In the Regency romance novel Arabella by Georgette Heyer (published 1949), our titular heroine, the young daughter of a humble reverend, gets a chance to bloom in city society, especially after a rumor spread that she is a wealthy heiress. Robert Beaumaris, a wealthy dandy that sets the city standard of chic, is amused when an offended Arabella pretends wealth in order to show disinterest in him, so he encourages the rumor, and his countenance of her presence only spurs Arabella into more popularity.
Arabella’s somewhat humble circumstances as the oldest daughter of eight children makes an advantageous marriage essential for the rest of her family. But with a limited budget and one single season in which to make her mark, Arabella has no time to spare: she must find the right husband for her as soon as possible. She is a truly good, humble soul. Having been raised by a pious man, she also has beautiful compassion for the truly unfortunate, human and beast alike. She is a bit out of her depth as the Belle of town, but none of that stops her from wanting to help: a chimney sweep who fell into her fireplace, an abused puppy, and so forth. She’s willing to give up everything in order to rescues her brother from financial ruin. I loved her sincerity and pure innocence!
Her friendship with Mr. Beaumaris is humorous and sweet. He is everything she is not: selfish, wealthy, and proud. He is bemused as he begins this challenge of launching the poor yet sweet Arabella into society. But, he knows that as the town Beau, so to speak, it is up to him to convince the world that the rumors are true. He becomes a constant presence at Arabella’s side at events. This leads to a surprising friendship, and eventually a romance. Does Arabella dare let herself love this pretentious dandy? More significantly, will her conscience lead her to admit to him that she is not an heiress, or will she continue to “mislead” him?
The reader can tell that he is playing with her, and that he already knows the truth. It has been a game. But it increasingly is not a game for Arabella, as she finds that he has a most generous soul — if he lets himself. I loved the end result and the sweet man Mr. Beaumaris is. Is this Cinderella story realistic? Probably not. If Pride & Prejudice suggests anything about this era, it is that classism is real. Those from the higher ranks of society would surely find a poor daughter of a reverend (still the daughter of a gentleman) far beneath them. If Lady Catherine disapproved of Elizabeth and Darcy, it’s hard to imagine that a Mr. Beaumaris-type of character (kind of a stereotype of Brummell) would deem to approve his own match with Arabella in this way. But, then, maybe a loving man in 1810s England could have fallen in love like this. I guess we’ll never really know.
