refuses to apologise for his past misdeeds and sees no need to change aspects of his behaviour such as his temper. Although in most romance novels the hero changes throughout the course of the narrative, in Lady of Quality Carleton is essentially the same character at the novel's conclusion that he was at its beginning. The sole difference is his realisation that he loves Annis and wishes to marry her. In contrast to his defiance of society in matters of his own relationships, Carleton is tasked with supervising his niece Lucilla. He must ensure that she is not drawn into a scandal, ruining her prospects of marriage, a role Heyer often gives to her heroes. It is rare that her heroines are given the same responsibility, but in this novel Annis chooses to become involved in shepherding Lucilla through society. Like the hero, the heroine ignores the standards of propriety when she chooses, yet also shelters Lucilla from following her example, as Annis thinks the younger woman lacks the experience to properly judge when it is appropriate to disregard society's mores. Annis's age, and the life experience she has gained, give her a greater ability to manipulate the social standards of her time than a young ingenue. As in Heyer's other novels, her word choice frequently highlights the fact that the heroine's behavior diverges from the socially accepted feminine ideal of the Regency period. Rather than repel others, the unwillingness to conform to the expected behavioural norms endears the heroine to the hero. Publication and reception Exact publication figures are unavailable for this book, but a first printing of one of Heyer's novels in the British Commonwealth often consisted of 65,000–75,000 copies, and each of her books generally sold over 500,000 copies in paperback. As with Heyer's other popular fiction, this book was largely ignored by contemporary critics; only after her death did they begin to take more interest in her work. Philippa Toomey, a literary critic for The Times, wrote a short review of Lady of Quality soon after its publication. While noting that the plots of all Heyer's romance novels were similar, Toomey described Lady of Quality as "almost identical twins" with Heyer's earlier work Black Sheep. Despite the formulaic nature of the plot, Toomey believed that Heyer fans would enjoy the novel, as it showcased Heyer's skill in creating interesting characters who acted appropriately for their setting.