A civil contract Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. By Heyer, Georgette, 1902-1974. Publication date 1968. Publisher New York, Putnam. Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks; china. Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive. Internet Archive Books.
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Preview — A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer
Adam Deveril, is one of the Duke of Wellington's captains, and a hero at Salamanca. When his father, a crony of the Prince Regent, is killed in the hunting field, Adam became the 6th Viscount Lynton of Fontley Priory, Lincolnshire. But he retuns from the Peninsula War to find his magnificent home in disrepair and his family on the brink of ruin and the broad acres of his a...more
Published June 2nd 2005 by Arrow (first published 1961)
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Favorite Georgette Heyer Book! 51 books — 728 voters
Clean Regency (or around then) Romance Novels 564 books — 676 voters
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Jun 02, 2011Kim rated it really liked it · review of another edition
This review contains some spoilers
I know from reading Jennifer Kloester’s excellent biography of Georgette Heyer* that A Civil Contract was not an easy novel for Heyer to write. Before starting work on it, Heyer wrote to a friend that she wanted to write a new kind of novel that would be “neither farcical nor adventurous”. Heyer wrote that the novel would depend for its success on whether she could make the hero as charming as she believed him to be and also on whether she “could make a quiet st...more
Shelves: library-has, regency, historical-fiction
3.5 stars, rounding up: this is an unusual story that has grown on me. A Civil Contract is a marriage of convenience tale, very different from Georgette Heyer's other Regency novels that I've read. There is a romance at the heart of it, as usual, but it's practical-minded and a little bit heartbreaking, as well as heartwarming. It’s much more like real life than your typical romance novel.
Captain Adam Deveril, now Lord Lynton, returns to his ancestral home from the Napoleonic wars when his fathe...more
Captain Adam Deveril, now Lord Lynton, returns to his ancestral home from the Napoleonic wars when his fathe...more
Jun 30, 2009Hannah rated it really liked it · review of another edition
This is the fifth Heyer I've read, and it's my favorite to date. Given that Georgette Heyer wrote dozens of books, I still have a way to go before I can claim it as my favorite of all, but I think I've sampled enough to get a feel for the type of books she wrote and the character styles she favorited.
A Civil Contract is a departure from the Heyer romantic plotlines. Although marriages of convenience are standard regency romance fare, Heyer takes this and stands it on its head by keeping the hero...more
A Civil Contract is a departure from the Heyer romantic plotlines. Although marriages of convenience are standard regency romance fare, Heyer takes this and stands it on its head by keeping the hero...more
Feb 15, 2011Grace Tjan rated it liked it
Having just read a god awful Pride and Prejudice ‘sequel’, I wanted to read a bona fide Regency romance, and picked one by no one less than Georgette Heyer, the originator of the genre, and perhaps the only romance novelist who comes with glowing recommendations from A.S. Byatt. Not being a romance reader, I didn’t know what to expect, but I thought that this book is one decidedly odd romance. Imagine pitching it as a rom com/costume drama script to a Hollywood studio executive:
Studio Executive...more
Apr 01, 2016Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ rated it it was amazing · review of another editionStudio Executive...more
Recommends it for: Lovers of more realistic romances
GH's most unromantic romance. But does romantic love last anyway or does it change to comfortable companionship?
GH explores this theme with (as usual for her) a rich cast of colourful characters & she deftly weaves some real life history into the plot. She handles several romantic plots with considerable aplomb.
Like many of her later romances, Adam isn't an idle aristocrat - he is originally a soldier, then becomes a gentleman farmer - & he is called home to England when his recently de...more
GH explores this theme with (as usual for her) a rich cast of colourful characters & she deftly weaves some real life history into the plot. She handles several romantic plots with considerable aplomb.
Like many of her later romances, Adam isn't an idle aristocrat - he is originally a soldier, then becomes a gentleman farmer - & he is called home to England when his recently de...more
Nov 03, 2007Darcy rated it liked it
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I've read quite a few of Heyer's novels and this one struck me as particularly interesting. Heyer is a legend among romance readers--her characters have depth, the events make sense, and while these are books with more talk than action, that talk is lively and always well written.
