone, even someone plain that that person becomes beautiful to the one who loves no matter how plain the outward appearance might initially be. I don't know why she wrote this story this way. I am glad I only paid a small amount for this story. I gave it three stars because it was well written and I did not find the story boring.

If I had to select one Georgette Heyer Regency from her entire list, this would be it. She takes the well-worn idea of an arranged marriage for wealth (hers) and title (his) and turns it into something funny and heart-breaking and ultimately, hugely satisfying. I have read it five times over the years and am happy to finally have it on my Kindle. Don't pass this one up because it doesn't fit the mold of Regency romance.

This is a wonderful story as all of Georgette Heyer's stories are. The impoverished H must marry for money to save his estate and family from ruin. So he must give up the love of his life to marry a shapeless plain Jane. He discovers the jewel beyond price and finds true happiness and love.

I always recommend this author to any historical romance reader. This isn't one of the more fun stories, but it's very touching and a little more 'real' as far as society and characters. I've read this several times and love it.

A quieter (more cynical?) Heyer - not the frothy fun of most of her other books. Reads as though she is older and more wearily aware of the realities of (rather than poking the borax at) social strictures. Still a fun read, recommended light relief from serious literature - should you ever find yourself so burdened!

Let the reader beware: this is not a fluffy, lighthearted Heyer meringue of a novel. It wrung my heart to tears several times. I couldn't put it down, and I'm so glad I bought it for my Kindle instead of borrowing it from the library. I'm sure I will read it again.

I adore Georgette Heyer and have read most of her regency romances. I'm not sure why this is listed as romance I frankly don't find it falls under that category. The hero left me feeling flat and frustrated. Mostly what I felt for Jenny was sadness for having to have a father wanting a marriage for a title. A husband that looks upon her with revulsion and then I'm given the thought that they will be with content and "comfortable".

It was a sad outlook and it wouldn't move me to read it again. Even when Adam does at the end find out Julia and he really didn't know each other we still have that "comfort" feeling from him to Jenny. Nothing more. And Jenny will be finally content with having that.

This doesn't exacdtly move my romance reading heart. As much as I love Heyer this fails for me.

I do love a Marriage of Convenience storyline. There are some lovely characters in this Heyer but I went back and forth over whether I liked Adam or not. I found myself skipping some of the military detail too but this was a very enjoyable romp and well up to Heyer's high standards.

Most boring of Heyer's novels. Everyone is so Britishly staid and controlled, there's little emotion. Only the commoner is a vulgarian, sort of like Trump. The romance was too like real life, and who needs that? Let's hike it up a little.

I realize we all like different things, but I paid $10 for the Kindle edition and I would recommend that you try a sample or perhaps find this book at the library as I regret the expenditure even though I have all the Kindle available books by this author. My preferences go toward humor with lively and more lovable characters that I wish to spend time with. Example of a favorite Heyer book in this category would be Frederica. There we have admirable heroine who is not on the catch for an eligible marriage but has focused on her siblings and their happiness after the death of her mother and then father. The youngest son in that family group, Felix, is so well drawn, and all the family adventures that he brings about add so much to that book. This book, Civil Contract, is very dull in comparison. The dialogue is reduced substantially and not much happens. Many circumstances in the story are so difficult to swallow, e.g. when hero looks at bride after wedding and feels repulsion. UGH. I am forcing myself to finish it for the second time as I try to understand and appreciate why this appealed to the other reviewers here. I cannot recommend this purchase if you seek the humor that Heyer was admired for. It's not to be found in this book unless you think it funny that a man with too much money chose outrageous furniture.

This was a dreary, boring, endlessly blathering story about a frumpy girl who marries a broke viscount. There are multiple pages with no paragraph breaks and tedious details about nonsense. It was just awful. I cannot understand why on earth it is so highly rated, or why anyone would read anything else by this author.

A Georgette Heyer Regency Romance unlike any other she wrote. It's one of the most hotly debated about Heyer stories because it is hate and loved in equal turns. She, herself, hated it at least in the middle of writing it. Personally, I think it is one of her best and delves deep into the unromantic side of romance, unrequited love, secret love, friendship, class differences, and marriages of convenience all in one.

The characters are still colorful and sparkling. There are the witty dialogues if not as frequent and some humor. There is also a bittersweet flavor.

