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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
lighthearted
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
I picked this one up because it was small, I'm glad I did. You know what, I just liked it. I like possessiveness, what can I say?
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Love the description of male fashion and French manners. Lighthearted, almost farcical, story. I wonder if Philip & Cleone honeymoon in Paris.
Powder & Patch was originally titled The Transformation of Philip Jettan as by Stella Marting (a pseydonym) when first published in 1923. And quite a transformation it is, too. Philip Jettan, son of Maurice Jettan who was once a standing member of the beau monde, has been buried in the country most of his life. He knows nothing of fashion, cares nothing for the cut of a coat or the color of a stocking. He (gasp!) goes around in public with his own brown hair tied back with a simple ribbon--no ostentatious wigs for him, no thank you.
But...Philip is deeply in love with the beautiful Miss Cleone Charteris and Mistress Cleone cares much for fashion. She wants a man who can turn a pretty phrase, pay a lady a charming compliment, and who dresses as something more than country bumpkin. To make Philip come up to scratch, she flirts with Mr. Henry Bancroft--who has just returned from London and who is the epitome of fashion. When Philip tries to woo her with the honest love of a plain man, she spurns him and says she could not possibly marry him as he is now. Maurice also despairs of his son's retiring, countrified ways and between the two of them, they drive Philip away from home into the tutelage of his still fashion-conscious Uncle Tom. Tom whisks the young man off to Paris to begin a "marvelous cunning" work of transformation and leaves him the hands of his good friend le Marquis de Chateau-Banvau.
In less than six months time Philip (or Philippe as he is known in France) has become the darling of French society. He is the most sought-after gentleman for parties and balls. He host card games and writes poetry for the ladies. He has become fastidious in his attire. He even fights a duel or two just to show his mettle...and to practice for a suitable revenge upon the foppish Bancroft who bested him back in England. When he finally returns to England, he is ready to take London society by storm and finally win the hand of his lady-love. But...will Cleone like the man she has forced him to become? Philip begins to wonder...and to despair of ever making her his wife.
"Oh, I have been rebuffed! Do I conceal it so admirably?"
"No, you do not," said her ladyship. "You must have played your cards monstrously badly. Trust a man."
Cleone's aunt knows full well that the girl loves him. But she despairs of the two ever coming to a satisfactory agreement when they insist on misunderstanding one another and, apparently, deliberately muddying the waters. 'Tis very true that the course of true love did never run smooth.
This early Heyer historical novel is very light-hearted and a very quick read. Even in this early effort, Heyer manages to transport the reader to the time and place of the romantic adventures--from the courts of Louis XV to the ballrooms of London, we are transported to a world of extravagant manner, sword-play, and coquetry where the men wear hose and heels and painted faces and the ladies wear fine gowns and flirt from behind their fans. It is all good romantic historical fun and not to be taken seriously.
I must admit that I did get a bit tired of Cleone's manner--after all Philip went off and did what she said she wanted and then she had the effrontery to tell him she still didn't like it? It would have been her just desserts if he'd turned on his pretty, high heels and left her flat. But it wouldn't be a romance novel if the boy didn't get the girl...would it? ★★★ and a half.
Posted on my blogMy Reader's Block as part of a Georgette Heyer Blog Tour (my review scheduled for May 4). Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
But...Philip is deeply in love with the beautiful Miss Cleone Charteris and Mistress Cleone cares much for fashion. She wants a man who can turn a pretty phrase, pay a lady a charming compliment, and who dresses as something more than country bumpkin. To make Philip come up to scratch, she flirts with Mr. Henry Bancroft--who has just returned from London and who is the epitome of fashion. When Philip tries to woo her with the honest love of a plain man, she spurns him and says she could not possibly marry him as he is now. Maurice also despairs of his son's retiring, countrified ways and between the two of them, they drive Philip away from home into the tutelage of his still fashion-conscious Uncle Tom. Tom whisks the young man off to Paris to begin a "marvelous cunning" work of transformation and leaves him the hands of his good friend le Marquis de Chateau-Banvau.
In less than six months time Philip (or Philippe as he is known in France) has become the darling of French society. He is the most sought-after gentleman for parties and balls. He host card games and writes poetry for the ladies. He has become fastidious in his attire. He even fights a duel or two just to show his mettle...and to practice for a suitable revenge upon the foppish Bancroft who bested him back in England. When he finally returns to England, he is ready to take London society by storm and finally win the hand of his lady-love. But...will Cleone like the man she has forced him to become? Philip begins to wonder...and to despair of ever making her his wife.
"Oh, I have been rebuffed! Do I conceal it so admirably?"
"No, you do not," said her ladyship. "You must have played your cards monstrously badly. Trust a man."
