''Black Sheep'' 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 rom ...

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 for her younger brothe ...

which was first published in 1966. The story is set in 1816/1817.See http://www.georgette-heyer.com/chron.html

Plot summary

The novel is set in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

and centres on two main characters: Miss Abigail Wendover and Mr Miles Calverleigh. At the beginning of the novel, Abigail's niece Fanny claims to have formed a mutual "lasting attachment" with Stacey Calverleigh, to Abigail's dismay. Stacey is reputed to be a "gamester", a "loose fish", and a "gazetted fortune-hunter"—that is, he has a gambling habit, is a libertine, and is on the look-out for a wealthy marriage. Abigail enlists the assistance of Stacey's cousin, Miles Calverleigh, to prevent a clandestine marriage between Stacey and Fanny. Miles is the black sheep of the Calverleigh family, but Abigail finds herself attracted to his wit and unconventionality.

References

1966 British novels Novels by Georgette Heyer Historical novels Novels set in the 1810s Novels set in Somerset The Bodley Head books Regency romance novels {{1960s-hist-novel-stub