THE CORINTHIAN

by Georgette Heyer



"Penelope Creed will do anything to avoid marrying her repulsive cousin. Dressed in boy's clothing, she's fleeing from London when she's discovered by Sir Richard Wyndham, himself on he verge of the most momentous decision of his life. When Sir Richard encounters the lovely fugitive, he knows he can't allow her to travel the countryside all alone, so he offers himself as her protector. As it happens, at that very moment Sir Richard could use an escape of his own." (From the back of the Sourcebooks edition.)

When a reader is looking for a bit of fun and romance, she could hardly go wrong choosing just about any Georgette Heyer regency romance. The Corinthian is light, adorable and a perfect book for when you want to smile from the first page to the last.

THE QUIET GENTLEMAN

by Georgette Heyer



"When Gervase Frant, Seventh Earl of St. Erth, returns at last from Waterloo to his family seat at Stanyon, he enjoys a less than welcoming homecoming. Only Theo, a cousin even quieter than himself, is there to greet him -- and when he meets his stepmother and half-brother he detects open regret that he has survived the wars. The dangers of Lincolnshire countryside could never be more unexpected . . . " (From the CD container)

When it comes to reading for pure entertainment, there is very little more entertaining than good regency dialogue. I immediately want to add phrases such as, "He's a little queer in the attic, don't you think?" and "We can't leave her lying about at the bottom of the stairs for just anyone who comes along to trip over!" to my every day conversations. :-) Seriously though, dialogue in books such as Heyer's regencies never fails to make me smile and often has me chuckling out loud.

There have been a lot of Heyer reviews floating around lately due to the reissue of her books. I can only hope that readers don't pass up The Quiet Gentleman purely from Heyer-overload. I've only read a few of her books, but I have to say this one is a stand out so far.

CHARITY GIRL

by Georgette Heyer



When Viscount Desford finds Charity Steane on the road to London running away from her aunt's house, he has no idea the trouble he's about to unleash when he offers to assist in her quest.

While it seems you really can't go wrong with a Georgette Heyer book, I didn't feel that Charity Girl quite lived up to my high expectations of her work. As I similarly said in an earlier review of an Agatha Christie novel, when a person produces as much material as Heyer did, there are bound to be a couple books that aren't quite as satisfying as my favorites. The beginning of the story put me in mind of Cinderella, the ending is absolutely adorable, but it seemed to take a long, long time to get to get there. If you're already a Heyer fan, this is a perfectly good book to wile away a few hours, but I don't think this is one that will turn a newbie into a dedicated follower.

FARO'S DAUGHTER

by Georgette Heyer



Social fireworks explode when Max Ravenscar attemps to bribe Miss Deborah Grantham, a gaming house mistress, into spurning his nephew's marriage proposals. Miss Grantham had no intentions to marry the young Lord Mablethorpe to begin with, but that doesn't stop her from planning her madcap revenge on Ravenscar for his insults.

Faro's Daughter took a little more time to get moving than did Cotillion, but once it got its momentum, it was a rollicking good time! I'm learning I that if I want an amusing light romance to pass some time this winter, Georgette Heyer will be one of the first that I reach for. I have now read two of her regencies, and I read both with a smile on my face.

THE CONQUEROR

by Georgette Heyer



The extended tag line for The Conqueror: A Novel of William the Conqueror reads, "The bastard son who overpowered a kingdom and the woman who melted his heart." Don't let that fool you. While Georgette Heyer is known for her fabulous regency romances, The Conqueror is no romance. And I mean that in a good way!

This is the story of William the Conqueror, but his relationship with his wife, Matilda of Flanders, is only a minor part of the saga and disappears into the background once they are wed. William's rise from bastardy to King of England is experienced by two men -- Raoul de Harcourt, a Norman and William's favorite, and Edgar of Marwell, a Saxon hostage held by William, who is devoted to the cause of putting Earl Harold Godwineson on the throne. The unlikely friendship that develops between Raoul and Edgar is the heart of this book, and when the ambitions of William and Harold finally pit the two on opposite sides of the bloody Battle of Hastings, the reader will experience the horror of war, the sometimes painful cost of loyalty, and the majesty of true friendship.

Interesting sidenote: When William sails off to England, his wife, Matilda, stands on the shore envisioning the creation of a grand tapestry depicting William's conquests. This dream is, of course, the famous Bayeux tapestry, the subject of Sarah Bower's book, The Needle in the Blood. Now I'm all anxious to get to that one!

COTILLION

by Georgette Heyer



Kitty Charing will inherit a fortune from her guardian on one condition: She must marry one of his great-nephews. She cunningly sets up a sham betrothal with the somewhat slow-witted Freddy despite his objections, but when she accompanies him to London to meet his family and set in motion her plan to free herself from her marriage obligation, the unfamiliar steps in navigating the lifestyle of the ton quickly entangle her in a hilarious knot of secret loves and hearts that will not be denied.

I haven't read a Regency romance in many years, but I just may have to indulge again. Cotillion was adorable! Just the thing for a quick read and a good laugh between more serious historicals. I love the language and the atmosphere of the period, and Georgette Heyer is one of the masters. This may be my first book of hers, but there will definitely be more in my future.