Cleone's aunt knows full well that the girl loves him. But she despairs of the two ever coming to a satisfactory agreement when they insist on misunderstanding one another and, apparently, deliberately muddying the waters. 'Tis very true that the course of true love did never run smooth.
This early Heyer historical novel is very light-hearted and a very quick read. Even in this early effort, Heyer manages to transport the reader to the time and place of the romantic adventures--from the courts of Louis XV to the ballrooms of London, we are transported to a world of extravagant manner, sword-play, and coquetry where the men wear hose and heels and painted faces and the ladies wear fine gowns and flirt from behind their fans. It is all good romantic historical fun and not to be taken seriously.
I must admit that I did get a bit tired of Cleone's manner--after all Philip went off and did what she said she wanted and then she had the effrontery to tell him she still didn't like it? It would have been her just desserts if he'd turned on his pretty, high heels and left her flat. But it wouldn't be a romance novel if the boy didn't get the girl...would it? ★★★ and a half.
Posted on my blogMy Reader's Block as part of a Georgette Heyer Blog Tour (my review scheduled for May 4). Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finishing my jaunt into the mid-1700's or so, I reread Powder & Patch, which I remembered next to nothing about. It's cute and short, and I enjoyed it! It has everything you can come to expect from a Georgette Heyer book - romance, misunderstandings, duels, etc. I can't say this is among my favorites, but it was enjoyable.
Young Philip Jettan was very unlike the other men in the Jettan family line. He had no interest in being Fashionable, found Society boring, and was more than happy living in the country at the family home, Jettan's Pride. He was the despair of his father. Cleone Charteris, a childhood friend, returned from polishing and time in Town, quickly gained the attention of Philip as well as his love. Unfortunately Cleone found Philip to be boorish and lacking in the social graces.
After losing a duel in Cleone's honor and having his marriage proposal refused cruelly with a comment that she would never marry a raw country bumpkin, Philip decides to give her and his father what they claimed to want, a change from an honest, hardworking man to a painted fop. He flees to Town and his Uncle Thomas who promptly takes him to Paris for the transformation. His absence is greatly felt, but once Philip returns to London, he isn't the same man they once knew.
Originally published as "The Transformation of Philip Jettan" by Stella Martin in 1923, the first and only time that Heyer used a pen name. This particular publication from Harlequin under their Historical Romance line had a lovely foreword by Susan Wiggs, an accomplished historical romance author as well as a fan of Heyer's works.
This is a Georgian romance rather than a Regency one. Considering the fashions of that time, only a few authors manage to pull off the fine line between fashion and folly. Heyer is one of the few. This is an early work, published when she was just 21 years old, that holds remarkably well over the years since. The level of racism in some of her other later works isn't as present here. Yes, there is a black page, but that was quite common in England of that era. I admit that the almost Southern American accent was strange. And my heart did stutter when it was revealed that the page's name was Sambo. But I put it down to the time period and attitudes of that age, something I tend to do when reading authors from before the 1950s whenever possible.
I'm one of those people who hate when a person changes themselves for the love of another. Hence, I absolutely despised the transformation of Sandy from nice girl to slut at the end of GREASE. That said, I enjoy how Philip managed to weave his true self into the outer changes. Still bugs me, but the book was still fun to read. Personally little Miss Cleone isn't good enough for him, a spoiled brat who will drive him bonkers as time passes.
The male characters seem to be better displayed than the females, something that seems, from my memory, to be more common with Heyer than many historical romance writers of the age. Altogether a delightful story to shake off the bad taste of my last book. 4.5 out of 5.
After losing a duel in Cleone's honor and having his marriage proposal refused cruelly with a comment that she would never marry a raw country bumpkin, Philip decides to give her and his father what they claimed to want, a change from an honest, hardworking man to a painted fop. He flees to Town and his Uncle Thomas who promptly takes him to Paris for the transformation. His absence is greatly felt, but once Philip returns to London, he isn't the same man they once knew.
Originally published as "The Transformation of Philip Jettan" by Stella Martin in 1923, the first and only time that Heyer used a pen name. This particular publication from Harlequin under their Historical Romance line had a lovely foreword by Susan Wiggs, an accomplished historical romance author as well as a fan of Heyer's works.
This is a Georgian romance rather than a Regency one. Considering the fashions of that time, only a few authors manage to pull off the fine line between fashion and folly. Heyer is one of the few. This is an early work, published when she was just 21 years old, that holds remarkably well over the years since. The level of racism in some of her other later works isn't as present here. Yes, there is a black page, but that was quite common in England of that era. I admit that the almost Southern American accent was strange. And my heart did stutter when it was revealed that the page's name was Sambo. But I put it down to the time period and attitudes of that age, something I tend to do when reading authors from before the 1950s whenever possible.