A heroine who is a decided underdog in personality, appearance, and ability must find her way against a rival for the affection and respect of a man who married for necessity and resents his situation. I loved seeing shy, awkward Jenny paired with the dashing, disappointed Adam.

I read this one for the first time when in my thirties. I point this out because I think it makes a difference where one is at in age and life as to how this book will speak to them. I never was a dreamy romantic teen, but I don't think I would have understood enough about relationships to appreciate this book if I had read it then. I would have liked it because when all is said and done; its a good story. But, I might not have loved it and praised it as one of her best like I do now. It's not light, flirty, and easy as most. It's more akin to her historicals like The Spanish Bride or An Infamous Army of which its a contemporary story set during the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Heyer really put in the time with how a marriage of convenience, particularly with partners from a different class, would work out for them and their families. There are nuances in this one and little bits of discovery. Jenny's motives all along are deliberately kept vague until near the end. Characters on the peripheral like Lord Rockhill and Lord Brough see things so much more clearly than others who are close to the source. The hero, Adam, is so lost, defeated, bitter, and angry. I liked that she brought him along slowly until he came into his own learning his own worth and that of Jenny.

The book ends at the place that some might describe as more open-ended than happily ever after. It leaves things at a point where it is easy to see the direction for the future depending on how the reader understood the vague subtleties. Much of the obvious, open conflict is resolved, but yet, it leaves off without making any big, solid declarations about the future as the beginning of something new has started.

All in all, I think it shows another facet to the writer's storytelling. This one is a not so obvious gem and great if the reader is looking for marriage of convenience and class difference tropes all in one.

I knew of Georgette Heyer, but had never read any of her works. The style reminds me an awful lot of Framley Parsonage, in that it is such a “slice-of-life” look at love. Both books are more about a state of love found in contentment than in passion, and that’s apparent going into the narrative, as your main characters are either A) already together(Fanny and Mark Robarts), or B) get married at the start of story(Adam and Jenny). There’s nothing particularly dashing about the protagonists, unless you count navigating social strata and manners exciting enough.

A Civil Contract was not quite what I was expecting, at all, especially from a Regency romance. I suppose, however, it does meet the “requirements” for a romance novel, yet it is decidedly removed from the narratives I've read thus far. Though, having now typed that out, I find myself immediately wanting to backtrack.

Jenny isn’t so far removed from Jane Eyre, I suppose. Her upbringing is not the same, but her plain style and looks, coupled with a studious introversion, I can see similarities. And there is steadfastness to both women. They have a will about them, and a need to care for others, and ultimately it is either woman that “saves” their respective mates, in the end.

I did enjoy the inversion of what’s been the typical ending. A Civil Contract’s protagonists begin their relationship with a marriage, as opposed to ending with one, or several. I would have to say that it is the birth of the couple’s child that speaks to their “Happily Ever After,” much more so than their union. And I think it is interesting that A Civil Contract addresses two very different kinds of love. There is the lustful, passionate love (Adam’s attraction to Julia) and then there is the decidedly quieter, domestic type (what Adam finds with Jenny).

I see Julia as less a direct antagonist than I do Adam’s internal struggle to fight his passions. In that way, it is very much as though he is fighting against the urge to become as his father, an unbridled personality that could just as easily lose his way, and lose his estate. His relationship with Jenny, as it grows, is also a nice metaphor for winning the battle against youthful digressions. Adam’s rejection of Julia and commitment to Jenny is surely a sign that he has bettered his father, and will see the estate grow and prosper, as he will with his own family. Nice trick, that.

I question why Heyer set these events against the rise and fall of Napoleon, besides Heyer’s obvious infatuation with the time and material. Perhaps that is enough? Or maybe it was a way to interject a sense of adventure into what is a very, even for its day, tame narrative? An Infamous Army preceded A Civil Contract by a long stretch. It’d be interesting to pick up that book and compare it to Civil Contract.

I would hesitate to call A Civil Contract an anti-romance, unless adventure and swagger are personal prerequisites for enjoyment. At its core is a struggle between lust and love, and love – ultimately – wins.