Heyer's novels fall into a few categories: silly, young heroine marries worldly hero and the two agree to a 'French' marriage, only to discover they are in love; older, independent, soph...more
I've read quite a few of Heyer's novels and this one struck me as particularly interesting. Heyer is a legend among romance readers--her characters have depth, the events make sense, and while these are books with more talk than action, that talk is lively and always well written.
Heyer's novels fall into a few categories: silly, young heroine marries worldly hero and the two agree to a 'French' marriage, only to discover they are in love; older, independent, soph...more
Jul 22, 2015Moonlight Reader rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
I am going to gush.
I've read a lot of Georgette Heyer - as the originator of the regency romance, she is a hugely influential author. She is a talented, careful writer with a flair for comedy, and some of her best books are also some of her funniest.
A Civil Contract is a departure from her usual formula, and it knocked my socks off. It begins with Adam Deveril being forced to return home from his position in the Army, as his spendthrift father has unexpectedly died in a riding accident, and he h...more
I've read a lot of Georgette Heyer - as the originator of the regency romance, she is a hugely influential author. She is a talented, careful writer with a flair for comedy, and some of her best books are also some of her funniest.
A Civil Contract is a departure from her usual formula, and it knocked my socks off. It begins with Adam Deveril being forced to return home from his position in the Army, as his spendthrift father has unexpectedly died in a riding accident, and he h...more
An old-fashioned story with a new-fashioned problem, a Victorian era viscount needs money to keep his estate going so he marries the daughter of a merchant, instead of his fiance. The new bride knows exactly why she was chosen instead of the beauty.
Jul 08, 2014boogenhagen rated it it was ok Shelves: show-me-the-lurve, anachronistic-contemporary-historic, sloppy-seconds, society-moc, sad-and-sorry-i-read-it, nice-people-i-am-sure
I hate to confess this, but I am really not a GH fan. I have read them all, but srsly, I just don't feel the love. Probably because the very first GH I ever read was this one, and it damn near ruined my appreciation for historicals for life.
All I can say is thank goodness I soon ran into Candace Camp and Marion Chesney and most especially Loretta Chase and Elizabeth Neff Walker's The Loving Seasons pretty much saved the entire Regency Genre for me.
This is an excellently written novel, unfortu...more
All I can say is thank goodness I soon ran into Candace Camp and Marion Chesney and most especially Loretta Chase and Elizabeth Neff Walker's The Loving Seasons pretty much saved the entire Regency Genre for me.
This is an excellently written novel, unfortu...more
Mar 02, 2011Sophia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
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...more
Apr 02, 2019Linda rated it really liked itThe characters are still colorful and sparkling. There are the witty dialogues if...more
Shelves: marriage-of-convenience, traditional-regency, hero-was-a-soldier, open-library, heroine-is-plain-looking
I can’t imagine having a family dependent on me and spending my monies beyond my assets. All the while, frivolously enjoying myself with the nobility as did the late fifth Viscount, Lord Lynton. In the end, he left a financial mess and what should have been a tale of ruin.
Adam, the sixth Viscount and new Lord Lynton, met with his deceased sire’s man of business. In order to hold on to his estate, he was given an answer and it was as clear as day. He needed to marry an heiress.
~~~~~
Before I go...more
Adam, the sixth Viscount and new Lord Lynton, met with his deceased sire’s man of business. In order to hold on to his estate, he was given an answer and it was as clear as day. He needed to marry an heiress.
