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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
What a way to start the year! A five * reread from my favourite author!
This is one of GH's books that I like more as an older reader.
"Crazy Jack " Staple is bored with civilian life - and even more bored with the deadly dull family party he has been invited to! Making the flimsiest of excuses, he leaves the party days early - and becomes hopelessly lost. Happening on a toll-gate in a lonely part of Derbyshire, he finds it "manned" only by a scared 11 year old. This is enough for Jack,who is always on the lookout for another adventure.
He takes up residence at the Toll-gate Cottage
to the delight of young Ben (like many of GH's characters, Ben is not a dissembler & never shows much sign of missing his vanished father.) Jack not only throws himself into the task of finding Ned Bream, he also becomes a stickler for getting the correct toll for the trustees
to the chagrin of some of the colourful locals in this richly cast book. Oh, and he falls in love.
The adventure part of the book in it's thrilling climax had me on the edge of my seat whilst reading. [bc:The Foundling|2122858|The Foundling|Georgette Heyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421500906s/2122858.jpg|3235907] is probably my favourite of Heyer's adventure romances but the romance is better done in this book and Nell is better drawn than Harriet. & Nell's appearance isn't that of a conventional Regency heroine. It always amazes me when people say her hero/heroines are always the same. But I digress. Also a wonderful secondary romance
My only criticism is that some of the thieves' cant used is a bit hard to figure out - even for a GH devotee like myself!
Most highly recommended - especially if you are trying to make a GH devotee of a stubborn male friend!
This is one of GH's books that I like more as an older reader.
"Crazy Jack " Staple is bored with civilian life - and even more bored with the deadly dull family party he has been invited to! Making the flimsiest of excuses, he leaves the party days early - and becomes hopelessly lost. Happening on a toll-gate in a lonely part of Derbyshire, he finds it "manned" only by a scared 11 year old. This is enough for Jack,who is always on the lookout for another adventure.
He takes up residence at the Toll-gate Cottage
to the delight of young Ben (like many of GH's characters, Ben is not a dissembler & never shows much sign of missing his vanished father.) Jack not only throws himself into the task of finding Ned Bream, he also becomes a stickler for getting the correct toll for the trustees
to the chagrin of some of the colourful locals in this richly cast book. Oh, and he falls in love.
The adventure part of the book in it's thrilling climax had me on the edge of my seat whilst reading. [bc:The Foundling|2122858|The Foundling|Georgette Heyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421500906s/2122858.jpg|3235907] is probably my favourite of Heyer's adventure romances but the romance is better done in this book and Nell is better drawn than Harriet. & Nell's appearance isn't that of a conventional Regency heroine. It always amazes me when people say her hero/heroines are always the same. But I digress. Also a wonderful secondary romance
Spoiler
(if possible, I love Jerry Chirk even more than Jack!)My only criticism is that some of the thieves' cant used is a bit hard to figure out - even for a GH devotee like myself!
Most highly recommended - especially if you are trying to make a GH devotee of a stubborn male friend!
Entertaining Heyer with slightly more of an edge, as this is in some ways also a detective story, though solidly Regency. Not convinced by Nell's green velvet dress for the period, but it's full of all the familiar Heyer tropes: thieves' cant, cheeky urchin, foppish friend, loyal household servants. A charming fantasy and very much of its time in terms of social attitudes, but as enjoyable as ever.
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A fun read! Romance, adventure, mystery, and lots of 18th Century slang! What’s not to love?
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Georgette Heyer has been frequently recommended since I started getting into historical romance, but I’m not sure I started with the right story!
This novel is very much a mystery with a dash of romance (which seems to start mainly as the two characters are both tall?).
I generally found the story to be a little slow and challenging to read as there is a huge number of historic/colloquial phrases that went completely over my head. It was a fun romp, but definitely not what I expected!
This novel is very much a mystery with a dash of romance (which seems to start mainly as the two characters are both tall?).
I generally found the story to be a little slow and challenging to read as there is a huge number of historic/colloquial phrases that went completely over my head. It was a fun romp, but definitely not what I expected!
It was quite nice to read a romance with the male as the lead character! His adventures were entertaining and sometime alarming because of his all-or-nothing attitude. This was an enjoyable read.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is more accurately described as a mystery and thriller rather than a romance. The FMC is one of Heyer's tall no-nonsense heroines, but she doesn't get much to do and the romance is dispensed with quickly in favour of plot. The MMC is an ex-soldier who craves adventure and stumbles on a mystery involving a deserted toll-gate, a highwayman, a Bow Street Runner, stolen gold, and hidden caves.
It took me a month to finish, and there was too much Regency thieves' cant.
It took me a month to finish, and there was too much Regency thieves' cant.
Yeah, that's right. I read a Regency Romance novel. It's part of the 2012 Reading Challenge that Kelsey started - I am trying to read across a variety of genres I don't normally reading, including Romance.
This is the story of a soldier in 1817. He's broad, tall, very strong and very bored by everything since the war ended. He heads out adventuring across the countryside and finds a toll-gate where a boy is tending the gate alone due to the mysterious absence of his father. Jack settles in to help solve the mystery of the missing toll-gate keeper, and finds adventure and love along the way. Jack is an exceptional man, and Nell is certainly not your average le bon ton lady, and Heyer never lets us forget how special these two are and how they belong together because they are just so dang tall.
The expressions and dialogue in this book are off-the-hook. I don't think I've ever highlighted so many strange phrases in one book before. I had never even heard about Captain Sharp before and I had no idea what it meant to be "queer as Dick's hatband" What does it mean to "milk a pigeon" or be "dicked in the nob," I ask you. I could go on and on about this, but I will leave this choice morsel:
"No one had ever looked at her just like that before, and it had the effect upon her of making her feel, for perhaps the first time in her life, a strong desire to lay the burden of her cares upon other shoulders. Captain Staple's were certainly broad enough to bear them."
My understanding is that this book is kind of different from the type of books Heyer is best known for, but I have no frame of reference. I feel like I would actually read another Heyer romance. It's strange to say that but... her style kind of grew on me. The first 50% of the book was slow to engage me, but once things started moving more briskly, well, I stayed up until 6AM to finish it - only in part because my library hold was expiring.
This is the story of a soldier in 1817. He's broad, tall, very strong and very bored by everything since the war ended. He heads out adventuring across the countryside and finds a toll-gate where a boy is tending the gate alone due to the mysterious absence of his father. Jack settles in to help solve the mystery of the missing toll-gate keeper, and finds adventure and love along the way. Jack is an exceptional man, and Nell is certainly not your average le bon ton lady, and Heyer never lets us forget how special these two are and how they belong together because they are just so dang tall.
The expressions and dialogue in this book are off-the-hook. I don't think I've ever highlighted so many strange phrases in one book before. I had never even heard about Captain Sharp before and I had no idea what it meant to be "queer as Dick's hatband" What does it mean to "milk a pigeon" or be "dicked in the nob," I ask you. I could go on and on about this, but I will leave this choice morsel:
"No one had ever looked at her just like that before, and it had the effect upon her of making her feel, for perhaps the first time in her life, a strong desire to lay the burden of her cares upon other shoulders. Captain Staple's were certainly broad enough to bear them."
My understanding is that this book is kind of different from the type of books Heyer is best known for, but I have no frame of reference. I feel like I would actually read another Heyer romance. It's strange to say that but... her style kind of grew on me. The first 50% of the book was slow to engage me, but once things started moving more briskly, well, I stayed up until 6AM to finish it - only in part because my library hold was expiring.