Footsteps in the Dark

Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(SOS Bingo Round 4, Team 4 & x-post to blog)

Siblings Celia, Peter and Margaret inherited the Priory from their late uncle. It's old, a bit rundown and said to be haunted, but the trio decide to keep it. They along with Celia's husband Charles, their Aunt Lilian, and a pair of servants, move into it for a summer holiday. No sooner do they get settled, then the strange, eerie noises begin. Celia's all for going back to London, but Charles and Peter aren't convinced. Sure enough, they soon discover the source of the noise and are certain that whatever is going on, it's being done by a living, breathing person.

What puzzles the family is, why now? The property stood vacant for years. Why is someone trying to gain access to the house -- and trying to frighten them off -- unless there was something buried or hidden inside or among the ruins? And who is the Monk? There is no end of possible suspects. There's the door-to-door vacuum salesman, the handsome gentleman down on a fishing holiday, and the entomologist who's supposedly chasing after a rare moth at all hours of the night. Or could it someone else, someone who's activities don't seem suspicious at first.

This is my second Heyer mystery. I really enjoyed the story. I didn't guess the identity of the culprit, though I had my suspicions well before the end. As to "what" was the big deal about the property, I figured it was one of two things. I won't mention what those were, because it's a spoiler. The book had it's creepy moments, and its fun moments. And just like the first one I read, I could picture this as an old black and white movie.

What didn't work for me was the romance. Or I should say, how it was handled. The characters don't get to spend a lot of page-time together, so it was hard to see how they could be in love. Attracted to each other, yes, but I feel the story didn't allow for the relationship to be developed to the point where they're engaged by the end.

Looking forward to reading more of her mysteries.

View all my reviews

The Grand Sophy

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

On the library stacks: Adult fiction
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sophy is a 20-year old girl who has had an eccentric upbringing, being raised by her father on the Continent. When he heads to Brazil for a few months, she is left in the care of her aunt in England, whom she barely knows. She immediately makes waves with her arrival, bringing a dog, a monkey and a parrot with her to entertain her many cousins.

Sophy realizes that the quiet household she has come to needs to be shaken up. Her cousin Cece is in love with a dreamy poet who is NOT the right man for her. She sees her serious cousin Charles headed into a loveless, but respectable and practical marriage. And she senses that Hubert is hiding something from everyone. Using a keen wit and charm, unforgettable Sophy uses her unorthodox methods to set it all to rights.

I would love to see what would happen if Sophy moved in with me! This book was hilarious and contains some of the funniest arguments I have ever read. This was a book I couldn't wait to get back to reading each time I had to put it down. My only complaint is that things ended a little too tidily for someone as unpredictable as Sophy. But I did think the ending would play out much better as a movie than it did in written form. I know I just said Venetia was my favorite, but this has quickly supplanted that one as my new favorite Heyer novel.

Venetia

Venetia by Georgette Heyer

On the library stacks: Adult fiction
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This book is an absolutely rollicking Regency romp. I loved it from the first page.

Venetia is a 25-year old woman living in Yorkshire living with her crippled younger brother Aubrey. Her recently deceased father never let her leave the small country village where their estate was located and she felt her loyalty lay with her brother, especially since the elder brother and heir named Conway was serving in the military in France.

Venetia has a quick wit and liberal ideals, but she has never known any excitement outside of what she has read. She has two devoted suitors, but all of her attempts to be rid of them seem to backfire.

But things change when the "Wicked Baron" comes to town. Lord Damerel, known for being a rake of the highest order, stops into his neighboring estate, meets Venetia and decides to prolong his visit. What starts out as mere flirting develops into a deep friendship that neither has ever known. But to pursue the relationship could cost Venetia her reputation.

This is the perfect book for those in the mood for a delightful period romance. The dialogue is sharp and all of the characters are sketched with just the right accouterments. I thought this book was funny, charming, and a delight to read. This is my favorite Heyer yet.

Review: The Quiet Gentleman

The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer
Paperback, 368 pages
Sourcebooks Casablanca Reissue May/June 2011, originally published 1951
ISBN: 9781402238833
Review copy provided by the publisher, thank you!
Originally posted at Burton Book Review, Rating:

Returning to his family seat from Waterloo, Gervase Frant, seventh Earl of St Erth, could have expected more enthusiasm for his homecoming. His quiet cousin, stepmother, and young half-brother seem openly disappointed that he survived the wars. And when he begins to fall for his half-brother's sweetheart, his chilly reception goes from unfriendly to positively murderous.
One of Heyer's most suspenseful Regency romances, The Quiet Gentleman combines an ingenious mystery plot with her signature witty style and effervescently engaging characters.