~~~~~
Before I go...more
Aww, Georgette Heyer. How come I never review her books? I became a huge Heyer fan in my romantic teens, and I have to say, her books never pall; if anything I enjoy them even more now that I am wallowing in my middle years. I remember being disappointed when I read this book first: it's about Adam, whose profligate father dies, leaving him penniless and unable to marry the beautiful and romantic Julia. Julia's father, sympathetic to Adam's dire financial straits, puts him in the way of marrying...more
Apr 13, 2016QNPoohBear rated it liked it · review of another edition Shelves: clean-romance, kisses-only, regency-romance
Adam Deveril of the Duke of Wellington's 52nd Regiment has only recently returned to active combat duty after being wounded when he learns of the tragic death of his father, Viscount, Lord Lynton of Lincolnshire. He is more shocked to learn that his father died in massive debt and their estate, Fontley Priory is mortgaged to the hilt. Adam has only one choice: sell. How can he sell his family home? Should he? He has a mother and two younger sisters to support. Even if Charlotte accepts her belov...more
Nov 25, 2016Mela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition Shelves: historical-fiction, favorite-love-stories, historical-period-long-19th-century, british-literature, historical-romance, zz-georgette-heyer, psychological-and-philosophical
This is one of the late books of Heyer and one can see this novel is thoughtful.
Yes, it isn't a witty Regency romance. I would not say it is a sad story but it isn't Cotillion nor Sprig Muslin (the fans of Heyer will know what I mean).
This piece is something between a historical romance and a historical fiction. You can see how much did Heyer know about Regency era. Everyday life (mostly) of nobility. I don't recall that in any other book of Heyer there is so much about agriculture in those time...more
Yes, it isn't a witty Regency romance. I would not say it is a sad story but it isn't Cotillion nor Sprig Muslin (the fans of Heyer will know what I mean).
This piece is something between a historical romance and a historical fiction. You can see how much did Heyer know about Regency era. Everyday life (mostly) of nobility. I don't recall that in any other book of Heyer there is so much about agriculture in those time...more
Mar 24, 2013Jane Stewart rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Settling for someone you don’t love, and then finding value, and it’s good. And your life is better.
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 daug...more
May 29, 2019Sophia rated it it was amazing · review of another editionReaders 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 daug...more
Shelves: 2019-audio-challenge, historical-romance, audio-books
I've reprised my print version review because I really didn't have anything different to add on the content of the story and will only include my narration thoughts at the end.
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, unrequ...more
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, unrequ...more
Mar 10, 2012Mary Ronan Drew rated it it was amazing
I have a friend who, when darkness comes and pain is all around, resorts to re-reading her collection of Georgette Heyer novels. I did not really understand what she saw in these, the best of the Regency romances (unless you count Jane Austen's novels, which of course were also Regency romances) until a couple of years ago when I read some of the best-known of them, The Corinthian, The Nonesuch, and Charity Girl. These books sparkle. Forget Harlequin. These are first-rate novels.
So when someone...more
Jul 30, 2008CLM rated it really liked it · review of another editionSo when someone...more
Shelves: regency
This is a book that is hard to love as an impressionable adolescent but is highly valued by more mature fans of GH and gains appeal with every reread. Yet it has a tinge of melancholy throughout due to the fact that Adam sacrifices himself for his family/estate by marrying Jenny for her money, and he (at least initially) believes she is marrying him for his title, whereas in fact, although she is in some way willing to please her father (who wants her to marry into the aristocracy) she secretly...more
Jun 14, 2013Nikki rated it really liked it
A Civil Contract is quite unlike Heyer’s other novels, because the romance is understated and, indeed, there isn’t much romance at all, at least not in the same sense. It’s a much more practical novel, dealing with the realities of life: more or less arranged marriages, marriages of convenience, unsuitable matches… The most entertaining thing about it is the clash between the aristocratic main character and his father-in-law, Mr Chawleigh. In fact, Mr Chawleigh quite steals the show on a number...more
Dec 13, 2011Lady Wesley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
A masterful job by Georgette Heyer that deserves to be liberated from the 'Regency romance' ghetto and considered as serious fiction. It's not really even a romance, given that the main characters marry for money and nothing else. We watch them grow, however, into a sort of love based upon their strong commitment and sense of honor. Very touching, with a dose of humor delivered by the bride's impressively vulgar father.