This book will appeal to anyone who wishes to read about:
-imperfect heroes
-the reality of marriage vs. star-struck lovers
-heroes who grow and come to learn a thing or two about real love and about themselves
-real life can be way different from what we imagine

While reading this book I thought that I knew best what the characters needed, when I finished the book I realized that I was in just as much error as the characters in the story. Far from Jenny deserving more than what she got with Adam, instead her perseverance and love was totally justified in the end.

Instead of throwing in the towel when times get rough, sometimes we just need to persevere more and endure some hardships in order to get what we truly want. Adam too, finally came to realize he had been living in a fantasy of dreams that had nothing to do with reality. When he came to that realization, he was able to appreciate that life had dealt him, not what he had desired, but what he truly needed.

Personally, I am much more interested in reading fairytales of the happily-ever-after variety, which makes this book one of my least favorite of Georgette Heyer's books, which is why I give it only 4 stars. However, I realize that not everyone wishes to read those kinds of stories and this one should appeal to those types of readers. Having said that, Georgette Heyer never disappoints and this book is no exception in that respect.

I've read and reread every Georgette Heyer novel again and again since I was a child, and after all the years, this is by far my favorite. It's not the sparkling romance of so many of her other books, handsome lord and very pretty ingenue, but it has a ring of truth that is something much greater. There's something so satisfying about this novel. Reading it makes me feel content, every time.

A CIVIL CONTRACT by Georgette Heyer.

Readers in the mood for "true love" with passion and seduction, will not want this. Some find it sad. Although I wasn't sad. I felt calm and pleased at the end.

THE STORY:
Adam's father dies leaving huge debts. Adam needs to sell the family's London house and possibly the ancestral home. A friend arranges a meeting between Adam and Jonathan a wealthy business man. Jonathan wants a title for his daughter Jenny. In return he will pay Adam's mortgages and other things. The wedding is arranged and occurs.

OPINION:
I loved watching Jenny. She is short, stout, unattractive, and quiet. She knows Adam will never look at her with romantic feelings. She accepts that. Her goal is to give Adam a comfortable life. She turns out to be an ideal wife. Things she does are perfect for what is needed. She is thoughtful, cares about others, and desires to please both her father and husband. She has become one of my favorite characters. So solid, so true. And at the end, Adam realizes what a treasure he has in her.

This book is not romantic love. It's a different kind of love. Before Adam met Jenny, he and Julia had a romantic love - an infatuation. Adam never felt that way for Jenny. But at the end, Adam was comfortable, laughing, and happy in his life with Jenny.

A few times my mind wandered. I forget what those parts were about. Some of them were military things. So I wasn't fully engaged all the way through. But I enjoyed the relationships and characters as a nice change from traditional romance, which the author is famous for.

The narrator Phyllida Nash was good.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook length: 13 hrs and 37 mins. Swearing language: The word God a few times. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1814 to 1815 England. Book Copyright: 1961. Genre: relationship fiction, regency.

A CIVIL CONTRACT by Georgette Heyer.

Readers in the mood for "true love" with passion and seduction, will not want this. Some find it sad. Although I wasn't sad. I felt calm and pleased at the end.

THE STORY:
Adam's father dies leaving huge debts. Adam needs to sell the family's London house and possibly the ancestral home. A friend arranges a meeting between Adam and Jonathan a wealthy business man. Jonathan wants a title for his daughter Jenny. In return he will pay Adam's mortgages and other things. The wedding is arranged and occurs.

OPINION:
I loved watching Jenny. She is short, stout, unattractive, and quiet. She knows Adam will never look at her with romantic feelings. She accepts that. Her goal is to give Adam a comfortable life. She turns out to be an ideal wife. Things she does are perfect for what is needed. She is thoughtful, cares about others, and desires to please both her father and husband. She has become one of my favorite characters. So solid, so true. And at the end, Adam realizes what a treasure he has in her.

This book is not romantic love. It's a different kind of love. Before Adam met Jenny, he and Julia had a romantic love - an infatuation. Adam never felt that way for Jenny. But at the end, Adam was comfortable, laughing, and happy in his life with Jenny.

A few times my mind wandered. I forget what those parts were about. Some of them were military things. So I wasn't fully engaged all the way through. But I enjoyed the relationships and characters as a nice change from traditional romance, which the author is famous for.