Although most of Heyer's romances seem to follow a formula of witty heroine vs the world who doesn't realize the direct path to everlasting love, The Quiet Gentleman sets itself apart. Focusing on Gervase Frant, the Seventh Earl of St Erth, the novel strays from the female point of view and even adds a bit of gothic and mysterious tones. Our hero, Gervase, returns to his (estranged) deceased father's estate after serving in the army to claim his inheritance, much to the dismay of his half-brother and stepmother who didn't actually think he'd survive Waterloo. Gervase is of the character where he could shrug off their dislike of him, but things get dicey when strange happenings occur that put Gervase in harm's way. Could his half-brother Martin really detest him so much as to wish that Gervase were dead? Is the step-mother the epitome of the evil witch? Or, is the house really haunted?

The romance comes in when Gervase meets Martin's love interest, Marianne, who is a beautiful and cheerful young lady with many admirers. Martin is quite protective of his invisible tie to her, and Gervase is a bit more dashing than Martin and an immediate rivalry occurs. Luckily, Gervase's cousin Theo is on Gervase's side and acts as a bit of a buffer between the brothers and is a trusted confidante of Gervase. And when Gervase's friend Lord Ulverston comes to stay, Martin earns another foe. Thrown into the mix was Miss Drusilla Morville, neutral friend and loyal companion to all (who could always be counted on to do the Dowager's tedious tasks).

It has been my previous experience with Heyer that her novels take a bit to get used to its jargon of Regency speak and a myriad of characters who normally take a bit of time to comprehend. With The Quiet Gentleman, there was not an immediate onslaught of unfamiliar names and we are taken right to the action after the opening description of the magnificent homestead of Stanyon, which is somewhat of a medieval fortress turned castle turned grand estate, which in itself becomes a bit of a character in the story.

I enjoy Heyer's writing because of the way she writes with class, and I love knowing that I will be entertained just because of a silly situation or a witty remark. I am not expecting a thrill-ride or something so extraordinary to knock my socks off; I simply appreciate the story and the setting. Heyer had such a clever mind and writing style, and she did it very well.  Heyer is similar to Austen and I often feel that Heyer is overshadowed by Austen, even though Heyer was so much more prolific. I have read ten Heyer's and one full Austen now, and I have not been disappointed with Heyer's romances and mysteries yet. I think I enjoyed this one most of all because of its slightly different formula. It is put in her romance genre, yet I enjoyed the mystery of it most of all. And the fact that it didn't focus on a woman and instead followed the gentleman (and then the women in his life) was a nice change of pace for me. For real Heyer and Austen fans, this one should not disappoint in the least.

Read an excerpt here. In honor of Georgette Heyer's 109th birthday, Sourcebooks is temporarily offering ALL 46 of Heyer's titles in e-book format at $1.99 each:

http://www.sourcebooks.com/readers/casavip/happy-birthday-ms-heyer.html

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MS. HEYER!

eBooks Available for $1.99

Sale prices are only good August 15-August 21, 2011

Heyer’s Birthday: August 16, 2011

Review: Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer

Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer
Paperback, 368 pages
Sourcebooks Casablanca reissue June 2011, originally published 1955
ISBN: 9781402238796
Review posted by Burton Book Review

A Delightful Tangle of Affairs…
The Earl of Spenborough had always been noted for his eccentricity. Leaving a widow younger than his own daughter Serena was one thing, but leaving his fortune to the trusteeship of the Marquis of Rotherham – the one man the same daughter had jilted – was quite another.

When Serena and her lovely young stepmother Fanny decide to move to Bath, Serena makes an odd new friend and discovers an old love. Before long, they’re all entangled in a clutter of marriage and manners the likes of which even Regency Bath has rarely seen.

Bath Tangle is another one of Georgette Heyer's witty romances, and this one really had me laughing towards the end. Lady Serena is a willful young woman, destined to be a spinster, who now lives with her younger mother-in-law who has no idea how to reign in Serena's wild ways. Lord Rotherham has been named as a guardian of her inheritance, which really should not be of a huge concern except that he must also approve of whom Serena chooses to marry. This could become tangled due to the fact that there is some prior history between Lady Serena and Lord Rotherham where Serena backed out of their marriage negotiations at the last moment.

