This is Georgette Heyer's version of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. It is absolutely charming, just like Jane Austen's novel. The version I listened to was an abridged version with Richard Armitage's voice. I was particularly impressed with the female voices Armitage created. I wish the book had been the full version, but Richard Armitage's voices and breezy style made up for the shortness of the story.
Sylvester, Duke of Salford, has decided that he needs a wife. He has precise requirements for his future bride. When he meets Phoebe Marlow, he sees that she meets none of his requirements and he plans to move on and keep looking. However, Sylvester and Phoebe are stuck together at a country inn for several days and they get a chance to evaluate each other without Phoebe's parents. Sylvester is stunned to find out that Phoebe is not interested in becoming his duchess.
In fact, Phoebe does not want to marry because she wants to be an author. To that end, she has completed a romance and submitted it to a publisher. Just about the time that Phoebe and Sylvester come to the point of quasi-friendship, her book arrives on bookshelves. It sweeps through the ton and everyone is talking about the villain, who just happens to be modeled after Sylvester.
Because I've read hundreds of Regency historical stories over the years, I can see that Heyer is very precise and accurate in her details of the customs and society of the time. She uses the slang that was in vogue at the time of the stories ('fustian' is a favorite). Al in all, this is a charming, delightful story enhanced by Armitage's voices.