The narrator Phyllida Nash was good.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Unabridged audiobook length: 13 hrs and 37 mins. Swearing language: The word God a few times. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1814 to 1815 England. Book Copyright: 1961. Genre: relationship fiction, regency.

Readers in the mood for "true love" with passion and seduction, will not want this. Some find it sad. Although I wasn't sad. I felt calm and pleased at the end.

THE STORY:
Adam's father dies leaving huge debts. Adam needs to sell the family's London house and possibly the ancestral home. A friend arranges a meeting between Adam and Jonathan a wealthy business man. Jonathan wants a title for his daughter Jenny. In return he will pay Adam's mortgages and other things. The wedding is arranged and occurs.

OPINION:
I loved watching Jenny. She is short, stout, unattractive, and quiet. She knows Adam will never look at her with romantic feelings. She accepts that. Her goal is to give Adam a comfortable life. She turns out to be an ideal wife. Things she does are perfect for what is needed. She is thoughtful, cares about others, and desires to please both her father and husband. She has become one of my favorite characters. So solid, so true. And at the end, Adam realizes what a treasure he has in her.

This book is not romantic love. It's a different kind of love. Before Adam met Jenny, he and Julia had a romantic love - an infatuation. Adam never felt that way for Jenny. But at the end, Adam was comfortable, laughing, and happy in his life with Jenny.

A few times my mind wandered. I forget what those parts were about. Some of them were military things. So I wasn't fully engaged all the way through. But I enjoyed the relationships and characters as a nice change from traditional romance, which the author is famous for.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Swearing language: The word God a few times. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1814 to 1815 England. Copyright: 1961. Genre: relationships fiction, regency.

Alas, this is by far the most miserable Heyer book I've encountered (and I've read about a dozen of hers). The whole marriage-of-convenience plot is sad, but the real tragedy is that none of the characters are interesting, so we never really care that they're unhappy. This may be Heyer's most realistic novel, but it just begs the question, why on earth would we want a realistic Heyer novel? Her other books are filled with hilarious dialogue, ridiculous plot twists, and unlikely characters, and they are a lot more fun. Comedy, not realism, is Heyer's strength. There is just no point to this dull serious novel.

The thing about us humans is- passion doesn't last. It may come and go- but it's not really a solid basis for marriage 9though it helps sometimes when things get tough).

This book is not a romance in the usual sense. The main characters never develop a strong passion for each other... and yet, they end up happy together; the husband ends up happier with his wife than he would have been with is inamorata, had that worked out... and at the end, he recognizes this.

I like to think that 5 or 10 years after the novel ends, they DO develop a passion for each other! Their marriage is so solid, and their appreciation for each other sufficiently sensitive (at the end), that I like to think it's possible. But even if not- they have a solid, working marriage.

I'm not particularly fond of Our Hero; he seems rather over-sensitive to what he considers slights upon his tender sentiments. He does control this, however... which shows how vastly superior HIS breeding is to the father of his wife (though her dad was a GREAT character and a lot of fun to read).

The secondary characters are also very well- and individually-drawn.

Arranged marriages have ben more the norm than the exception throughout most of history. This does show a way one can work.

I've had many people suggest I try Georgette Heyer. I've heard her call a 20th century Jane Austen, but I would definitely say that that's a stretch. She is able to mimic the writing style of that period surprisingly well. If you didn't know she was modern, you probably would assume she was a contemporary of Ms. Austen. I'm giving her two stars for the sheer brilliance with which she captures that era.

However, she does so without Austen's wit or social satire. It's like she takes all the bad parts of books from that era, such as rambling plot lines, minimal dialogue (except when it comes to discussing incredibly unimportant details of lady's clothing or the movement of Napoleon's troops), and little emotional development or depth, but doesn't include the witty humor or beautiful writing. Frankly, if I wanted a book that felt like it was actually written in that time period, I'd just pick up a book actually written in that time period. There's plenty out there.

It also doesn't help that this really isn't a romance at all, but rather a drama about two people trying to make the best of their lives. It really doesn't focus on their romance and I don't know that I would qualify what they end up with as love. Comfort, maybe. Friendship, probably. But it certainly doesn't match what most would call romance. If I had gone into the book with the knowledge that it isn't a strong romance, I probably would have enjoyed it more. Or at least, I probably wouldn't have picked it up in the first place.

