Unquestionably powerful librarian Nancy Pearl (I mean, dude, she has her own Action Figure!) has a new article up at NPR of her recommendations for carry-on books that make traveling and waiting a marvelous escape. Says Pearl, “You want a book — either fiction or nonfiction — that’s complex enough to smother your annoyance when the guy in the row ahead reclines his seat into your lap, but not so intellectually challenging that it demands a dictionary.” Oh, hell to the yes, ma’am.
And ho, there, what awesome sauce through yonder linkage breaks? It is the Heyer, and she is on the list! Heyer’s An Infamous Army is among the books recommended as perfect for carry-on reading, to which I say, “Carry on, Ms. Pearl, for verily thou art rocking my socks.”
But wait, there’s more! We’ll sell you the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge! Sourcebooks, which has reissued many of Heyer’s books with absolutely scrumptiously opulent covers (if they were pastries they’d be moist cupcakes with four inches of perfect icing), is offering 10 books to Smart Bitch readers.
We have three copies of An Infamous Army, plus one each of Friday’s Child, Cotillion, Royal Escape, False Colours, Lady of Quality, Black Sheep, and Faro’s Daughter. Ten books for ten winners!
So leave a comment, and tell us your favorite Heyer scene, character, or just book in general. I’m not eligible, but I will say with no fear that I can reread over and over the scene in Devil’s Cub where
Kate
Mary (sorry!) begins to sniffle in front of Vidal, and he realizes due to her graceless snurfle she’s not at all like her silly sister, oh, no no no.
I’ll pick 10 winners at random, and you’ll get yourself some Heyer if you win. You have 24 hours. Carry on!
ETA: Heyer, Heyer everwhere! GalleyCat is hosting a GalleyLOLCat contest, wherein the winner gets some Heyer, too. Bitchery reader Mandy’s cat is in the running: seems Tiny likes Julia Quinn. Tiny, says I, has good taste.
I LOVE DEVILS CUB!!! This isn’t a scene, but I just think it’s hilarious how the hero kills two people in a duel & wins an impossible horse/carriage race in the first twenty-five or so pages. Alcohol is to Vidal what spinach is to Popeye!
Me too! I would ove to enter and sadly, I have never read what sound like marvelous books -please help pathetic me!
Mari
Me too! I would ove to enter and sadly, I have never read what sound like marvelous books -please help pathetic me!
Mari
Me too! I would ove to enter and sadly, I have never read what sound like marvelous books -please help pathetic me!
Mari
Me too! I would ove to enter and sadly, I have never read what sound like marvelous books -please help pathetic me!
Mari
I’ve never read any Heyer! But I’d love to. 🙂
So much Heyer love! I enjoyed the cross-dressing in The Masqueraders, but my favorite line is from Devil’s Cub:
“I feel an almost overwhelming interest in the methods of daylight abduction employed by the modern youth.”
A sentence so cool, I read it three time the first time I saw it. <3
I’ve never read Georgette Heyer. 🙁 Too bad.
Favourite Heyers:
1. Cotillion (this is my FAVOURITE simply because Heyer absolutely nails it by subverting all the popular romantic archetypes (the saturnine rake who isn’t the hero, the slightly effeminate, good natured fop who is, the heroine whose read a few too many romances and sets out to catch the rake, but falls in love with the fop), plus a masterful cast of supporting characters. A classic.
Favourite part? The ending, when Freddy steps up and (SPOILER) punches Jack, much to everyone’s astonishment (particularly his own).
2. The Quiet Gentleman. Heyer at her ensemble best (see also: Frederica and The Unknown Ajax). I love that the hero is this delicate, beautiful blond and the heroine is the practical, short necked Miss Morville.
Favourite part: when she rescues him after he falls from his horse. (and every scene with the Dowager).
3. Regency Buck. This is totally old school, but no one does it better than Heyer. Judith is the beautiful, hot headed heiress and the Earl (name forgotten) is her guardian, all dark and ironic and handsome. Sparks fly. There’s guest appearances by Brummell, a skanky Prince Regent cameo and Lady Jersey; Almacks, kidnappings, a shooting, heroic rescues, romance, heaving bosoms, misunderstanding and the kitchen sink.
