Helen by Georgette Heyer, Times Literary Supplement (1928)

This story is described somewhat misleadingly on the paper cover as the study of a girl who had a “father-complex” which for considerable time prevented her marrying. The natural affection and companionship that existed between Helen, a motherless only child, and her father did not for one moment keep away young men; nor was Helen’s interest in them in the least perfunctory. She did not marry the first one that asked her, nor yet the second, but what proof is that that she differed in any way from the daughter of a widow? Indeed, her relationship with her father is treated with such coolness and care—if anything, underemotionalized—that the reader can have no psychological qualms. In due time Helen is bound to marry an exceptionally agreeable young man; all her training indicates such an end. This being his inner conviction, the reader can take his time over this leisurely tale, which takes an even course through pleasant English scenes and shows us the growth and development of a thoroughly “nice” girl, candid, athletic, and affectionate. Contrasted with Helen, who is perhaps just a trifle too worthy for deep interest, there is Miss Pilbury, a fantastically slangy and abrupt governess, whose abilities as a teacher and intellectual qualities we are obliged to take on trust, and a diverse lot of young men and maidens whose activities are sufficiently amusing to hold the attention. Marchant himself, Helen’s father, is very well drawn, with quiet sincerity. The War comes, and by the time it is over and Helen’s hunters are back in the stables, the field of her admirers has been notably thinned. Marchant remains, and so does Mis Pilbury—now a companion—and so does Richard Carmichael. Then Miss Heyer remembers the “father-complex” theme, and ruthlessly sacrifices a normal and unselfish parent. Marchant is given a day and a half of pneumonia; enters Richard the consoler. The argument that while her father lived he would have satisfied Helen completely and prevented her marriage fails to carry conviction; otherwise this is a story which contains some good work.