Jo Beverly gives one of the best introductions I've ever read, and she's right -- you either love "A Civil Contract" or else you don't. I belong to the former camp because I not love this novel, I also think that it is probably the best Regency-era romance novel that Ms Heyer ever wrote. To begin with, "A Civil Contract" isn't what you'd usually expect from a Regency-era romance novel: the hero, Adam Deveril, has returned from the Napoleonic wars only to be greeted by the news that he has inherited a badly in-debt estate with his father's sudden death at the hunting field. A deeply honourable man with principles, Adam is willing to sell the estates and give up on his dream of marrying the love of his life, the beautiful and much pampered Julia Oversley. Fate steps in the shape a rich merchant, Jonathan Chawleigh. Mr. Chawleigh offers to help Adam settle his father's debts, save the estates and see that the rest of the Deverils are settled comfortably, if Adam will marry Mr. Chawleigh's plain and practical daughter, Jenny. And even though every feeling revolts at such a scheme, Adam finally agrees to the scheme so that his mother and sisters will be comfortable, and so that he can save his ancestral home. But will Adam be able to put aside his feelings for Julia and allow himself to feel some affection for practical Jenny? Or will he spend the rest of his life bitterly regretting that he had to give Julia up?

The novel centers on the first year of Adam's marriage to Jenny -- how the couple learn to live with each other, to understand each other and to cope with their families (in this case Adam's melancholy and slightly melodramatic mother, and Jenny's brash and over bearing father). Is their marriage a success? Does Adam come to love and value Jenny? I've always liked to think so. But not many readers have agreed; many believe that while Adam comes to value Jenny, all he feels for her is affection and gratitude. Whatever conclusion you come to however, it is undeniable that "A Civil Contract" is one the best, almost realistic look at an arranged marriage that has been recently written. Once again Ms Heyer makes us care for the principal characters involved and to hope that Adam really has come to passionately care for Jenny (as she so devoutly hopes that he one day will). "A Civil Contract" is a superbly written book, and is one that really should not be missed.

Georgette Heyer's talent for drawing true to life characters is no more clearly revealed in this bittersweet view of an arranged marriage, between a commoner and a land-poor Viscount. Julia and Adam are very much in love, Adam perhaps more particularly than Julia, but the exigencies of financial ruin obligate both to chose alternative paths, that is marriage to wealthy mates, to happiness.
Likeable Julia will always find happiness, as she is a loving and much beloved beauty, who if selfishly self involved, at least is kind to those about her. Adam is a somewhat different case, you may alternately like to bop him along side the head, er, pardon me, I mean box his ears, at his failure to realize the jewel he has acquired in his plain little heiress.
The real heroine of this novel, to our contemporary minds, must be the plump Jenny Chawleigh, and if a more lower class name you can find... Not only does she defy the Regency novelist demand that she be protrayed as a crass, mushroom, insensitive to others and living on her expectations of her fat coarse but beloved fathers largesse, she is lacking in all those qualities you usually associate with Regency heroines. New clothes do not suddenly turn the duckling into a swan, she remains as she appears at the beginning. She loves her husband and is bright, talented in her housekeeping and an honest keeping little thing. As they were to say in the parleance of the times.
Your heart aches with Jenny's as she intercepts the looks of the heartsworn lovers, she having just delivered the much hoped for heir, and know that Adam may be dutifully faithful to her, but his heart may always be elsewhere. But we live Hopefully everafter.
Adam, by the end of the novel, you have hopes may come to realize his dream of a life long love in his dowdy plump little merchant heiress bride, but it will never be the glowing heart rending first love of his youth. You will find yourself associating with that plump little practical wife of his, dutifully and desparately in love with her husband, and rooting that her hopes will eventually be realized. I think I am most reminded of the poignancy of Koen's book, "Through a Glass Darkly", a paean to unrequited love, albeit it in an earlier era of British History.
If you love the lighthearted Heyer romps full of detail on cockfighting breeds, horse numbers at the inns, and the alls well that ends well of so many of hers and others regency novels. This one is a shocker. It is a mature work, but a mature author, and in my humble opinion, the very best book ever written by Heyer. I couch this by saying I have no particular love of mysteries, so though I understand that many regard her mysteries as the best of her writing, and are the most valuable book seller wise, I absolutely live for a well written regency. And this is a regency through and through. Not a mystery in sight in this particular book, written to portray that interlude between the imprisonment of Napolean and his subsequent defeat the following year at Waterloo. As a result, this book would be a good one to be followed with a rather boring account, more of a historical narrative on Waterloo, called "An Infamous Army." which being one of my least favorite Heyer books. But that is another review.