Good fun.
Oh, And I’ve never thought The Devil’s Cub was Heyer’s best. If you can get past the age difference, I think These Old Shades (Vidal’s parents) is better.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned Frederica yet—the balloon ride is so great!!
And the Reluctant Widow—dying Dukes and French spies, what a combo!
You guys are taking me on a trip down memory lane today—this is so awesome!
I just spewed tea all over my keyboard. Thank you!!! That’s utterly brilliant (you know, he’s not considered dangerous until he’s broached his forth bottle of port, LOL!). I can see that my Heyer collection and I are going to have a splendid weekend together . . . I’m still so damn grateful my godmother handed my Venetia on the first day of fall break my freshman year of college (and then pointed to the two full shelves of Heyer books when I begged for more!). Of course she’s the same brilliant woman who gave me Rosemary Sutcliff when I was eight and Dorthy Dunnett and Sharon Kay Penman. I should really call her . . .
I’d be drummed out of a job if I’d never read Heyer. My favorite has always been Frederica. Didn’t she have an Aunt Scrabster?? It was the most perfect word.
Of course I projected myself into the book as the wise oldest sister, who was too managing, with younger siblings who I sort of had to boss around.
I love this one too. Judith and Worth are the couple I sort of based my “old-marrieds” the Morpeths on in my series. At least they’re sort of couple I had in mind: A reformed rake and a bad girl who’ve mellowed a bit (but the ability to be naughty is right there below the surface . . .).
Must kill the italics
And love the way Worth calls Judith “Clorinda” when she won’t tell him her name!
My great-grandmother had quite a few Georgette Heyers in her library. Those were the first intoduction to romance I had.
The one that sticks with me most is “Devil’s Cub.”
I love the scene where Mary shoots Vidal. However my favourite character and scene is from These Old Shades and is the page/ward/whatever Leon/Leonie. I just love the end where she climbs on the table and announces how she is going up in the world 😀
I read Georgette Heyer early and often, and am now spoiled for any book that can’t bring the dialogue. First introduction was The Masqueraders, which is still my favorite. Love that both Prudence and “her mountain” are calm, clear-eyed, and capable. And that they feel no need to ratchet up the obligatory romance angst-o-meter to dramaqueen11 to come together. Instead they have—wait for it!—actual conversations to acknowledge and solve problems.
My originals are crumbling back to dust – pick me!!
My favourites are Devil’s Cub, Sylvester (oh, those eyebrows!), Frederica and Venetia. But I have trouble naming THE single most favourite scene – there are way too many! Among them are certainly the dinner scene where Mary Challoner tells her story to the Duke of Avon. Or Sylvester finding out that Phoebe rather runs away than marrying him…! Or Venetia dealing with a drunk Damerel …
I first heard about Heyer here at SBTB. Of the handful I’ve tracked down at the library, my favorite is Venetia. I would LOVE to read another, especially after reading all these great quotes and comments.
Another huge fan. In fact there’s only two on your list I haven’t read (Lady of Quality and False Colours – in case I win). I have a huge number of fave scenes. The Devil’s Cub has been mentioned many times, so I’ll restrict myself (with great effort) to three others:-
1. The swordfight between Gervase and Martin in The Quiet Gentleman
2. The reunion between Bab and Charles in An Infamous Army, and
3. The bittersweet final scene of A Civil Contract when Jenny realises that a part of Adam will always put his (rather irritating) first love on a pedestal but that he does love Jenny
Damn – can I add one more?
4. The Grand Sophy facing down the moneylender – what a girl!
Question: Which book should I start reading first of Heyer’s? I so pick up her books and then lose them.
It really doesn’t matter. Even the four that are related are so loosely related that you won’t miss anything earthshaking by reading them out of order. My only advice would be to start with one of the ones that you see mentioned here over and over and over (Devil’s Cub, The Grand Sophy, Arabella, and Venetia are all good first Heyer books).
Thanks, Kalen!
