2:22 - this is brilliant. She us a comfort read, read in my teens as my Mum helpfully had an extensive collection, half of which i took to Uni. As i discovered booktube in 2020 i read less. But a re-read urge came upon me and I am currently having a delightful time with Venetia. Searched on youtube to relive my love and found your video! Marvellous 😃💜📚
Georgette Heyer is FUNNY and writes outstanding secondary characters! For first time readers, grab anything after 1935 for a sure hit. Her romances are subtle though. She usually kind of makes fun of couples in grand passions. Great ones are the talisman ring, frederica, cotillion, the unknown ajax, the reluctant widow, the corinthian, the nonesuch, and sprig muslin. I think people sometimes pick up some of the earlier, weaker ones in second hand shops and libraries because readers keep the best ones forever.
You can definitely see the change in her style as she continues to write. Her earlier ones mainly set before regency have alot more swashbuckle vibe to them, but the wit is still present although her style is less mature. Chatacters are still fun - these Old Shades compared to Cotillion as you said, you really see the improvement. Agree with your list - i would add in Venetia as well 💜📚
@ChattieTheMadChatter Venetia is a favorite- agree. Also agree that all her books are good, but as an introduction I'd go with one a bit later than her earliest. Her wit just sparkles then.
Ahhh, Cotillion is my favorite either. Reread quite often (whole and in sections). The Corinthian, Powder and Patch, Sprig Muslin and Regency Buck are close seconds. Freddy Standen is quite different from all these perfect gentlemen G.H. normally writes as protagonist. Allways fun to spend time with him and Kitty. At the moment rereading Frederica with joy. 😀
I started reading Heyer about a year ago and have read several now. My favorite so far is Frederica. But I also really enjoyed The Reluctant Widow and The Nonesuch although that was harder to get into and my first Heyer or Regency as well. The Toll Gate was fun and probably an easier entry like The Reluctant Widow because not as much emphasis on Regency clothes, carriages, etc. I’m a first time viewer and enjoyed your video. And now subscribed.
Thank you for subscribing! I haven't read the four that you mention. Since filming this video, I have also read Cotillon, which is really good. It would likely be in the top three. Many people praise Frederica and The Nonesuch. I keep an eye out for them.
I really enjoy this review. Not least because your viewpoints are frequently not mine which makes this very fun. Isn't A Civil Contract most interesting and different? I think it is a mature theme, full of insight and the idea that love is best perhaps when real, not the romantic youthful fantasy of candy and flowers and a lovely face and figure. Jenny knows she is not her husband's dream, but his love for her grows as time goes on. His love for his dream girl on the other hand is steadily fading as time goes on.
@@TheUnknownSophy Good point. I think I would enjoy A Civil Contract more on rereading, because I would not be expecting a super happy ending. Just a quietly happy ending.
A Civil Contract is a more emotionally complex and mature novel. Everyone in it changes and either progresses or exposes their true character. This book is underrated and deserves to be read again if anyone wasn’t sure the first time.
I love Georgette Heyer! This was great! My favorites are: Sylvester (very P&P influenced), Faro’s Daughter, The Unknown Ajax and The Nonesuch. I had trouble with Civil Contract too but each time I reread I appreciate it more and now I love it!
These Old Shades is my all time fav. Yes the odd time one cringes, as in the start of Devil's Cub - the sequel. But overall such a delight. She is the only author I can read more than once.
