The Quiet Gentleman is a 1951 historical romance novel by Georgette Heyer. Unusually for one of Heyer's romances, it includes elements of a mystery novel as well.
Gervase Frant, seventh earl of St. Erth, returns to his family home after the Battle of Waterloo. Also living there are his stepmother, his half-brother, his cousin, and his stepmother's young friend Drusilla. Over the next months Gervase experiences some disturbing incidents, which get steadily worse and culminate in someone shooting him. The obvious suspect is his jealous half-brother, but Gervase isn't convinced...
Contains examples of:
- Cain and Abel: Theodore wants to make it look like this trope, arranging his traps for St Erth to make it look as though Martin was trying to murder his brother. Indeed, Martin's emotions about his brother are complex and he does harbour a lot of resentment against him. He doesn't actually want to murder him, though.
- I Am Not Pretty: Drusilla thinks this.
- Karma Houdini: The attempted murderer's punishment is to be shipped off to manage the family's rum business in the West Indies, because St. Erth doesn't want to put everyone through the public indignity of a trial. It doesn't even count as Reassigned to Antarctica because Theodore doesn't particularly care about the loss of high society—being solely in charge of a large operation is what he's good at and what he's always wanted, so in a way it's more of a reward than anything else.
- Love Dodecahedron: Drusilla is interested in St Erth, who along with Theodore, Martin and Viscount Ulverston are all interested in Marianne, who in turn is only interested in the Viscount.
- Politeness Judo: St Erth is indeed a quiet gentleman. He gets his way simply by being extremely polite while not backing down. Drusilla does the same thing with the Dowager. Which is why they're a perfect match.
- Raised by Grandparents: St. Erth's grandmother took him in because his father so obviously resented him for looking like his adulterous mother.
- Regency England: The book is set in 1816, shortly after the Battle of Waterloo.
- The Un-Favourite: St Erth is this to his stepmother, and was to his father as well. Although he's very even-keeled about it, he openly acknowledges that his father would have left everything to Martin had the estate not been entailed.
