The Corinthian

A daring escape

Penelope Creed will do anything to avoid marrying her repulsive cousin. Dressed in boy's clothing, she's fleeing from London when she's discovered by Sir Richard Wyndham, himself on the verge of the most momentous decision of his life.

And a heroic rescue

When Sir Richard encounters the lovely young fugitive, he knows he can't allow her to travel to the countryside all alone, so he offers himself as her protector. As it happens, at that very moment Sir Richard could use an escape of his own...

Original Publisher: Heinemann
Original Year of Publication: 1940 [2009 reprint]
Page Count: 261

This is my favorite Heyer novel yet! I tend to prefer my romances on the light and airy side, and this one definitely fits the bill. It's a farce, and it's incredibly funny! So many outrageous tropes abound: chick-in-pants, mistaken identity, comedy of errors, and a road trip, just to name a few. There are appearances by jewel thieves, dastardly (stupid) dandies, a roughneck Bow Street Runner on a wild goose-chase, a dead man, an imminently silly secondary couple (both of whom the heroine rightly gets plenty of digs in), as well as the titular Corinthian and the cheeky young heroine who brings him to heel.

I adored both Richard and Pen, and was rooting for them all the way. Pen got herself into plenty of scrapes (not entirely of her own making, mind!) and Richard was her amused savior at every turn. It's absolutely delightful, and well worth a read if you're looking for something fun and frothy!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