Bath Tangle is a 1955 historical romance novel by Georgette Heyer.
Lord Spenborough has just died. His daughter Lady Serena gets a nasty shock when his will is read: in an attempt at posthumous match-making he named as her guardian none other than her ex-fiancé Ivo Barrasford, Marquis of Rotherham. Serena moves to Bath to live with her stepmother. While there she meets and becomes engaged to Major Hector Kirkby. Rotherham meanwhile has become engaged to Emily Laleham, who also moves to Bath. Then Hector falls in love with Serena's stepmother, and Rotherham's ward falls in love with Emily...
Contains examples of:
- Age-Gap Romance: Truth in Television, considering the Regency setting.
- Ivo is in his late thirties and Serena is twenty-five.
- Lord Spenborough was considerably older than his second wife Fanny, who is two years younger than his daughter.
- Arranged Marriage: Even after his death, Serena's father wants to tie her to Ivo, by making him executor of his will, and putting her fortune in trust under Ivo's care. And by making it up to Ivo to decide whether Serena may or may not marry and whom she may marry.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Serena and Ivo are not pleasant to one another for the majority of the book.
- First Love: Ivo was this for Serena.
- Her Code Name Was "Mary Sue": In-universe example with Glenarvon—Serena considers it So Bad, It's Good and is highly entertained by trying to match the characters to the real people they're based on.
- Ironic Name: Serena is actually a Fiery Redhead.
- Love Dodecahedron: Serena used to love Ivo, but they broke up (while still having feelings for each other). Serena falls in love with Hector, who falls in love with her stepmother Fanny. Ivo is engaged to Emily, who's in love with his ward Gerard.
- Love Father, Love Son: Hector is engaged to Serena, then falls in love with her stepmother Fanny.
- Plot-Triggering Death: The story begins with the death of Serena's father, leading to her discovery that he has named her former fiancé as her guardian.
- Regency England: The book is set in 1816.
- Runaway Fiancée: Subverted: Serena persuades her to go back to Rotherham, who is highly annoyed at Serena ruining his plan.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts
- Social Climber: Lady Laleham. She's a combination of butt-kisser and snob on her own part, and also a gold-digger on her daughter's behalf.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Serena and Rotherham.
- Working with the Ex: Serena doesn't have a job, but she has to deal with Rotherham on business matters when he becomes her guardian.
- Wrong Guy First: Played with. Serena was engaged to Ivo, but that relationship is over by the time the book starts. During the novel she falls in love with Hector first before realising she still loves Ivo.
