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Contents (80)
  1. CONTENTS
  2. ACTING ON IMPULSE
  3. CONTENTS
  4. INTRODUCTION
  5. “A PROPOSAL TO CICELY”
  6. INTRODUCTION
  7. A PROPOSAL TO CICELY
  8. THE END
  9. READING “A PROPOSAL TO CICELY”
  10. “THE LITTLE LADY”
  11. INTRODUCTION
  12. THE LITTLE LADY
  13. I.
  14. II.
  15. III.
  16. THE END
  17. READING “THE LITTLE LADY”
  18. “LINCKES’ GREAT CASE”
  19. INTRODUCTION
  20. LINCKES’ GREAT CASE
  21. I.
  22. II.
  23. III.
  24. IV.
  25. V.
  26. VI.
  27. VII.
  28. THE END
  29. READING “LINCKES’ GREAT CASE”
  30. “THE BULLDOG AND THE BEAST”
  31. INTRODUCTION
  32. THE BULLDOG AND THE BEAST
  33. THE END
  34. READING “THE BULLDOG AND THE BEAST”
  35. “ACTING ON IMPULSE”
  36. INTRODUCTION
  37. ACTING ON IMPULSE
  38. I.
  39. II.
  40. III.
  41. IV.
  42. THE END
  43. READING “ACTING ON IMPULSE”
  44. “WHOSE FAULT WAS IT?”
  45. INTRODUCTION
  46. WHOSE FAULT WAS IT?
  47. THE END
  48. READING “WHOSE FAULT WAS IT?”
  49. “THE CHINESE SHAWL”
  50. INTRODUCTION
  51. CONT
  52. THE CHINESE SHAWL
  53. I.
  54. II.
  55. III.
  56. IV.
  57. V.
  58. VI.
  59. VII.
  60. VIII.
  61. THE END
  62. READING “THE CHINESE SHAWL”
  63. “THE OLD MAID”
  64. INTRODUCTION
  65. THE OLD MAID
  66. THE END
  67. READING “THE OLD MAID”
  68. “LOVE”
  69. INTRODUCTION
  70. LOVE
  71. I.
  72. II.
  73. III.
  74. THE END
  75. READING “LOVE”
  76. THE SEARCH FOR “ON SUCH A NIGHT”
  77. GEORGETTE HEYER’S BIBLIOGRAPHY
  78. FURTHER READING
  79. COMING SOON!
  80. OCTOBER 29, 2019

Heyer had dogs through much of her life. From her mother’s beloved Dachshund to her own Pekingese (the very same who was perhaps the model for Chu-Chu San in “A Proposal to Cicely”) and her grandmother’s terriers, she knew and loved dogs from early childhood. As an adult, Heyer had a Sealyham terrier named Roddy; after Roddy came her adored bull terrier Jonathan Velhurst Viking (known as Jonny), and her magnificent wolfhound, Misty Dawn. Jonny would be her last four-legged friend, but Heyer would always have fictional dogs – delightful imaginary dogs who would come to life in her books. Mr. Sykes epitomises Heyer’s emotional connection to dogs and he would prove to be the fictional forerunner of the memorable canines that would eventually populate her Regency novels: Ulysses in Arabella, Tina in The Grand Sophy and Lufra in Frederica.

Like those felicitous creations, Mr. Sykes is delightful and Heyer brings him endearingly to life. Sykes snorts and waddles and snuffles and squirms his way through the story as he tries his best to bring his belligerent owner and the man she detests together. Heyer is finally hitting her short story straps here and allowing her natural wit and humour a much freer rein. Her voice is crisp, her characters more fully realised, and the story flows from the first sentence.

As always, class attitudes are inherent in Heyer’s depiction of upper middle-class people in 1920s England. Katharine is only poor because her once-wealthy father has invested his money badly. Her father has died and she must earn her living as a paid companion to a difficult great-aunt. Hugh Ruthven is one of Heyer’s independent men of means and, though he lives in a flat, he has a man-servant, a cook, and a parlour maid. Hugh also has a racing-car, is often at home during the day, and has no apparent need to work. This is the aspirational world so popular with readers after the Great War. Heyer needed only to sketch these details in lightly but she did so with a deftness that fleshes out her characters and evokes her readers’ empathy.

“The Bulldog and the Beast” is the first of three short stories which would signal the tone of the clever comedic novels yet to come.

THE BULLDOG AND THE BEAST

UPON the stairs which led to his flat, Hugh Ruthven met the bulldog. They eyed one another silently for a moment, until the bulldog signified his approval of this new acquaintance by a loud snort.

“I entirely agree with you,” said Ruthven.

The bulldog seemed pleased with this remark: he snuffled engagingly by and waddled upstairs in Ruthven’s wake. With his latch-key held ready, Ruthven again addressed the bulldog.

“Like to come in?” he inquired.

The bulldog said that he would. He said it quite plainly, with his ears and tail.

In the cosy hall, over a sweet biscuit, they made friends. The bulldog then wandered about the hall on a tour of inspection. He was interrupted by a girl’s voice, calling from without.