Serena is a wonderful character to read of, and she was the exact opposite of the ladylike of her sweet-natured mother-in-law, Fanny. After Serena's father's death, we wondered what exactly would happen to Serena, and how the arrangement between her and Rotherham would wreak havoc. Lo and behold, Serena becomes reacquainted with a previous suitor and they contrive to hide their relationship until the proper mourning period has passed. All this seems simple and straightforward, yet as only Georgette Heyer can divulge, Regency hijinks galore follows Serena everywhere she goes. Rotherham is left to wonder at her, as he obligingly lets her live her wild life, but poor Fanny is all in a flutter and Serena' betrothed doesn't know whether to be besotted or scornful.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the reader knows that Lady Serena is making another mistake by betrothing herself to Major Hector Kirkby. And there are more love tangles in Bath as Rotherham is engaged to a young lass who has no idea what she is getting herself into besides the idea of a coronet. As always, Bath Tangle contains a lot of witty remarks and colorful Regency dialogue with a bit of action at the end, making for a typical Georgette Heyer romance that demonstrates her clever prose with ease. For readers who are new to Heyer, they may not appreciate the prose at first, especially as this one started off hard to follow with many characters. It turns out that the story ended up following along with just a few of these initial characters and thus became easier to follow after a few more chapters. Moreover, it was a bit slow to reach any feverish pitch, so Bath Tangle would be best suited  for those already with an admiration for Georgette Heyer. This was my eighth Heyer novel, and I am still ready for more of Heyer's classy writing and charming Regency situations. I have enjoyed both her romances and her mysteries, and if you have enjoyed Jane Austen, you really need to discover Georgette Heyer as well.

Read an excerpt of Bath Tangle here and one from later in the book can be found here towards the 'product description'.

Why Shoot a Butler?

Title: Why Shoot a Butler?
Author: Georgette Heyer
Original Copyright: 1933
Copyright: 2009 (Sourcebooks); 329 pgs.
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1795-1
Series: N/A
Sensuality: N/A
Genre: Mystery

Summary: London barrister Frank Amberley is on his way to visit his uncle, Sir Humphrey Matthews, in the country. Opting to take his cousin Felicity's so-called "short cut", Frank gets lost and stumbles onto an interesting scene: a dead man in a car and a young woman standing in the road, claiming she didn't kill him. Frank believes she didn't murder the man despite the circumstances, but he's sure she knows more than she's telling. Revealing her presence at the scene of the crime to the local police would complicate things unnecessarily, so he omits the fact when he reports the murder and starts making his own inquiries.

Comments: I usually have a hard time reading mysteries because sometimes I figure out the clues faster than than the protagonist. Not so with this mystery. Frank keeps things to himself, so you really don't know what he's already discovered, and we have to guess what he's up to until the author lets us in on his secrets -- unless you're his Aunt Marion. Lady Matthews is apparently a lot shrewder than anyone would guess, and manages to figure out much of the mystery, though only person who knows that is Frank. She's my favorite character and Frank adores her. There was one character who's behavior made me think that perhaps this person was the culprit or, the very least, an accomplice. Since this book is a mystery, I don't want to go into too much detail about the characters and their actions, since I don't want to give anything away.

Being a barrister, Frank's familiar with crime in general, and motives, so he's not a complete amateur when it comes to mysteries. He's also abrasive and he has little respect for the investigative abilities of the local constabulary. And after seeing them at work, it's not surprising. I imagined Frank to be like those characters in the old black and white movies. In fact, since the book was written in the 30s, I could easily picture Cary Grant, or one of his contemporaries, playing the part. It made it easier for me to "get" the characters and I enjoyed the book more for it.

This was my first Heyer mystery and I really like it. I will definitely be reading her others.

Finished: 1 October 2010

Christina
(Note: Cross-posted from my blog)

Civil Contract

Civil Contract. Georgette Heyer. 1961/2009. Harlequin. 432 pages.

"The library at Fontley Priory, like most of the principal apartments in the sprawling building, looked to the south-east, commanding a prospect of informal gardens and a plantation of poplars, which acted as a wind-break and screened from view the monotony of the fen beyond."

Okay, so that first sentence doesn't even hint at what the story is about. And it offers little incentive to the reader. Fortunately, most readers need only hear Georgette Heyer's name to know that this may be a gem of a book. For those that aren't the "most" in the readers listed above, I'd like to think I'm doing my part. A Civil Contract is a satisfying read in a very gentle and subtle manner. I enjoyed it. Enjoyed the characters and the subtle complexities of its non-plot. This is a very human novel.