I second Kalen. Heyer’s different periods and genres may or may not be to your taste, but they’re all well done.
WHAT is with the italics? They just don’t seem to want to close. I broke a thread the other day with italics, and I swear that I used the button correctly.
Anyway, back to Heyer. The only people I’ve ever heard of who don’t enjoy her are people who are uncomfortable reading words of more than two or three syllables (or who read only for the sex scenes). She uses words masterfully.
I’d also say that The Nonesuch would be an excellent starting place, but I really can’t see you getting turned off no matter which book you start with—provided that you enjoy words, and you’re not looking mostly for a stroke book.
One big difference between Heyer and a lot of current authors is that, today, we’re set up to buy series by having secondary characters featured, so that we usually know who’s book is coming next. Heyer had a lot of fantabulous secondary characters, but because books were marketed differently back in her day, they stayed secondary. Her books are essentially stand-alones. There is no book of hers that you read solely to get the backstory for the next book, unlike some series I’m reading (hi there, JR Ward!).
Holy cow! I fixed it! Yay, me!
I’ve been reading Heyer since I was ten years old! I love them all, but I confess I have a special place in my heart for The Grand Sophy! Sophy’s Stepmother nearly killed me! OMG the evil fiancee!
But then, what about Avon and Leonie?!
Or the tragic villain in The Black Moth!
Or the Talisman Ring with the murder!
Or sweet dotty Freddy in Cotillion!
Or cross dressing kisses in The Corinthian!
Yowza! I just love them all!
Oh man this is perfect for me! I’m just getting into the Heyer so I’ve recently purchased 3 books (Cotillion-my favorite so far-The Convenient Marriage, and Frederica, which I’m reading now) and have checked out more from the library (Faro’s Daughter, The Corinthian, The Nonesuch, and The Grand Sophy) but it’s so hard to pick a favorite scene.
If you haven’t read The Grand Sophy don’t read below this point
For favorite I’ll probably have to go with the end scene of The Grand Sophy. From the moment Charles walks in the door and just totally has Sophy’s number (all “oh you’re ruined? I would’ve laid odds you’d called the Marquesa to meet you here”) to the very end when she tells Charles he can’t love her and he says “I don’t. I dislike you excessively.” That bit made me a little weak in the knees.
As for just starting out with Heyer, I recommend Cotillion but that’s because it’s the first one I read. I adore Freddy so very much. One of the best romance novel heros ever (can I pick every scene Freddy’s in as a favorite scene? Because I love him like pie). Also, The Grand Sophy. It gets mentioned a lot and for good reason.
And while we’re on the subject of secondary characters (someone is anyway) can I just say that I’d kind of love if someone wrote a story about Tiffany and Laurie from The Nonesuch. If ever there were secondary characters begging for a bit of a redemption story it’s those two.
Don’t enter me; I have the whole set of Arrow reprints, mysteries and all (and went broke importing them, too, until I found free worldwide shipping). Just wanted to mention that The Spanish Bride is related to the “trilogy” through all the army characters, and I want to say The Unknown Ajax might be as well. Memory is fuzzy on that one.
I adore Heyer. I still have a few I haven’t read yet; I use the new-to-me ones to break myself out of those bad stretches where I’m disappointed in every book I try.
Venetia is still my favorite, so far. Banter through classical quotes! It just doesn’t get any better than that.
Heyer is totally one of my passions—I pick up her books used or new whenever I see them (which isn’t nearly as often as I’d like), even if they’re foxed mid-century paperbacks.
I agree with all the favorite parts mentioned above and would add two:
the bit in
Sophy
when she runs into Sir Vincent et al in the park and there’s the line that the last time they saw her she was (approx) “arranging in the most ruthless way the affairs of a very confused family of Belgians” Foreshadowing is teh good.
and the end of
Arabella
the whole elopement scene, but especially the part where Arabella realizes it might be just a leetle bit awkward to ask Beaumaris for a phaeton-load of money the moment after they say “I do.” Hee, hee, hee.