I'm one of those people who hate when a person changes themselves for the love of another. Hence, I absolutely despised the transformation of Sandy from nice girl to slut at the end of GREASE. That said, I enjoy how Philip managed to weave his true self into the outer changes. Still bugs me, but the book was still fun to read. Personally little Miss Cleone isn't good enough for him, a spoiled brat who will drive him bonkers as time passes.
The male characters seem to be better displayed than the females, something that seems, from my memory, to be more common with Heyer than many historical romance writers of the age. Altogether a delightful story to shake off the bad taste of my last book. 4.5 out of 5.
Very, very funny and light-hearted. And essentially an ode to someone learning to abandon toxic masculinity.
funny
lighthearted
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:
No
Tropes: revenge to lovers, pygmalion
+This novel is a stand alone Heyer historical romance. It is also one of her shortest, with an approx word count of 44k.
+The prologue of the novel occurs during the year 1729. The rest takes place between September 1752 and February 1753.
+Locations are Little Fittledean, Sussex; London; Paris
+H/Phillip Jettan (23) and h/Cleone Charteris (18)
+Phillip Jettan grew up in the country and enjoys his life as a genteel farmer. He is the son of Sir Maurice and a French woman who died shortly after his birth. He is tall and handsome, with brown hair and grey eyes.
+Cleone grew up with Phillip in the same small village of Little Fittledean. She is blonde, "very lovely," with cornflower blue eyes. She and Phillip have been in love with each other for years, but Cleone wants Phillip to acquire a gentleman's fashion and manners after being reintroduced to another childhood acquaintance, Henry Bancroft (28), who returns to Little Fittledean to lie low after killing a rival in a duel. Henry is now a practiced rake and man about town, who flatters Cleone with his polished airs, and enflames Phillip's jealousy.
+When Cleone refuses to marry Phillip unless he can learn how to look and behave as befits his name and title as a gentleman, and his father Maurice agrees that he is a hopeless country bumpkin who needs to acquire some town bronze, Phillip moves to Paris and embarks on a total transformation as a dandy of the highest fashion. Phillip's motivation to do this stems primarily from his desire for revenge against Cleone and Henry.
+Like many of Heyer's earliest novels, her characters will often speak in both English and French which can be distracting to readers who do not have at least a basic understanding of French.
+Heyer's trademark comedic wit is found in her portrayal of the infighting between Phillip's French valet and manservant, as well as the novel's climax, involving Phillip, Cleone, Henry, and another of Cleone's love sick admirers from Little Fittledean.
+For me this novel falls squarely in the mediocre/meh category of Heyer's historical romance oeuvre. I am also not generally a fan of the pygmalion trope when the transformation is forced upon a character who doesn't have any desire to change themselves but only agrees to do so in order to be "worthy" of notice and love.
**The Arrow Books UK edition has a number of typographical errors.**
+This novel is a stand alone Heyer historical romance. It is also one of her shortest, with an approx word count of 44k.
+The prologue of the novel occurs during the year 1729. The rest takes place between September 1752 and February 1753.
+Locations are Little Fittledean, Sussex; London; Paris
+H/Phillip Jettan (23) and h/Cleone Charteris (18)
+Phillip Jettan grew up in the country and enjoys his life as a genteel farmer. He is the son of Sir Maurice and a French woman who died shortly after his birth. He is tall and handsome, with brown hair and grey eyes.
+Cleone grew up with Phillip in the same small village of Little Fittledean. She is blonde, "very lovely," with cornflower blue eyes. She and Phillip have been in love with each other for years, but Cleone wants Phillip to acquire a gentleman's fashion and manners after being reintroduced to another childhood acquaintance, Henry Bancroft (28), who returns to Little Fittledean to lie low after killing a rival in a duel. Henry is now a practiced rake and man about town, who flatters Cleone with his polished airs, and enflames Phillip's jealousy.
+When Cleone refuses to marry Phillip unless he can learn how to look and behave as befits his name and title as a gentleman, and his father Maurice agrees that he is a hopeless country bumpkin who needs to acquire some town bronze, Phillip moves to Paris and embarks on a total transformation as a dandy of the highest fashion. Phillip's motivation to do this stems primarily from his desire for revenge against Cleone and Henry.
+Like many of Heyer's earliest novels, her characters will often speak in both English and French which can be distracting to readers who do not have at least a basic understanding of French.
+Heyer's trademark comedic wit is found in her portrayal of the infighting between Phillip's French valet and manservant, as well as the novel's climax, involving Phillip, Cleone, Henry, and another of Cleone's love sick admirers from Little Fittledean.
+For me this novel falls squarely in the mediocre/meh category of Heyer's historical romance oeuvre. I am also not generally a fan of the pygmalion trope when the transformation is forced upon a character who doesn't have any desire to change themselves but only agrees to do so in order to be "worthy" of notice and love.
**The Arrow Books UK edition has a number of typographical errors.**