You're probably wondering, but what is it about??? Adam Deveril is a soldier whose father has just died. He's inherited a title--he's now Viscount Lynton--but he's also inherited an overwhelming debt. A debt that is due to negligence, gambling, and mismanagement. He's got a mother (Dowager is how she's referred to in the text), and two sisters Charlotte and Lydia. Charlotte is engaged to be married, so she's not one of his primary concerns. However, his mother and sister are. He's been advised that he should marry for money. He finds the idea repugnant. Especially at first. But even Lydia, his younger sister, knows that sacrifices are called for in this occasion. It is her discussions of how she needs to be marry an older man for his money to "rescue" the family, that has Adam pondering how much he's willing to do for his family.

The family home, Fontley, is at risk. All their property is at risk--most of their holdings are mortgaged already. And only their townhouse and Fontley remain. Adam feels that the honorable thing to do would be to sell everything they can and hope to break even. That is hope they have enough money to settle their debts. Whatever small amount may be left would be settled upon his sister for her dowry. He's not worried so much for himself, for his comfort. He knows that he can go soldiering again and live on his pay if need be.

Of course, this newly-discovered money problem does mean that he cannot marry his first love, his supposed one and only love Julia Oversley. They met when he was injured. She became enamored with a vision of a dashing, heroic soldier. He became enamored of her beauty and charm. The parents consented at the time, though Lord Oversley did feel they weren't well suited for one another. But now that he's poor and soon to be without a home, he knows the only honorable thing is to break the engagement. Oversley does agree with him. Julia's brokenhearted. Adam is melancholy but resolved that he's doing the right thing, the responsible thing.

Enter Jonathan Chawleigh. A very wealthy man, but not "genteel" or gentle bred. Oversley introduces the impoverished Adam to Chawleigh with the hopes that they can solve each other problems. Chawleigh has high hopes for his daughter, his only child, Jenny. He wants to see her marry a proper gentleman, a man with a title, a man with dignity and distinction. A man that is part of the ton. Adam is shocked at first, but the more he considers the idea, the more he comes to feel it would be doing the better thing for his family--his mother and sister. The couple does meet first. And Chawleigh was right, Jenny doesn't overwhelm men with her beauty and charm and grace. She's the opposite of Julia in a way. Shy. Intelligent. Meek. Forgiving. Generous. Unassuming. And practical. Above all else practical. For those that are familiar with it, think Proverbs 31. Jenny is the essence of a Proverbs 31 woman. So after meeting her, while not overwhelmed by her beauty, he sees that they could live together amicably. They'd "suit" each other. Neither is dishonest. She knows that her husband is in love with another woman. He knows that she knows he's in love with another woman. Yet this awkward situation somehow doesn't stay awkward. Not for long. She doesn't demand love. Her only hope--in the beginning--is for respect and dignity.

I loved Jenny. I did. I loved her father Jonathan. The scenes with him are just satisfyingly good. I loved Adam's aunt Lady Nassington. I loved Adam's sister Lydia. So many of the characters were just so wonderfully human, so thoroughly developed. I loved this quiet and gentle but always intelligent novel about marriage and love and family.

I wouldn't say that I liked A Civil Contract better than A Convenient Marriage. But it was so much better than April Lady!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Foundling

The Foundling. Georgette Heyer. 1948/2009. Sourcebooks. 439 pages.

When the young gentlemen strolling through the park with his gun on his shoulder and an elderly spaniel at his heels came within sight of the house it occurred to him that the hour must be farther advanced than he had supposed, for the sun had sunk below the great stone pile, and an autumnal mist was already creeping over the ground.

The Duke of Sale (Gilly) is twenty-four. But. He's never lived his own life, or made his own decisions. He's had an entourage for as long as he can remember. An entourage that is determined to keep him safe, healthy, and comfortable. An entourage that Gilly feels discourages his independence, his individuality. He's never known a day of freedom.

Until. His cousin Matthew shares his troubles--he is being blackmailed. And the Duke determines to "solve" this family problem all on his own. He'll do it by being nobody. Without "being" the Duke, without being the head of the family. No. He wants to see if he's capable of being a man. Of thinking and acting like a man.

Does he succeed? At over four-hundred pages, you can imagine he does. But this new freedom doesn't come without risks and challenges and mishaps. He'll pick up not one but two strangers along the way. One young man, Tom, who is foolish and prank-loving. And one young woman, Belinda, a foundling, he "rescues" from an "uncle" who doesn't have the best of intentions. Belinda will BELIEVE any man who offers her a purple dress, you see. Or a ring. She's as silly as silly can be. But Belinda is NOT the love interest of Gilly. (I was quite relieved!)

The Foundling is not my favorite Georgette Heyer. It is a bit too long. There were so many potential ending places in the last hundred pages. Places where one more paragraph could have nicely done the job. But. For whatever reason, this ending would not be rushed. I liked it, but didn't love it.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews