The Transformation of Philip Jettan

Georgette Heyer first published this light Georgian comedy in 1923 under a pseudonym, and later revised it as Powder and Patch. Philip Jettan is a blunt, unfashionable young squire in rural Sussex, content with his fields and his horses and in love with his neighbour Cleone. But Cleone longs for a suitor with polish and Paris manners, so Philip, stung, sets off for France to remake himself into an accomplished beau. He returns transformed in dress and address, and the real question becomes whether the change is a gain or a loss, and whether Cleone can tell the man from the mask. Slight but charming, it shows early Heyer finding her comic voice. Free to read as a PDF and EPUB edition.