I always forget quite how fun 1936’s The Talisman Ring is, with the romantic Eustacie (forever picturing her tragic death) pitted against “cautious cousin” Tristram (who can’t help but to depress all such romantic ideas).

Set in the early 1790s (ignore anything calling it a “Regency romance”), in Sussex, Eustacie was retrieved from Paris, just before the Troubles of the Revolution began, by her grandfather. Tristram suffered a disappointment in his youth and as such “does not like women”. But he’s the last of his name, and so must marry.

Naturally, Eustacie and Tristram are not destined to marry, however much patriarch Sylvester (on his deathbed) might want them to do so as a marriage of convenience, to provide for Eustacie’s future. Although they agree to marry, neither is particularly keen.

In the background, however, there is the shadow of Ludovic, Sylvester’s disgraced heir, currently believed abroad to escape the hangman’s noose for a murder he claimed he didn’t commit. All because of a talisman ring, which he had carelessly lost at cards to someone who would not then redeem it for its agreed value. Hence the murder, and Ludovic being smuggled abroad.

As Eustacie would say, a very romantic story, and oh, if only she could marry cousin Ludovic!

Of course, in trying to escape the distasteful marriage to Tristram (at midnight, in the snow), who should Eustacie bump into, but her romantic cousin Ludovic, now engaged in smuggling? Sorry, “free-trading”. With the Excisemen hot on his and his companions’ trail.

The Talisman Ring centres primarily on trying to clear Ludovic’s name by finding the talisman ring, because he can’t step into Sylvester’s shoes or marry Eustacie if he’s still got an arrest warrant on his head.

The rest of the cast include another cousin, Basil; a brother and sister, Sir Hugh and Sarah Thane, staying at the inn where Ludovic and Eustacie seek refuge; the inn-keeper; and Ludovic’s free-trading colleagues. Complications arise from the appearance of Bow Street Runners, and from Ludovic having been winged during his and Eustacie’s ride through the forest to lead the Excisemen away from a cargo.

Being of a nosy nature, Miss Thane embroils herself in the adventure, providing a sensible foil for romantic Eustacie (though with more tact than Tristram), and, therefore, the perfect match for Tristram. He can’t be left unwed at the end, after all!