The Reluctant Widow,first published in 1946, is one of my all-time favourites, and I have been reading Georgette Heyer's books for more than 40 years.

Because I am so familiar with the imaginary world she created, I find that this book has very few puzzles or queries for me.

It was set mostly in the countryside of Sussex, and has only a few references to London, and the well-known citizens of that city. It is also the book with the least amount of slang or dialect in the dialogue, and those phrases that are included are self-explanatory - i.e. "that clock has not ticked for dunnamany years."

The following pages provide information on some of the things which I think may be puzzling to a new reader. Once you have followed a link, just click on the 'back' button on the browser tool bar to go back to the table of contents page. If you have any query, or information, I would be pleased to know - just hit the "mail" button and it should open an e-mail form for you.