I'm a huge fan. You'll love them, but definitely pick your first few from 1936 on. She really hit her stride by 1936. Some of the pre 1936 are a bit wobbly, except the masqueraders
12:44 - i always understand why this book does not appeal so much. But it is one of my favourites because of the slowburn and domestic side of things. This is very much the Mansfeild Park of Georgette Heyer's collection. No one wants to be Jennie, but i do get a great satisfaction from seeing a chatacter that is overlooked by everyone being the heroine. As a teenage swot at school that did not have boys attracted to me, it was very comforting to see Jennie akward and shy, but practical. I do love a practical heroine (The quiet gentleman is another) and the slow friendship they form is very endearing. I also love Lydia - typical heroine material. But i love the sort of sense and Sensibility style themes and how Lydia and Jennie become close sisters. I think it also helped i went into the book knowing that Mum did not like it when she read it so I had low expectations. It is definitely a book i love more each time i read it, but under modern day lense Jennie needs to be given a book on feminisim and self-worth within the domestic scene! Heyer is incredibly classist. I love Jennie's Dad he's such a loving father. I also love hoe his and Adam's relationship grows. Adam's Mum is also hilarious - lol you have made me want to pick it up now! 😂💜📚
13:32 - i see that. But again because I have read it so many times I think the language used is confusing. It is not a love of a passionate romance. But it is clear that his affections change. He has a desire and passion for Julia, but that does fade away before he is even aware of it. His affection for Jennie and care turns into a calmer love, before he is even aware of it. Jennie reflects that she will not recieve wild passion that Julia did. But how much of that was an idea of Julia, rather than Julia herself. Julia's husband married her with his eyes fully open and finds her playacting endearing (all a concerning in terms of teamwork and respect, but will let that slide) Adam realises what is important to him is his home estate and calm family life and to find a life partner that enters into those dreams and works alongside him to achieve them is quite beautiful. Jennie as a hughly practical person caring about people and finding joy in busy managment of running a home blossoms under Adam's kindness and understanding of her. The respect of his close friends and family. I think it is very sweet and heartwarming. But again i read it many times and had low expectations 💜📚
I read Cotillion after filming this video, and i agree it is great! I am keeping an eye out for Frederica and Sylvester, they are recommended by so many people.
7:17 😂😂😂 completely get it - it is highly problematic he is not a likeable chatacter at all. I love Mary and my teenage self was thrilled by his "you may have married her, but she is mine" 😂 which is basically red flags all over the shop. But as a nostalgic romp i loved it, especially reading it afyer These Old Shades which is about Vidal's parents! Vidal: is it loaded Mary: I don't know? (He moves - she shoots) Vidal: it was loaded ( he faints) 😂😂😂
I love pretty much all of her books, but she hit her stride in 1936 and never really looked back. The ones you didn't like are pre '36. Most of her romances are quite subtle. They're all about the personalities of the people being revealed and appreciated by the other. She does sometimes have passionate romances by secondary couples, but she usually is kind of making fun of them. For me, what makes her brilliant is how excellent her writing is, how funny the books are (post 1936), and her amazing secondary characters. Some of my faves that you haven't gotten to yet are: frederica, the talisman ring, the unknown Ajax, cotilion, the Corinthian, the Nonesuch, the masqueraders, the reluctant widow, and sprig muslin.
Which version of Powder and Patch did you have? The copy I had included Chapter 20 which was left out of later version. I can see why it was viewed as unnecessary, but it made a cute epigraph.
Good question. I don’t know. Right now I can’t check because my books are all packed in boxes, but I am curious. I have to assume that chapter isn’t in my copy. I know it’s a relatively recent reprint, and I don’t remember any epigraph…
So the only Heyer book I have read is your favorite and I gave it 3 stars I liked Sophy but couldn't find the romance there because he didn't like her through most and then all of a sudden he did...lol. I mean I pretty sure I know thr moment he changed his mind about her but I don't know...but I find that is kind of how a lot of these older books are lol. 😀
It’s true that there is not a lot of "seduction" going on between the characters in the Grand Sophy; it’s all very sudden. And now that you make me think of it, it happens in other books too. Like you say, it’s probably the style of that time. And apparently, I don’t mind it… 😁
Nice video. You have Venetia at number two. I am afraid I struggled with that one - partly because not a great deal happens throughout, but largely because of what is effectively a sexual assault near the start of the novel, and, at the end, she basically gives him permission to be unfaithful. It's not a great example for young women! The Grand Sophy is wonderful, and I also loved Arabella.
I agree it’s not a great example for young women. Most of Georgette Heyer is not, the more I think of it. There is frequent inappropriate behaviour, some that amount to a crime nowadays, and there can be a few scenes of ugly antisemitism or other discrimination. Somehow, my brain ignores all of that and I just enjoys the fun parts of the book. I forget the hate and remember the love.