Now I have to go re-read some Heyer…
I’ve only read two Heyers so far: The Masqueraders, which I loved, and These Old Shades, which I hated. I definitely need to read more—at the very least to quell my inner termoil!
I often like Nancy Pearl’s recommendations.
I only recently discovered Heyer. An Infamous Army‘s a good un, but so far my fave couples are in Cotillion (Kitty, Freddy) and The Talisman Ring (the sarcastic older couple, Sarah and Tristram).
My favorite scene is when Deb locks whatshisname in the basement in Faro’s Daughter. Although I do like it when whatshername shoots whathisname in Devil’s Cub. (No, I am on vacation nowhere near my Heyers; can you tell?)
“Leonie – you are not the first woman I have loved!”
“Oh, Monsignor – I would so much rather be the last than be the first!”
– has probably ruined me for the lacklustre dreariness of real-life romance for all time. OH DUC D’AVON, WHERE ARE YOU WHEN i NEED YOU.
But, even so, These Old Shades isn’t my favourite Heyer. That honour goes to The Talisman Ring.
“… he is thirty-one years old, and he does not frequent gaming-hells or cockpits, and when I asked him if he would ride ventre a terre to come to my wedding, he said ‘Certainly not’!”
“This is more shocking than all the rest!” declared Miss Thane. “He must be a perfect Monster!”
– Miss Thane, at this point, has been awoken in the dead of night, in a strange hotel in the middle of nowhere, to find a runaway young lady and a wounded smuggler in the front room, and has cheerfully risen to the occasion, all while still in her dressing gown. But even Miss Thane is outclassed by her brother Hugh, who is a Justice of the Peace, and holds very strong views on the smuggling of liquor. So long as the Excisemen never find out what these views are – Hugh later spends quite some time playing dice with the smuggler in the cellar – all will be well.
Did I mention that the smuggler is young, devastatingly handsome, reckless to the point of criminal stupidity, the heir to a local country estate, and has had to flee England to escape a Crime he Did Not Commit?
And can I add that they are all outclassed by My Cousin Tristan, who may not rideventre a terre, but still somehow manages to wrangle the rest of the cast into some semblance of sanity, solve the mystery and save the day?
But even Tristan is not my favourite. My favourite is Jem, the (as it turns out) villain’s groom, who wades into a punch-up midway through the book, cheerfully on Our Hero’s side.
[Tristan] “… gave him a whistle? With the whole household looking for you, you whistled?
“Yes, why not? I knew he’d recognise it. Lord, we used to go birds’-nesting together.”
“Did young Kettering chance to remember that he is in [the villain’s] service?”
“Yes, but this was for me, my dear fellow.”
I know it is hard to choose a favourite, when there is also The Grand Sophy, and Cotillion, and False Colours, and Friday’s Child – and A Civil Contract, so different from her other romances, and Envious Casca, my favourite of the detectives – but it’s entirely possible that The Talisman Ring is the best book ever written in the entire history of the whole wide world. And then some.
My mom’s favorite is The Grand Sophy, too, but I don’t see it. My faves are the These Old Shades/Regency Buck/Devil’s Cub/An Infamous Army group, Venetia, and Arabella. My sisters and I have been reading Heyer since the 70’s, so as you can imagine, our copies have been read to flinders!
Hmm, favorite scenes.
1. The first three paragraphs of Chapter 5 in Venetia, in which our heroine is just waking up. She’s just recently met Damerel, and as she awakens she realizes that she’ll be seeing him soon, and those paragraphs are some of the best anticipatory descriptive writing I’ve ever read. Go check them out.
2. In Sylvester, after naughty Edmund has cut off Fotherby’s boot tassels, Sir Nugent approaches him with intent to spank, and Sylvester hisses through his teeth, “You dare!” Naturally, Fotherby does not dare.
3. The excellent scene in The Grand Sophy when the unspeakable Eugenia Wraxton snatched up a private letter and “made herself mistress of its contents.” Best description of snooping ever.
