Black Sheep

Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Abigail Wendover is determined to save her niece from a fortune-hunter; but the wise young aunt finds herself falling for another black sheep, the cynical and charming Miles Calverleigh.

It's Heyer having fun with romance, showing Abby's slow seduction through friendship. Miles, who is hardly the perfect man, pushes her buttons and makes her laugh at the same time. Abby considers herself 'on the shelf' (what a devastating term for an old maid!), but it's plain that a few of the men around her don't see it the same way; yet Miles is the only one capable of attracting her attention.

The aunt is mostly worried over her niece's ill-advised engagement to Stacy Calverleigh, a man Abby recognizes as a cold-hearted fortune-hunter. My only quibble - the characters are all horribly condescending toward young Fanny; while clearly inexperienced (only 17!), she is hardly the halfwit they all seem to take her for. Still, it's a fun story with a happy ending that will make you smile - what more can you ask for?

Georgette Heyer is known for doing her homework on Regency England, and she turns up some great old-fashioned expressions in this novel. They are clear by context, but I just had to look some up to try and figure out their precise meaning (there is this awesome website, too):

havey-cavey - suspicious

throw her cap over the windmill - to act recklessly (as in Don Quixote)

return by Weeping Cross - to return as a penitent, as to a roadside shrine

to shoot the crow - Scottish expression: to leave hurriedly, esp. without paying one's bill

a trifle above oar - a little drunk

shabrag - scruffy, shabby, dilapidated

If you love Georgette Heyer's Jane Austen-like charm and wit, you're in luck: the woman wrote way more books than Austen did! Definitely check them out.

Quotable:

"He had nothing to recommend him but his smile, and she was surely too old, and had too much commonsense, to be beguiled by a smile, however attractive it might be. But just as she reached this decision he spoke, and she glanced up at him, and realized that she had overestimated both her age and her commonsense." - 66

"Half a loaf is better than no bread: he didn't know who had been responsible for that silly proverb, only that he must have a cod's head. It wasn't better; when the lovely, darling girl you would have given your soul to possess invited you to be her brother it was infinitely worse." - 132

The Spymaster's Lady

The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A battle of wits and wills ensues when French spy Annique Villiers is forced to flee France with British spymaster Robert Greyson Fordham in the tumultuous days of Napoleon's imperial ambition.

Confession: I read this book by accident.

How exactly does that happen? Well....I'm trying to get better acquainted with high-quality romance, an often-maligned genre I'm not familiar with - but which so many Smart Bitches love. I wasn't even planning on reading The Spymaster's Lady at until I got bored one night and saw it available as an ebook from my local library. And then I zoomed through 150 pages in one sitting.

It's an impressive novel by any standards. Bourne is remarkably good at getting the cadence of another language down without it sounding stilted or odd - the dialogue is by far the best I've seen in my limited experience of romances. Bourne masters the rhythms of not only French but also German, all without resorting to dialect or broken English.

What really drew me along was the strong-willed Annique, a woman raised to be a spy from a young age. She reminded me of many of Heyer's French heroines, particularly Leonie in These Old Shades. Annique is charmingly French, bloody-minded, and quick as a whip. She can keep trained spies on their toes even when she's physically disabled. (Think House of Flying Daggers.) She meets her match in Grey, himself a master spy, and they both must team up to escape a villainous enemy. Of course, love and lust follow, though Annique knows it's in her best interest to keep Grey at an arm's length.

If you're a true historical romance lover, you've probably already read this. If you discount all romance as dumb, cliched, and badly written, give The Spymaster's Lady a chance to change your mind. Also, check out Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels for literary criticism of the genre by a pair of true fangirls.

The web review by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books gave it an A-, knocking it down for an unconvincing villain (who doesn't get much opportunity to be really scary or clever). Also yes, this cover is the perfect example of everything that's wrong with generic romance covers.

Any Duchess Will Do

Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When the Duke of Halford's overbearing mother forces him to pick a bride at "Spinster Cove," Griffin bribes a lowly barmaid, Pauline, to deliberately fail at her public debut.

Griffin makes his mother a deal: if she can make the woman of his choice the toast of London in one week, he will happily marry her. If she fails, Griffin would be free to continue his bachelor existence. But of course, he gets more than he bargains for in Pauline. She may be a barmaid, but she's every bit as intelligent and fiery as he is, and she agrees to play along for the sake of securing her own future. Griffin finds himself falling for her, but a secret loss threatens to keep them apart. Longing looks, tests of character, misunderstandings, and a bit of tupping ensue, but all for the best. It's a twist on the Pygmalion story that's not annoyingly sexist, but still a bit far-fetched.

