Books like The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer

Elinor Rochdale, a prospective governess, is swept into an unexpected adventure when she steps into the wrong carriage in Sussex. Arriving at Highnoons, she learns that her prospective employer, the fashionable Mr. Eduard Carlyon, actually seeks a wife for his young cousin, Eustace Cheviot, who is dying. Though repulsed by the odd arrangement, Elinor is drawn into Carlyon's plan and, within hours, finds herself married and a widow. As mistress of Highnoons she faces a web of conspiracies—an anonymous plot to save the family name, uninvited guests, housebreakers, missing government papers, a Napoleonic spy ring, and a shocking murder—while the ever-aloof and caustic Lord Carlyon keeps her from leaving. Set against the backdrop of Regency England, the novel explores social customs, the precarious position of widows, and the tense political climate surrounding the Napoleonic Wars.

First publish date: 1946