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Original poster

To whoever recommended Georgette Heyer - THANK YOU!

119 replies

BellaBearisWideAwake · 30/11/2010 14:50

Picked up 'Friday's Child' today in waterstones and it's fab. Just the kind of book I needed.

So thank you whoever said to read them

OP posts:
Original poster
BellaBearisWideAwake · 14/12/2010 14:07

my waterstones has about three other books, one was arabella, can't remember the other two. also want to get hold of grand sophy as it has been much touted on here.

update: looks like worth is trying to off peregrine but I am suspicious it's a red herring (please don't confirm or deny)

sorry for no caps, ill ds attached to my other arm

OP posts:
beijingaling · 14/12/2010 14:18

I love Arabella. Only read it for the first time this year. For some reason we didn't have a copy of it when I was young and I never saw it in shops.

Bella this is what Amazon is for! Grin

Duchess True but it still makes me oddly weak at the knees. The Grand Sophy would have taken him to task though which is why she'll always be my favourite heroine!

DuchessOfAvon · 14/12/2010 18:40

Yes - Worth needed a Sophy or a Frederica to laugh at him. Judith was too emotional and didn't take the piss out of him enough.

Dameral makes me soppy. An intelligant man with a chequered past, a keen sense of humour and requisite swarthiness.

I do like Arabella too.

DuchessOfAvon · 14/12/2010 18:40

The book I mean - not the character in a swooning fashion.

Original poster
BellaBearisWideAwake · 14/12/2010 20:30

Well. That was swoonsome. Which one next?

OP posts:
thumbplumpuddingwitch · 14/12/2010 21:29

Arabella! She's great.

You're going to have to be careful though - it's like having a fabulous chocolate assortment box - you have one, then another, they're so great you need to eat more and more, quicker and quicker - and then suddenly they're all gone and you might feel a bit queasy! Xmas Grin

SarfEasticated · 22/12/2010 18:50

I've just remembered a lovely GH phrase 'a barque of frailty'... Grin

LadyBiscuit · 22/12/2010 18:58

If I'm a feminist and I don't like soppy romantic novels, will I like GH? I loathe Bridget Jones :(

ThistleWhistle · 22/12/2010 19:16

I love GH. The first one I read was Regency Buck. Think my fave is Devil's Cub as I have been in love with Vidal since the age of 15.

SarfEasticated · 22/12/2010 19:45

Well LadyBiscuit, if you are prepared to accept that they are of their time and that women were basically chattels then I reckon you'll love them. Grin
Most of the heroines are fallible, intelligent, witty, very capable of looking after themselves (within the confines of their societal norms of course) and judged for their character.
I consider myself to be a bit of a feminist and i love them!

onetowatch · 22/12/2010 19:52

muchos respect for georgette heyer
think she supported her entire family by writing these books - 'tis why she churned out so many and they were aimed at a broad market - easier to read than jane austen!

LadyBiscuit · 22/12/2010 20:16

I shall give them a go and report back Sarf :) Is she dead then? I thought she was a bit Barbara Cartland-esque ...

SarfEasticated · 22/12/2010 21:10

All the background you need here LB
www.georgette-heyer.com/bio.html

LadyBiscuit · 23/12/2010 08:10

ooh thanks Sarf - that's very interesting. I like Ivy Compton-Burnett so that's promising. I have to go to the library today anyway so I shall pick one up and report back :)

SarfEasticated · 23/12/2010 09:59

I would go for 'the grand sophy' first, she's pretty impressive.

mateysmum · 23/12/2010 15:24

How wonderful to find there is a whole secret GH fan club out there.

I really rate A Civil Contract. It is slightly different from the others in both the heroine and the progress of the romance. Don't read it if you're new to GH, but great if you want a change from the blonde, spirited damsels.

LurcioLovesFrankie · 23/12/2010 15:46

Ladybiscuit - there's a v. interesting essay by AS Byatt, written as an "apology" to Heyer, basically saying that when she was student librarian at her school in the 6th form, she banned Heyer (in an attempt to suck up to the teachers) while secretly devouring her novels in private, but has since come to realise what a brilliant writer Heyer was. The essay includes an interesting discussion of how Heyer doesn't just do the obvious romantic plots (though when she does them - Venetia, Devil's Cub - she does them very well), she also does realistic and downbeat ones too (A Convenient Marriage).

I've just (rather belatedly) discovered Cotillion - it's great, definitely in my top rank - and I think I want my own Freddie. Actually probably good that I've discovered it belatedly as I wouldn't have got him when I was younger.

interscholar · 09/06/2011 22:37

Devil's Cub hooked me in and Vidal was my teenage crush for the longest time . . .
My favourites include the Masqueraders, the Talisman Ring, Friday's Child, Faro's Daughter and of course, the Grand Sophy.

TantePiste · 12/06/2011 05:37

I found Devil's Cub pretty shocking and didnt like Vidal at all. But still a great read. Among my favorites are The Reluctant Widow and The Unknown Ajax.

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