The setting is London, and the era is unspecific late Regency or early Victorian. The characters have a few anachronistic attitudes and ways of speaking, but this book is much less about the scenery and setting: it's really about watching two people fall in love. There isn't much action or mystery here.

I don't care much for the protective male trope that creeps into Any Duchess a few times, and some of the sentimental moments about orphans and babies isn't quite to my taste, but everything else was a delight and made me understand why historical romance's popularity doesn't wane.

This is the fourth in the Spindle Cove series, which features fiery spinsters and the dissolute rakes who love them. A few more high-quality Regency romances you may want to try are Eileen Dryer's Barely a Lady  (Drake's Rakes series) or The Duchess War (Brothers Sinister series) by Courtney Milan. For those new to the genre who only want to dip a toe in, you would be wise to start with the grand dame of Regency romance, Georgette Heyer. I suggest The Grand Sophy for a first outing.

Crown Duel

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Young Meliara, made a countess by her father's death, begins a war to defend her people from a greedy king - a war she cannot win.

Sigh. You can't go home again. I remember reading this book avidly as a teenager. I was initially attracted to it because of the cover: not only is the girl there beautiful, but she looks incredibly tough because of her black eye and a sword slung over one shoulder. And Meliara is tough, but she's a bit of a one-note character, hardly the equal of Katniss.

In fact, most parts of this book feel flat. The plotting of the war and the fantasy setting are barely sketched in, and some of the conversations are unbelievable. (The Hill Folk seem tacked-on instead of integral to the story, despite motivating a civil war.) Meliara is captured by a surprisingly capable marquis and spends most of the book trying to escape the clutches of her enemies. (Which leads to her spending a lot of time unconscious - I do remember that from my first reading.) Her antagonist, the sexy Marquis, is like a junior version of a Heyer romantic lead: a fop who uses his reputation to conceal his true cunning

That said, the story moves quickly and Meliara is a likable protagonist. In summary: a pleasant way to pass an afternoon but probably not a book to keep rereading into adulthood. Lesson learned.

The Convenient Marriage

The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Horatia is not the Beauty of her family, but when wealthy Lord Rule asks for her sister's hand in marriage, Horatia makes him an offer he can't refuse and enters a loveless marriage of convenience to save her family from ruin.

Horatia is no shy beauty, in spite of her stammer and the fact that she is only seventeen. The scene where she basically proposes marriage to the male lead is funny and classic Heyer. Once wed, Horatia makes good use of Lord Rule's fortune, racking up gambling debts and buying outrageous hats and gowns. She's soon the Talk of the Town, and slowly her honesty and charm begin to woo the heart of her faithless husband.

Unfortunately, Horatia doesn't realize that her marriage has created new enemies and stirred the interest of Lord Rule's oldest foe: the suave Lord Lethbridge, who sees a way to get revenge on the husband through his new bride.

This Heyer book rarely disappoints, and provides duels and trickery worthy of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas or The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. There is one duel in particular that is exciting and atmospheric (though given the villain's truly awful crimes I wish it had ended more lethally).

Unfortunately, there is so much plot that we get very few scenes between the unfortunately nicknamed "Horry" and Lord Rule, so I found the chemistry lacking a bit. It would have helped me buy the romance between a naive 17-year-old and a jaded 35-year-old.

Horry's ne'er-do-well brother Pelham and his bumbling attempts to help her recover a lost piece of jewelry reminded me of a drunker version of Bertie Wooster (which may have been what Heyer intended since she named the brother Pelham, which is author P.G. Wodehouse's first name).

In short, there is enough romance, action, and humor to appeal to the most discerning reader!

(And yes, that is the ridiculous cover of my book. Oh 1975, you have a lot to answer for.)

Three Free Books

The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer (1902-1974)
This writer started a whole new genre--Regency romance--hit a home run her very first time at the plate. Here is her description of the wicked, fascinating, and impeccably dressed Duke of Andover, who is attempting to seduce a young woman:

"He walked coolly forward into the full light of a great pendant chandelier, standing directly beneath it, the diamond order on his breast burning and winking like a living thing. The diamonds in his cravat and on his fingers glittered every time he moved, until he seemed to be carelessly powdered with iridescent gems. As usual, he was clad in black, but it would have been difficult to find any other dress in the room more sumptuous or more magnificent than his sable satin with its heavy silver lacing, and shimmering waistcoat. Silver lace adorned his throat and fell in deep ruffles over his hands, and in defiance of Fashion, which decreed that black along should be worn to tie the hair, he displayed long silver ribands, very striking against his unpowdered head."