As someone who has reread most of these books a few times I expect you didn’t so much read as skim them given all the things you get wrong. For starters the hero of Powder and Patch is not a farmer. He’s landed gentry, who’s father also wants him to get some polish, nor does Cleone reject him for lack of manliness, but for seeming too fashionably self absorbed to care for her. In A Civil Contract he is NOT refused permission to marry, he goes to let the girl go because of his circumstances. In Bath Tangle Serena needs a trustee, NOT a tutor. She’s of age. Arabella does NOT pretend to be fashionable. Having heard the jaded hero expect she’s another fortune hunter she tries to put him in his place by pretending to be an equally bored heiress who’s pestered by constant fortune hunters. PLUS AS FOR YOUR SPOILER ALERT ON A CIVIL CONTRACT: It specifically says at the end “he did love her,”only differently if perhaps more enduringly since Julia was more of a boyish crush. Hence one can’t help wondering if you actually read these books or if you skimmed them. Edited to correct spelling check messing with Cleone’s name.
Yes, I have read the books. I’ve read them once, most of them several months before filming the video, for the pleasure of enjoying a good story, not with pen and paper to make a study of them. I am perfectly aware that the hero of Powder and Patch is not a farmer. I was not attempt to describe his social stagusnbit his demeanour. English is my second language, perhaps my words did not come across as I thought they would. Trustee or tutor, it’s a detail that has no bearing on one’s enjoyment of the book. As for the love realationship in A Civil Contract, I maintain that it is disappointing. The hero spends the vast majority of the book being in love with another woman, and the heroine deserved better. One sentence doesn’t change my opinion.
@@bouquinsbooks I hope I understand how dealing with a second language can make things tricky. And I apologize if I sounded too harsh. But I believe if you read the ending again you’ll find it’s rather more than one sentence. It’s a whole paragraph indicating his love is “more enduring” than the infatuation he had about Julia. Perhaps this would be clearer if you add the comments the worldly wise Marquis makes about Julia’s love being “no more than a fairy tale,” earlier. Of course I have the advantage of having reread the book a number of times so I remember it well enough to quote a few sentences off the top of my pumpkin head.
Good analysis, but I am surprised that you did not mention how funny the Grand Sophy is. Sophy’s father, her aunt, Eugenia, her uncle, Augustus Fawnhope - even Sophy herself - are laugh out loud funny. And there were many clues that Charles was falling for Sophy. My issue is with the anti-Semitism in the middle of the book. I wish that wasn’t there.
It’s true that The Grand Sophy is the funniest Heyer that I have read! I have to confess I don’t remember the antisemitism in the middle. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t notice it at the time, but it didn’t stick with me… perhaps because these scenes are sadly too common, even in books that are not that old. I will pay more attention if I reread it.
I reread The Grand Sophy in August. I had completely forgoten about the money lending episode in the middle. That was very ugly antisemitism indeed! It does make me love the book a little bit less. But Sophy is still a great character.
After filming this video, I read The Unknown Ajax and Cotillion. I think both of them would be rather high in the list if I was to redo my ranking. I am still keeping an eye out for the rest of her works. Heyer is a great author.
Cotillion is my favorite Heyer. One of my only "rereads".
Faro's Daughter and Regency Buck are also fantastic.
Good to know!
@@purespice.1 I have Regency Buck on my shelves. Just the title makes me smile already. 😂
Love cotillion. It's so funny and so unexpected!
2:22 - this is brilliant.
She us a comfort read, read in my teens as my Mum helpfully had an extensive collection, half of which i took to Uni. As i discovered booktube in 2020 i read less. But a re-read urge came upon me and I am currently having a delightful time with Venetia.
Searched on youtube to relive my love and found your video! Marvellous 😃💜📚
3:53 - excellent point -- oooh interesting game Heyer Hero and Heronies blind dates would they work? 😂
Agree with "Cotillion" but also "Friday's Child" and "Sprig Muslin" are fantastic!
Since filming this video, I've read Cotillion, and it was delightful. It would have made the top three for sure.
Do read Friday's Child. What a romp, so much fun!
@@TheUnknownSophy I will try to read them all. 😁 But I will make this one a priority, thank you.