4. And towards the end of Devils Cub, when Mary Challoner has run away from Vidal and meets up with the Duke of Avon in the little inn, and she doesn’t know who he is and tells him her story, and he knows who she is and draws her out adroitly. Then, when Vidal shows up, mad as hell, and is about to run him through…
A moment later the door was flung open, and the Marquis strode in, his fingers hard clenched on his riding-whip. He cast one swift smouldering glance across the room, and stopped dead, a look of thunderstruck amazement on his face. “Sir!” he gasped.
Or not…Then comes an excellent example of parental discipline. The Duke tells him, “…You will permit me to tell you that I find your manners execrable.” (Had to look that one up in high school.) The Marquis flushes at this statement, but when I tell my daughter this, she merely laughs! Guess I don’t have the Duke’s presence.
I once gave a graduate student friend of mine a copy of Arabella to read. She returned it, saying that it was TOO DIFFICULT, and gave to me in exchange a copy of one of the Miss Read books! Needless to say, I remembered to speak to her in single-syllable words after that. *Sigh* As much as I would love to have the copies of Heyer, perhaps you should give them to those unfortunates who have not yet read the Incomparable Georgette. They have a treat in store, and I envy them their first-time readings.
Hee hee, spamfilter sez children22! No, no, just 2…
Oh, I loved The Spanish Bride! And I just found out today (because work is boring and Heyer isn’t) that Juana and Harry Smith were Actual Historical Personages! I never knew!
And Juana was Lady Smith, after whom various towns were named (in Africa and Canada). I was wondering if there was a connection to Ladysmith Black Mombazo (?sp) but I’m too full of celebration cake to check. Yeah, we’re busy at work today.
I love all the Heyer’s so it’s hard to pick!
These Old Shades
Devil’s Cub
An Infamous Army
are amazing individually-collectively-I so wanted to be part of that family!
The scene in An Infamous Army when Bab’s breaks her engagement with Charles sticks in my mind.
another favorite because of its painful look at an arranged marriage is A Civil Contract’ with plain dumpy Jenny, gorgeous Adam and the beautiful dramatic Julia.
I first heard about Heyer on this site, and I bought hardbacks that were printed in the 1960s as part of The Book Club (England). I love the old covers, and I probably liked Black Sheep the best.
But I’ve gone through my few books and given them to friends who might appreciate them, so I’d love to win the new editions. I’m particularly jonesing for Cotillion—I already bought a copy as a gift to a teenager pal.
These Old Shades was the first Heyer I ever read. I was 14 and I borrowed if from a friend. The book was out of print and it took me almost 10 years to find a copy of my own.
I finally ended up paying the outrageous sum of $30 for a battered paperback that I have treasured and read to pieces. I was recently able to retire the taped, and glued, and rubber banded together treasure when These Old Shades was reprinted.
I also adore The Grand Sophy, The Masqueraders, and The Talisman Ring. (And I sometimes wonder if the fact that my mother-in-law’s name is Venetia may have advanced my now husband’s suit.)
Do you know how I solve the too many syllables problem? I go to a dictionary. Some of the words I know I know but I can’t remember so I look them up, others have me scratching my head but Heyer is certainly improving my vocabulary more than grad school ever did.
Also, feel free to gift me with some books because my library doesn’t have her entire backlist (although it does have quite a few) and I’d go broke buying them all. My plan for the summer is to read as many as possible. I have a lot of catching up to do as my mother somehow failed to introduce me to Heyer despite the fact that she’s read her although she is the reason I read The Convenient Marriage because when she saw me with Cotillion she told me she loved Heyer and remembered The Convenient Marriage and I figure if my mother can remember something she read decades ago then it can’t be all bad.
It’s so funny to see the likes and dislikes. I adore These Old Shades, but find A Civil Contract rather depressing (and I can’t stand Beauvallet; I just loathe the heroine).
Oh, and I guess you an add The Black Moth to the line-up of loosely related books since the villain of that one is transformed into Avon and redeemed as the hero of These Old Shades (this may be the only May/Dec romance I’ve ever liked). I still can’t believe Heyer wrote The Black Moth when she was fifteen or sixteen. That’s pure freakn hump-a-hump-a burning talent.