Sadly, we have to wait a few more years for any of her other works to fall into the public domain. This gem of a book was the first Heyer I read, and it's every bit as thrilling and romantic as you could wish!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1797-1851)
Anyone who has only seen a movie version of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster probably doesn't know that the original is slightly more philosophical than the groans and screams of the many adaptations. Its alternate title is "The Modern Prometheus." The Goodreads summary does a good job here:

"Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever."

All this philosophizing doesn't make the story of monstrous hubris any less sinister than it was when it first came out in 1818.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë (1820-1849)
The youngest and least-known of the famous Brontë sisters, Anne wrote two novels: this one and Agnes Grey (a governess story!) Goodreads says that her writing is sharper and more ironic than the romantic style of Charlotte and Emily. The lesser known female novelists of the Victorian era are hidden gems, and I look forward to reading the last Brontë's works.

(So I gave you more than three this time. Bonus: here are Anne, Emily, and Charlotte Brontë's tiny but wonderful oeuvres in Project Gutenberg. Enjoy!)

The Talisman Ring

The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eustacie longs for romance and a lover who rides ventre a terre (she's French). Sir Tristram, handsome and sensible, is not that lover (he's English). But when Eustacie stumbles across Ludovico, a man in hiding after being framed for murder, she and her new friend Sarah Thane get more adventure and romance than either of them bargained for.

Heyer delivers her usual sparkle with this caper. The MacGuffin is a valuable antique ring that can prove one man's innocence and another's guilt. The chemistry between playful and smart Miss Thane and the level-headed Sir Tristram is a delight, and Eustacie could be related to another Frenchwoman: Léonie from These Old Shades (also by Heyer). Fans of regency romance and adventure stories couldn't ask for better.

I could have wished for a few more scenes between the Beau and Sir Tristram. Both are worthy adversaries, and few techniques work better for ratcheting up the tension than having two well-matched opponents circle, each trying to guess how much the other knows and what he might do next.


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Cold Comfort Farm

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Anyone who suffered through Tess of the D'Urbervilles in lit class will appreciate this parody of doom and gloom farm novels. Flora Poste descends upon her relations, the Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm, and coolly begins setting their backward lives to rights - from the sultry Seth to the traumatized matriarch Aunt Ada Doom, who many years before saw something nasty in the woodshed.

If you enjoyed The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer you will see the parallels between Flora and Sophy, two young women who have an unerring knack for rearranging other's lives with pleasing results. Also, I hope I'm not the only one amused by the parallel sayings of the Starkadders of Cold Comfort and the Starks of Winterfell: because there's always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort!


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Georgette Heyer

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have these four things to say about my new favorite author, Georgette Heyer:

1. If you love Jane Austen, say yes to Heyer. The Grand Sophy is a good place to start.
2. Heyer is not an Austen clone. Heyer's books are witty, light-hearted, and romantic, but they reflect a more modern sensibility and writing style. (Also, there are detailed descriptions of great clothes that somehow got left out of Austen.)
3. Thank you, wonderful heroines! Heyer's heroines are charming, intelligent, and strong-willed. They are not humbled, tamed, or required to be anything other than themselves to find their perfect match, either. Thank goodness!
4. There are SO MANY Heyer novels! She was a prolific writer, so once you're addicted, you can enjoy them for many years to come.

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Devil's Cub

Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Devil's Cub we meet the next generation of the charming and wildly dysfunctional Alastair family, where the Marquis of Vidal is doing his best to top his infamous father's wicked deeds. After a violent brawl over a game of cards, Vidal flees to France - but not before coaxing a willing bourgeoisie woman to keep him company. Unfortunately, in his haste he carries off the wrong woman....

Anyone who loved These Old Shades will welcome the return of some familiar characters and enjoy the addition of a few new ones. Our heroine Mary Challoner is the forerunner of many female protagonists (including one of my favorites, the inimitable Miss Temple of The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters), and the noisy misunderstandings of the eccentric family echo the best drawing room farces as unlikely lovers clash and finally fall in love against all odds.


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Heyer Mania

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I love Heyer, and this book - starring a devilish English Duke and the French ingénue Leonie - is funny, witty, and romantic. The Duke reminds me of the Scarlet Pimpernel, with the same velvet-draped steel and rakish nature disguising a heart of gold.

It all begins when the Duke of Avon buys a red-headed urchin to be his page, and soon realizes that the boy holds the key to getting revenge on an old enemy.


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