I love Georgette Heyer's Regency books. For those who don't know... it is a genre she invented, and one that was then heavily copied by many others. She did real research: she read diaries, books, and letters from the Regency era. (The Regency era consisted of the very early 1800's. It was pre-Queen Victoria and the extremes of modesty she insisted on where not yet in force. It was an era of much looser behavior, more open mindedness, and freedom.)

Heyer has the slang and the speech patterns down perfectly, as well as the knowledge of the clothing they wore, the hairstyles, the way the rich lived, and how they gambled, raced horses, and had love affairs. She also wrote some books set even earlier in the late 1700's, which are not as good in my opinion but still better than 9 out of 10 "romance/adventures". Her mysteries were mainly set in what were for Heyer modern times: in the 1920's, '30's and I'm not too fond of them.)

There are a few books which are non-fiction and cover the Regency era well: An Elegant Madness: High Society in Regency England by Venetia Murray and Georgette Heyer's Regency Worldby Jennifer Kloester. Of the two I prefer "An Elegant Madness". There are also, of course, books about and by Lord Byron, who lived at that time, and Beau Brummell who changed forever the way men dressed!

Many compare Heyer to Jane Austen who lived at this time, and whose books are set in this era. Heyer has the same dry humor and wit. Her books are also, as others have pointed out, very "clean"...she wrote from the age of 15, in about 1922, until close to her death in 1974. So, HER Regency Romances are definitely not bodice rippers or soft porn. I'm not being prudish, just want to be clear on that. One of her books, "Bath Tangle" which sounds as if it could fall into that other category is actually about a romance in the British town of Bath...

This book (and I truly wish the editorial reviewers had not given so much of the plot away: if you haven't read it don't!) is very different from all her others. I DO NOT want to give away the plot so I won't go further, but I'll only say I've read and re-read all the Heyer Regency books and this over time, has become my favorite. Its more mature, in a way, the characters and the perfect timing between humor and sadness shows Heyer at her peak, I believe.

Take a chance on this one if you have not already and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

I have read Civil Contract several times..always feeling sad and unfulfilled when I turn the last page. Not this time! I finally understand what Georgette Heyer was trying to say. This is a realistic, practical true to life love story. Tender and True. It is not a fairytale love story but one that all imperfect people can understand. Enjoy!!

One of my great treasures is my collection of the complete works of Georgette Heyer, started when I was still at university and completed with the publication of Lady of Quality. I haven't read any of them for over 20 years but they have travelled with me all over the world, carefully packed up every time I have moved.
In preparation for a recent long-haul flight, I picked out several Heyers including A Civil Contract to re-read. The story is outlined by other reviewers and indeed it is exquisitely plotted, moving slowly through the seasons and the social, political and economic events of the times. Essentially, it is the story of unlikely opposites marrying much in accordance with the customs of the time and building a deep and affectionate relationship despite themselves.
The characters are all well drawn (although perhaps Mr Chawleigh is a bit two dimensional) and they slowly grow on you so that you care what happens to them and you cheer them on as they find their way through a situation that initially seems unlikely to offer any personal happiness.
What struck me when re-reading this novel was just how few writers of the regency genre have come anywhere near reaching Heyer's standards. Her intimate knowledge of every aspect of life during the Regency, her acute literary skills and sheer ability to tell a good story have never been equalled by her aspirants. She continues, to this day, to be the ultimate benchmark for regency fiction.