Jan 04, 2014Nick Imrie rated it liked it · review of another edition Shelves: romance, romance-hetero, time-regency, fiction
The Heyer Group are reading Friday's Child. So while I was waiting for that to show up at library, I decided to reread an old Heyer I had on my shelf, which I'd almost entirely forgotten. This is a strange one. The main relationship here isn't between the hero and heroine (Adam Deveril and his wife Jenny) but between the hero and his father-in-law: pushy milloinaire Jonathan Chawleigh.
Heyer has a wonderful talent for mixing hilarious charicatures with rather subtly drawn and insightful characte...more
Aug 03, 2017Jess rated it liked it · review of another editionHeyer has a wonderful talent for mixing hilarious charicatures with rather subtly drawn and insightful characte...more
Shelves: 2017-all, own-ebook, romance, 2017-new, romance-historical
This was a weird book to read. I knew going in that this was the 'controversial' Heyer, where you either really like it or you don't, and I think I ended up somewhere in the middle.
I liked Jenny. I mostly liked Adam. The side characters are glorious, even Julia who is really well drawn despite the fact that I loathe her. I only mostly liked Adam, because I thought he spent too much time feeling sorry for himself and he REALLY took his wife for granted, and was far too often casually cruel to her...more
I liked Jenny. I mostly liked Adam. The side characters are glorious, even Julia who is really well drawn despite the fact that I loathe her. I only mostly liked Adam, because I thought he spent too much time feeling sorry for himself and he REALLY took his wife for granted, and was far too often casually cruel to her...more
Jun 17, 2008Jamie Collins rated it liked it · review of another edition
This is a different sort of Georgette Heyer novel. It's almost an anti-romance, where instead of falling deeply in love, our hero and heroine settle for good enough. It's an interesting plot variation.
We have a heroine who isn't a beauty, and whose many self-deprecating comments are not contradicted by her friends, who perhaps see no reason to deny an obvious lack of advantage. We have a hero who is infuriating not because he's an arrogant ass in the mold of Mr. Darcy, but because he is kind and...more
Feb 20, 2010Ilze rated it it was amazingWe have a heroine who isn't a beauty, and whose many self-deprecating comments are not contradicted by her friends, who perhaps see no reason to deny an obvious lack of advantage. We have a hero who is infuriating not because he's an arrogant ass in the mold of Mr. Darcy, but because he is kind and...more
Shelves: desert-island-keepers, traditional-regency, georgette-heyer
Heyer's other masterpiece (I've already called An Infamous Army Heyer's masterpiece, but I hadn't re-read this one in several decades when I said that). Amazingly good characters, lots of interior dialogue and character development, lots of humour (and the Dowager character totally reminded me of my mother). Probably her most 'realistic' book in that many of the scenes are not just from an imaginary Regency England fairyland.
Sep 21, 2012Mo rated it it was amazing Shelves: brit-lit, w-bpl, 0-dl, 0-dl-tb, regency, read-more-than-once, 2017, 2019
Re-read February 2019 while vacationing in Florida.
Re-read January 27, 2017 while recovering from the flu.
Re-read January 27, 2017 while recovering from the flu.
The realness of some of the bursts of negative emotions experienced by the characters, the bile sometimes expressed, made me somewhat uncomfortable at times while reading this. This is why it is not my favorite Heyer. It's slightly dark overtones means it really isn't a relaxing read.
Love the historical details. As always I learnt something new about the period. The glimpse into the life of a cit was intriguing. And she somehow managed to make a completely vulgar character affable and charming...more
Love the historical details. As always I learnt something new about the period. The glimpse into the life of a cit was intriguing. And she somehow managed to make a completely vulgar character affable and charming...more
May 25, 2007Res rated it really liked it
The one where financial ruin forces Lord Lynton to marry rich merchant's daughter Jenny instead of his true love Julia.
This is the first time I've read a Heyer book -- or for that matter any Regency -- that was about marriage rather than about courtship. I liked it very much.
Adam is both warm and good, but immature -- another thing that I haven't seen in other Heyer books -- and so he has a lot of changes to go through over the course of the book. It was a pleasure to see him find a good balanc...more
This is the first time I've read a Heyer book -- or for that matter any Regency -- that was about marriage rather than about courtship. I liked it very much.
