''Sprig Muslin'' is a

Regency romance Regency romances are a subgenre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency (1811–1820) or early 19th century. Rather than simply being versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency r ...

novel by

Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (; 16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story conceived for her ail ...

. The story is set in 1813.See http://www.georgette-heyer.com/chron.html

Plot summary

Sir Gareth is a noted Corinthian and has been a confirmed bachelor ever since his betrothed died prematurely, seven years ago. He decides for practical reasons to marry an old friend, Hester, who is unfashionable and plain, not to mention "on the shelf" at the age of 29. However, he soon meets a young, runaway girl and determines to resolve her problems satisfactorily. Unfortunately, this particular runaway is possessed of an extremely lively imagination, and gets them both into a little more trouble than he had bargained for. The piece is reminiscent of ''

Charity Girl ''Charity Girl'' is a Regency romance novel by Georgette Heyer, first published in 1970. Plot ''Charity Girl'' revolves around the character of the twenty-nine-year-old Viscount Ashley Desford and his mission to save Charity Steane from a pre ...

'', also about a wiser and more experienced man helping a young girl to find her feet while avoiding becoming romantically entangled with her.

Characters

* Sir Gareth Ludlow — a Corinthian who never got over the death of his fiancée Clarissa Lincombe seven years ago. * Lady Hester Theale — 29, the eldest daughter of Lord Brancaster * Lord Theale, Earl of Brancaster — Lady Hester's widowed father, profligate member of the Prince Regent's set, country seat is Brancaster Park,

Chatteris Chatteris () is a market town and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in the Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely. The town is in the North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency. The parish o ...

* Lord Theale, Viscount Widmore — Lady Hester's brother * Cliff — Lord Theale's butler * Povey — Lady Hester's maid * Amanda 'Smith' — intrepid daughter of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, 17 * Captain Neil — a

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

* Mrs Beatrix Wetherby Sir Gareth's sister * Mr Warren Wetherby — Sir Gareth's brother-in-law * The Reverend Augustus Whiteleaf — Lord Brancaster's

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

, aspirant to Lady Hester's hand * The Honourable Fabian Theale — Lord Brancaster's brother, a roué * Trotton — Sir Gareth's groom * Mr & Mrs Sheet — proprietors of an inn at

Bythorn Bythorn is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bythorn and Keyston, in Cambridgeshire, England. Bythorn lies approximately west of Huntingdon near Molesworth. Bythorn is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metro ...

* Mr Joe Ninfield — a farmhand, godson of Mrs Sheet * Mr Hildebrand Ross — a dramatist and student of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, on his way to

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

on vacation * Mrs & Mrs Chicklaid — proprietors of the Bull Inn at

Little Staughton Little Staughton is a small village and civil parish located in the north of Bedfordshire. The parish church, All Saints, is set apart from the present village – the previous village having been abandoned following an outbreak of the Bubonic ...

References

Novels by Georgette Heyer Historical novels 1956 British novels Fiction set in 1813 Novels set in the 1810s Heinemann (publisher) books Regency romance novels British romance novels {{1950s-romance-novel-stub