This is not a typical Georgette Heyer novel. It is neither an eighteenth century tale of intrigue nor a Regency comedy. I think it is best described as a relationship novel that happens to be set in the Regency period.
Captain Adam Deveril becomes Viscount Lynton on the sudden death of his extravagant, debt-ridden father. Finding himself facing financial ruin, he faces the prospect of losing both his ancestral lands and the woman he loves, the beautiful and romantic Julia Oversley. Lord Oversley, seeking a way to help Adam out, puts him in touch with Jonathon Chawley, a vulgar but immensely rich merchant. Chawleigh's only child is Jenny, a plain and definitely unromantic friend of Julia's, and her father is seeking a marriage into the nobility for her. By marrying Jenny, Adam manages to fend off one disaster and retains his ancestral lands. But how will he recover from his broken heart? What will become of Julia? And how will Jenny cope with marriage to a man that does not love her and that takes her outside the world she is familiar with?
There is a lot to like in this book. The characters are very well delineated, the historical and period detail grounds the story effortlessly, and the story never drags, despite the essential mundanity of its events. Mundanity is really the key here, and I don't mean that as a disparagement, for "A Civil Contract" is all about the little things in life: home, family, and how people get along together.
Where this book falls down for me is character. I just don't find anything much to like in Adam. He thinks to himself at one point, "I take everything and give nothing", and that sums him up pretty well. His thoughts about his own nobility as compared to Chawleigh's vulgarity are pretty grating too, considering his father-in-law's kind heart and great achievements (unlike Adam, he was born with nothing). Julia inspired me with nothing but the desire to give her a good slap, and even Jenny herself is not especially interesting (though again, this is the point of the story - her ordinariness). The supporting characters are more fun, from the dragon Lady Nassington, to Dowager Lady Lynton, always ready to inspire guilt in those around her, the fun-loving Lydia, and the Marquis of Rockhill, a peculiar mix of tenderness and sarcasm.
Don't expect great excitment from this book. This is a quiet tale of domesticity and the trials of life as its two protaganists grow together. Very readable.

I absolutely adore Georgette Heyer's works and was looking forward to A Civil Contract. Having just finished it, I still cannot say whether I liked it or not. I was drawn deeply into the lives of the main characters, as I always am with Heyer, and her writing here was particularly moving and poignant. Jenny is truly admirable, as is Adam, in his way, but I grew increasingly impatient with his inability to see Julia for the spoiled, shallow, vacuous (and ultimately predatory) beauty she obviously was. A man of his substance should not have been so carried away by romantic fantasies -- and yet, aren't we all, sometimes? And although I often wanted to shake Adam or slap his face, how can one blame a man for simply NOT falling in love with "the better woman"? Of course, I applaud Heyer for revealing Julia's character to be as flawed as we knew it to be -- I constantly wanted to throttle her!--, and for revealing Jenny to be a true heroine worthy of the love and value Adam eventually offers her. All in all, a mature, realistic, and extremely well-written book, truly moving and bittersweet, and one I will remember for a long time -- but it did not give me that warm romantic easy feeling that I have come to look for from Heyer's works.

One of Georgette Heyer's later works, "A Civil Contract" turns its back on many of the conventions that people look for in regency novels. The protagonist is worthy but not dashing, the heroine is neither pretty nor sparkling, and their arranged marriage ends with affection rather than a suddenly-realized passion.

In short, it's a regency with realism. And I devoured it.

Fantasy and froth are fine, but I read Heyer because she had a brain. Her imitators would have butchered this story (and they have, many times) with a hundred facile missteps: the plain bride would have somehow morphed into a beautiful swan; the hard, grudging lessons would have been miraculously condensed into a single page near the end; and our couple would have exploded into flaming passion. But what emerges here is something a good deal more true and insightful, with real characters instead of cardboard parodies. I much prefer it to stuff like "April Lady," and I suspect she did too.

I probably read almost all the Georgette Heyer Regencies about 20 years ago and enjoyed them all ... but this, somewhat to my surprise, was the one that stuck with me the most. Re-reading it now, I understand why better and think that it is almost a small masterpiece. No evil villians, no larger-than-life heros (well, Jenny, but even she has her very "human" moments), no sudden mind-altering changes of heart -- but perhaps a greater miracle: the steady growth of love between some honorable and loveable people -- more than the hero and heroine, in fact. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I rather liked the last few pages because where they were left off is, really, where they would be in "real" life and you get the feeling that the story truly does continue and get even more wonderful after you leave off. I guess I would like it better if we could glimpse the changes in their more intimate moments also .... but then Georgettte Heyer wouldn't have been writing the story and it would be nothing like a masterpiece. Please read it - sometime when you have the time to savor each step of the way and some of the truly, truly funny moments, as well as the touching ones.