Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

Title: Sylvester

Author: Georgette Heyer

Read by:  Nicholas Rowe

Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 59minutes

Source: Birthday Present from my Best Friend Jenn.  Thank-you!

Phoebe Marlow has a dream of becoming a novelist.  After a season in London, Phoebe uses the people she has met to write a thrilling novel featuring the arrogant Sylvester, Duke of Salford, and his distinctive eyebrows.  Phoebe does not think she’ll ever see the Duke again, but much to her horror he shows up at her family estate to determine whether she would make him a suitable bride.  He does not even remember that he had met her before and found her dull at their first meeting.  Their second meeting does not go well and they are soon off on a mad cap adventure.  Will Phoebe be able to stop her book from being published before it exposes the Duke to ridicule?  Will Sylvester be able to put aside his first impressions and snobbery to get to know people outside his circle?

Sylvester is truly a delight and made me laugh.  Nicolas Howe was a great narrator and I really enjoyed listening to this one on my work commute.  He did a good job of trying to give the characters different voices. Work was being stressful and this audiobook was a great way to unwind.  As a fan of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, I loved the regency setting of this novel and that the storyline which was about pride, prejudice, and first impressions seemed to echo the theme.  Sylvester is every bit as snobby as Mr. Darcy, but has a great turn around and reassessment of his own character as well.  Phoebe is delightfully independent and also has her own first impressions challenged in the novel as well. 

Heyer did a lot of research to get the details of the Regency period correct and I love those details.  The slang used by characters, the terminology for the type of dress and type of vehicle they drove is all spot on. I loved it.

Overall, Sylvester is a wonderful historical fiction novel full of wit and humor.  I highly recommend it to Jane Austen fans looking for something more.