Georgette Heyer is FUNNY and writes outstanding secondary characters! For first time readers, grab anything after 1935 for a sure hit. Her romances are subtle though. She usually kind of makes fun of couples in grand passions. Great ones are the talisman ring, frederica, cotillion, the unknown ajax, the reluctant widow, the corinthian, the nonesuch, and sprig muslin. I think people sometimes pick up some of the earlier, weaker ones in second hand shops and libraries because readers keep the best ones forever.
Of the ones you list, I have read The Unknown Ajax and Cotillion, and I agree that they are great! I always keep an eye open for them in bookstores.
You can definitely see the change in her style as she continues to write. Her earlier ones mainly set before regency have alot more swashbuckle vibe to them, but the wit is still present although her style is less mature. Chatacters are still fun - these Old Shades compared to Cotillion as you said, you really see the improvement.
Agree with your list - i would add in Venetia as well 💜📚
@ChattieTheMadChatter Venetia is a favorite- agree. Also agree that all her books are good, but as an introduction I'd go with one a bit later than her earliest. Her wit just sparkles then.
Ahhh, Cotillion is my favorite either. Reread quite often (whole and in sections). The Corinthian, Powder and Patch, Sprig Muslin and Regency Buck are close seconds.
Freddy Standen is quite different from all these perfect gentlemen G.H. normally writes as protagonist.
Allways fun to spend time with him and Kitty.
At the moment rereading Frederica with joy.
😀
I started reading Heyer about a year ago and have read several now. My favorite so far is Frederica. But I also really enjoyed The Reluctant Widow and The Nonesuch although that was harder to get into and my first Heyer or Regency as well. The Toll Gate was fun and probably an easier entry like The Reluctant Widow because not as much emphasis on Regency clothes, carriages, etc.
I’m a first time viewer and enjoyed your video. And now subscribed.
Thank you for subscribing! I haven't read the four that you mention. Since filming this video, I have also read Cotillon, which is really good. It would likely be in the top three. Many people praise Frederica and The Nonesuch. I keep an eye out for them.
@@bouquinsbooks I’ve heard a number of people mention Cotillion. It sounds like that should be my next Heyer. Thank you!
I really enjoy this review. Not least because your viewpoints are frequently not mine which makes this very fun. Isn't A Civil Contract most interesting and different? I think it is a mature theme, full of insight and the idea that love is best perhaps when real, not the romantic youthful fantasy of candy and flowers and a lovely face and figure. Jenny knows she is not her husband's dream, but his love for her grows as time goes on. His love for his dream girl on the other hand is steadily fading as time goes on.
@@TheUnknownSophy Good point. I think I would enjoy A Civil Contract more on rereading, because I would not be expecting a super happy ending. Just a quietly happy ending.
A Civil Contract is a more emotionally complex and mature novel. Everyone in it changes and either progresses or exposes their true character. This book is underrated and deserves to be read again if anyone wasn’t sure the first time.
I love Georgette Heyer! This was great! My favorites are: Sylvester (very P&P influenced), Faro’s Daughter, The Unknown Ajax and The Nonesuch. I had trouble with Civil Contract too but each time I reread I appreciate it more and now I love it!
I can’t wait to read those too! 😁
J’ai Frederica dans ma pile… hâte de découvrir l’auteure! Si j’aime, je reviendrai reprendre conseil ici pour les prochains à lire… 😊
J’espère que tu vas aimer! 😄
Frederica is a great one! Perfect first read.
These Old Shades is my all time fav. Yes the odd time one cringes, as in the start of Devil's Cub - the sequel. But overall such a delight. She is the only author I can read more than once.
There some scenes in Heyer that did not age well. I agree her books are eminently rereadable. 😁
Great recommendations and i will definately give these a try. There is a whole shelf of these at my library. Thank you!
Lucky you! My library doesn’t have many. That’s why I have to hunt for them in used bookstores. 😄
I'm a huge fan. You'll love them, but definitely pick your first few from 1936 on. She really hit her stride by 1936. Some of the pre 1936 are a bit wobbly, except the masqueraders
Brilliant idea for a video.
Thanks! 😄
12:44 - i always understand why this book does not appeal so much. But it is one of my favourites because of the slowburn and domestic side of things.
