Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Book Reviews: Georgette Heyer’s Frederica and The Masqueraders

Ah, romance!

There is something wonderfully comforting about reading a novel in which the most exciting element is a rather chaste kiss – the first of many, we are to believe, because nice women don’t kiss men who aren’t going to be their husbands. A place where good men are trustworthy and cads are harshly dealt with. A place where a woman’s main job is to find the perfect husband. A place where a happy ending is guaranteed.

When I’m looking to be transported to a simpler and happier place than the world in which I live, I know I can turn to the guilty pleasure of a Regency Romance. Apparently I’ve needed a bit of “transportation” this summer, because I’ve read two such books in the past two months, and enjoyed them thoroughly.

My first was Georgette Heyer’s Frederica, a delightful if predicable story about the strong-willed young woman who comes to London for a season in search of a successful match for her beautiful but slow-witted younger sister, Charis. She employs the help of a distant cousin and confirmed bachelor, The Marquis of Alverstoke, to ease Charis’ way in society. The Marquis goes along with the plan to annoy his conniving sisters, but gets more than he bargained for when he unintentionally becomes the protector of Frederica’s exuberant brothers and their bad-mannered dog, “the Baluchistan hound.” Frederica is resigned to her role as spinster and guardian to her young brothers, but I had enough faith in the genre to figure that wasn’t going to happen. Still, the energetic brothers and the Marquis’ scheming sisters make for some interesting plot twists. Nothing taxing, but still thoroughly enjoyable.

I enjoyed the first Heyer so much that I downloaded another on my Kindle, The Masqueraders, based mostly on its high goodreads ratings. When I finally got to it, I realized how lucky the choice was – the book was way more complex than the first, including not only a disguised brother and sister (masquerading as gentlefolk of the opposite sex, no less) and a pair of interesting romances (especially considering the gender reversals, that was pretty hilarious), but a mystery besides! And the answer to the mystery is not even known by its subjects: who are “Peter” and “Kate” Merriott, really? The secondary characters actually make the book. Sir Anthony “The Mountain” Fanshawe is a truly romantic hero, charming because he’s so surprisingly unconventional. John, the Merriott's servant, clearly knows more than he lets on. And the bad guys in this book are REALLY bad. Like carrying off an heiress by force bad. And framing your rival with a murder bad. The Masqueraders was by far my favorite of the two Regency Romances I read this summer.

Unlike Jane Austen or Elizabeth Gaskell, Georgette Heyer, writing from her relatively comfortable 20th century perch, was herself unfettered and undamaged by the constraints imposed on her female characters by the societies she was writing about. Being so removed from the time period may be the reason she could be so sanguine about her characters’ prospects for happiness—she never suffered because of prevailing attitudes and customs of the time, like female authors of the time would have. But then, if I want to read something that accurately represents a particular time period, I read something written then – not something written two or three hundred years after the fact. A Regency Romance is just some good, clean, literary fun! If you still have time for summer reading, these romances would be good ones to put in your beach bag, or load on your e-reader.

Just an aside: Today I noticed a button on Leeswammes blog that led to Stiletto Storytime’s Georgette Heyer Gems of August 2011 event, happening this month. She’s focusing on Heyer with reviews, guest posts and a really nice giveaway. If you’re interested in Heyer, you should check it out!

19 comments:

  1. Such a coincidence, that I've read nothing by Heyer until last week, and then I come across your nice post as well as the Heyer Challenge. I can't say I love her as much as perhaps you do, but I do appreciate the peace a Regency Romance offers...a chaste kiss, a happy ending, a perfect way to describe her in your opening paragraph. Would you like my paperback of The Quiet Gentleman? I'd be so glad to send it to you, just email me. (And, I'm so sorry to have missed you when you visited IL. It was insane Chez Bellezza, and I hope we can connect another time.)

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  2. I had a really hard time with my first Heyer book but you are making me think I need to give her another chance!

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  3. I don't read much romance but really want to try Heyer's work since I've read so much about it.

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  4. I've never heard of Heyer until now - I'll have to give it a try, sounds right up my alley. Thanks Col!

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  5. I LOVE Georgette Heyer! She is one of my favorite authors and I completely agree with you about just how comforting a Regency can be. But really, I admit that Heyer has ruined me for other Regency authors, as she is just so historically accurate and many other authors just are not. I hope you read more by her- she's fantastically witty!

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  6. Thanks so much for the lovely mention of "Georgette Heyer Gems of August"...just let me know if you would like to share these two lovely reviews on my blog for the event. Thanks so much for following along and happy reading!

    Courtney
    stilettostorytime at gmail dot com

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  7. I've been meaning to give Georgette Heyer a try for quite some time...this seems to be the perfect opportunity. Glad you enjoyed her books.

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  8. My Jane Austen book group is reading The Grand Sophy in a couple of months. I was rather dreading it, since I'm not a big romance reader, but based on your review I'm actually intrigued!

    There's also a blogging tour called The Classics Circuit (bloggers sign up to review works by the same author or theme) and we did Heyer a couple of years ago. You can go back and find all the links to the blog postings if you're interested in reading more blog posts about Heyer. I reviewed one of her mysteries and I quite liked it. The web address is classics.rebeccareid.com if you're interested.

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  9. The two Heyers I read were great fun! Glad you enjoyed your too. Such good, old-fashioned romance. It's predictable, but that can be so satisfying! :-)

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  10. @Bellezza -- we had a wonderful time but it was very rushed as it was -- next time we visit we'll have a better idea of Chicago. I'd love to get together if it's possible!

    Thanks for the kind offer of the book -- I will email with an address. Baci.

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  11. @Amused and @bermudaonion -- Heyer wrote over something like 40 years, so her writing must have developed a bit. It may be that some books would work, and others would not. Maybe worth one or two tries before you opt out completely :)

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  12. @Jess- Since Jane Austen isn't likely to write a new book soon, Heyer is worth a shot for you. Although the grittiness of Austen, who actually felt the downside of the culture she lived in, is definitely missing. At times, that can be a good thing, though.

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  13. @Aarti -- I plan on rationing myself a few Heyers per summer, when I get my best "light" reading accomplished!

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  14. @stilettostorytime -- I would love to share my review during your event, if you still have room! Thanks -- I'll follow up with an email.

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  15. @JoAnn -- I was surprised at how much I liked the books. But I will admit I was definitely in the mood for something rather light! I hope you enjoy them too!

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  16. @Karen -- Thanks for the info on The Classics Circuit. I will check it out!

    I really liked the only Heyer mystery I read, for the Vintage Mystery Challenge, but just found her romances. It's not Austen, but I'd say you have nothing to fear :)

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  17. @Judith -- Thanks for posting the button on your page! Sometimes, especially in summer, a simple, enjoyable book is all that's needed, I agree!

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  18. Good to get some more Georgette Heyer recommendations. I've recently discovered her and so far have loved the books I've read.
    THE TALISMAN RING and THE CORINTHIAN are two I love. (I reviewed THE TALISMAN RING on my blog a couple of weeks ago.)

    I have to say I never thought I'd love these books so much. I am smitten. :)

    I've also read most of the Heyer mysteries and enjoyed those as well.

    I will defintiely check out the Gems of August.

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  19. I always say to myself, I really must find time to read a Heyer, but I never seem to -- thanks for the timely reminder!

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I absolutely love comments. Thanks for taking the time to share! Col