Adam is both warm and good, but immature -- another thing that I haven't seen in other Heyer books -- and so he has a lot of changes to go through over the course of the book. It was a pleasure to see him find a good balanc...more
Georgette Heyer wrote two types of romance novels. One type was lighter, often verging on farce or containing large doses of adventure, such as Faro's Daughter or The Talisman Ring. The other type was more serious such as These Old Shades or this book, A Civil Contract.
We hear a lot in romances about couples who married for money but they tend to be couples on the periphery of the main action. In this book, Heyer took the bold action of making a distinctly unromantic match the main story. Adam...more
We hear a lot in romances about couples who married for money but they tend to be couples on the periphery of the main action. In this book, Heyer took the bold action of making a distinctly unromantic match the main story. Adam...more
Nov 05, 2008Alaine rated it it was amazing
This is the first time that I've read a Georgette Heyer novel and I loved it. It was like stepping back in time to live with real people. The way Heyer supplied so many small details that give you such a complete picture of what life must have been like in the Regency period in England.
The romantic plot centres on a Viscount who reluctantly enters into a marriage of convenience with a wealthy commoner's daughter due to his father's death and substantial family debt he has inherited.
For much of t...more
The romantic plot centres on a Viscount who reluctantly enters into a marriage of convenience with a wealthy commoner's daughter due to his father's death and substantial family debt he has inherited.
For much of t...more
Jun 22, 2015Hana rated it really liked it
Close to a five for sheer originality and daring. Most romances end with the wedding or the proposal. This marvelous historical novel starts with a death, moves on to one of the most awkward proposal scenes ever and follows a couple through the first year of a marriage of convenience. The characters are wonderful--even the minor figures are vividly, and often amusingly drawn. The social commentary is deft. There is also a great historical sub-plot surrounding the Napoleonic wars, ending with the...more
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Georgette Heyer was a prolific 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 she married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. Rougier later became a barrister and he often provided basic plot outlines for her thrillers. Beginning in 1932, Heyer released one romance nov...more
In 1925 she married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. Rougier later became a barrister and he often provided basic plot outlines for her thrillers. Beginning in 1932, Heyer released one romance nov...more
More quizzes & trivia...
“They used to say of me that I'd as many lucky escapes as Harry Smith!'
'Shouldn't be at all surprised: I've seen one of 'em myself,' Brough said cryptically.” — 12 likes
'Shouldn't be at all surprised: I've seen one of 'em myself,' Brough said cryptically.”
“Yet, after all, Jenny thought she had been granted more than she hoped for when she married him. He did love her: differently, but perhaps more enduringly; and he had grown to depend on her. She thought that they would have many years of quiet content: never reaching the heights, but living together in comfort and deepening friendship.” — 5 likes
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Guest review by Laura A. Wallace A Civil Contract is an atypical Georgette Heyer novel. While the setting is firmly Regency, beginning at the Editorial Reviews. Review. 'Sparkling' Independent 'My favourite historical novelist - stylish, A Civil Contract (Regency Romances) - Kindle edition by Georgette Heyer. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or Guest review by Elaine Simpson-Long of Random Jottings I was 15 when I first read A Civil Contract and I remember being slightly I've read a lot of Georgette Heyer - as the originator of the regency romance, she .. A Civil Contract is quite unlike Heyer's other novels, because the romance is Buy A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer (ISBN: 9780099474449)Store. Free UK delivery on eligible orders. a civil contract Georgette Heyer Captain Adam Deveril is forced to leave his regiment during the Spanish campaign because his father dies A Civil Contract is a Regency romance novel by Georgette Heyer, first published in 1961. Set in 1814-1815, it is also a historical novel and follows the general In Ken MacLeod's Cosmonaut Keep you can buy porn openly, but romance novels are sold under the counter in brown paper bags. Similarly in A Civil Contract (Regency Romances) [Georgette Heyer] A five-star job of sheerly delightful romance My brain was begging for another fun romp, so I downloaded another Heyer, A Civil Contract, from the library. But A Civil Contract was not at all