This is very much the Mansfeild Park of Georgette Heyer's collection. No one wants to be Jennie, but i do get a great satisfaction from seeing a chatacter that is overlooked by everyone being the heroine. As a teenage swot at school that did not have boys attracted to me, it was very comforting to see Jennie akward and shy, but practical. I do love a practical heroine (The quiet gentleman is another) and the slow friendship they form is very endearing. I also love Lydia - typical heroine material. But i love the sort of sense and Sensibility style themes and how Lydia and Jennie become close sisters.
I think it also helped i went into the book knowing that Mum did not like it when she read it so I had low expectations.
It is definitely a book i love more each time i read it, but under modern day lense Jennie needs to be given a book on feminisim and self-worth within the domestic scene!
Heyer is incredibly classist. I love Jennie's Dad he's such a loving father. I also love hoe his and Adam's relationship grows. Adam's Mum is also hilarious - lol you have made me want to pick it up now! 😂💜📚
13:32 - i see that. But again because I have read it so many times I think the language used is confusing.
It is not a love of a passionate romance. But it is clear that his affections change. He has a desire and passion for Julia, but that does fade away before he is even aware of it. His affection for Jennie and care turns into a calmer love, before he is even aware of it.
Jennie reflects that she will not recieve wild passion that Julia did. But how much of that was an idea of Julia, rather than Julia herself. Julia's husband married her with his eyes fully open and finds her playacting endearing (all a concerning in terms of teamwork and respect, but will let that slide)
Adam realises what is important to him is his home estate and calm family life and to find a life partner that enters into those dreams and works alongside him to achieve them is quite beautiful. Jennie as a hughly practical person caring about people and finding joy in busy managment of running a home blossoms under Adam's kindness and understanding of her. The respect of his close friends and family. I think it is very sweet and heartwarming.
But again i read it many times and had low expectations 💜📚
My favorites include Frederica, Sylvester, The Talisman Ring, Cotillion, and The Toll Gate.
I read Cotillion after filming this video, and i agree it is great! I am keeping an eye out for Frederica and Sylvester, they are recommended by so many people.
7:17 😂😂😂 completely get it - it is highly problematic he is not a likeable chatacter at all. I love Mary and my teenage self was thrilled by his "you may have married her, but she is mine" 😂 which is basically red flags all over the shop.
But as a nostalgic romp i loved it, especially reading it afyer These Old Shades which is about Vidal's parents!
Vidal: is it loaded
Mary: I don't know?
(He moves - she shoots)
Vidal: it was loaded ( he faints) 😂😂😂
The Grand Sophy rules!
I read Simon the Coldheart and did not like it but i will try another one. It was her 1st one I think.
I haven’t heard of that one. I say Heyer is worth a second try. 😁
The lack moth was her first, I think Simon is number 2. Go for anything after 1935 and you will, have a winner. 1936 the talisman ring is a favorite.
I love pretty much all of her books, but she hit her stride in 1936 and never really looked back. The ones you didn't like are pre '36. Most of her romances are quite subtle. They're all about the personalities of the people being revealed and appreciated by the other. She does sometimes have passionate romances by secondary couples, but she usually is kind of making fun of them. For me, what makes her brilliant is how excellent her writing is, how funny the books are (post 1936), and her amazing secondary characters. Some of my faves that you haven't gotten to yet are: frederica, the talisman ring, the unknown Ajax, cotilion, the Corinthian, the Nonesuch, the masqueraders, the reluctant widow, and sprig muslin.
Which version of Powder and Patch did you have? The copy I had included Chapter 20 which was left out of later version. I can see why it was viewed as unnecessary, but it made a cute epigraph.
Good question. I don’t know. Right now I can’t check because my books are all packed in boxes, but I am curious. I have to assume that chapter isn’t in my copy. I know it’s a relatively recent reprint, and I don’t remember any epigraph…
Commentator found Georgette Heyer in 2022. After she has read Georgette Heyer for 20 years we will talk.!
😂
So the only Heyer book I have read is your favorite and I gave it 3 stars I liked Sophy but couldn't find the romance there because he didn't like her through most and then all of a sudden he did...lol. I mean I pretty sure I know thr moment he changed his mind about her but I don't know...but I find that is kind of how a lot of these older books are lol. 😀
It’s true that there is not a lot of "seduction" going on between the characters in the Grand Sophy; it’s all very sudden. And now that you make me think of it, it happens in other books too. Like you say, it’s probably the style of that time. And apparently, I don’t mind it… 😁
Nice video. You have Venetia at number two. I am afraid I struggled with that one - partly because not a great deal happens throughout, but largely because of what is effectively a sexual assault near the start of the novel, and, at the end, she basically gives him permission to be unfaithful. It's not a great example for young women!
The Grand Sophy is wonderful, and I also loved Arabella.
I agree it’s not a great example for young women. Most of Georgette Heyer is not, the more I think of it. There is frequent inappropriate behaviour, some that amount to a crime nowadays, and there can be a few scenes of ugly antisemitism or other discrimination. Somehow, my brain ignores all of that and I just enjoys the fun parts of the book. I forget the hate and remember the love.
As someone who has reread most of these books a few times I expect you didn’t so much read as skim them given all the things you get wrong. For starters the hero of Powder and Patch is not a farmer. He’s landed gentry, who’s father also wants him to get some polish, nor does Cleone reject him for lack of manliness, but for seeming too fashionably self absorbed to care for her.
In A Civil Contract he is NOT refused permission to marry, he goes to let the girl go because of his circumstances.
In Bath Tangle Serena needs a trustee, NOT a tutor. She’s of age.
Arabella does NOT pretend to be fashionable. Having heard the jaded hero expect she’s another fortune hunter she tries to put him in his place by pretending to be an equally bored heiress who’s pestered by constant fortune hunters.
PLUS AS FOR YOUR SPOILER ALERT ON A CIVIL CONTRACT:
It specifically says at the end “he did love her,”only differently if perhaps more enduringly since Julia was more of a boyish crush.
Hence one can’t help wondering if you actually read these books or if you skimmed them.
Edited to correct spelling check messing with Cleone’s name.
Yes, I have read the books. I’ve read them once, most of them several months before filming the video, for the pleasure of enjoying a good story, not with pen and paper to make a study of them.
I am perfectly aware that the hero of Powder and Patch is not a farmer. I was not attempt to describe his social stagusnbit his demeanour. English is my second language, perhaps my words did not come across as I thought they would. Trustee or tutor, it’s a detail that has no bearing on one’s enjoyment of the book. As for the love realationship in A Civil Contract, I maintain that it is disappointing. The hero spends the vast majority of the book being in love with another woman, and the heroine deserved better. One sentence doesn’t change my opinion.
@@bouquinsbooks
I hope I understand how dealing with a second language can make things tricky. And I apologize if I sounded too harsh. But I believe if you read the ending again you’ll find it’s rather more than one sentence. It’s a whole paragraph indicating his love is “more enduring” than the infatuation he had about Julia. Perhaps this would be clearer if you add the comments the worldly wise Marquis makes about Julia’s love being “no more than a fairy tale,” earlier. Of course I have the advantage of having reread the book a number of times so I remember it well enough to quote a few sentences off the top of my pumpkin head.
Good analysis, but I am surprised that you did not mention how funny the Grand Sophy is. Sophy’s father, her aunt, Eugenia, her uncle, Augustus Fawnhope - even Sophy herself - are laugh out loud funny. And there were many clues that Charles was falling for Sophy. My issue is with the anti-Semitism in the middle of the book. I wish that wasn’t there.
It’s true that The Grand Sophy is the funniest Heyer that I have read! I have to confess I don’t remember the antisemitism in the middle. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t notice it at the time, but it didn’t stick with me… perhaps because these scenes are sadly too common, even in books that are not that old. I will pay more attention if I reread it.
I reread The Grand Sophy in August. I had completely forgoten about the money lending episode in the middle. That was very ugly antisemitism indeed! It does make me love the book a little bit less. But Sophy is still a great character.
You're missing the Unknown Ajax, Federica, Cotillion, Faro's Daughter, Sprig Muslin, the Black Sheep. There are a few more.
After filming this video, I read The Unknown Ajax and Cotillion. I think both of them would be rather high in the list if I was to redo my ranking. I am still keeping an eye out for the rest of her works. Heyer is a great author.
The word you were looking for was "bear", not bare. Rotherham is pronounced more like Rovtherem.