Six Georgette Heyer Mini Reviews

In my last term in graduate school, I had little time for recreational blogging but I did make time to read for fun. Over the past few months, I read the below novels from Georgette Heyer - one can always rely on Heyer for amusing and lighthearted prose - and I have provided a few thoughts for each! 

The Unknown Ajax (4.5)
With the heir recently deceased, the Darracott family expect the new heir to be a vulgar person of little means...Major Hugo Darracott is not quite what they expect. The hero, Hugo Darracott, is one of my favorite Heyer heroes. I have difficulty even describing how wonderful this character is. Think how perfect Jane Austen's Darcy is, even though he is arrogant in the beginning. Well Darracott is humble and capable but with an iron will! A perfect foil for the strong-willed and beautiful heroine Anthea. I found myself giggling a lot reading this one. Highly recommended. 

A Civil Contract (4.0)
This story is out of the common way for Heyer, as she actually explores marriage rather than courtship or rollicking adventures. A Civil Contract is really quite wrenching, as you feel for the heroine Jenny Chawleigh, who is plain and plump. Adam Deveril is marrying her because she is an heiress and the family fortune is gone. I recommend for Georgette Heyer fans but I wouldn't recommend as a first Heyer read.

April Lady (4.0)
Similar to A Civil Contract, the main characters, Nell and the Earl of Cardross are already married except the Earl has married Nell by choice, even though members of Nell's family are inveterate gamblers. Nell is keeping secrets from the Earl and finds herself ever deeper in trouble with no seeming happy resolution in sight. Much unhappiness is experienced by the hero and heroine due to poor communication and frequent misunderstandings. There was much more angst in April Lady than in Heyer's other novels, maybe the reason why I did not enjoy this novel as much as I usually enjoy a Heyer novel. 

The Quiet Gentleman  (4.0)
This story follows more the lines of The Reluctant Widow in that it is much more suspenseful, with hints of romance interspersed. A satisfying mystery.

Pistols for Two Short Stories (3.5)
These short stories are quick reads at 20 pages apiece, yet Heyer does well in creating memorable characters and exciting plots in so few pages. Recommended for Heyer fans. 

Sprig Muslin (3.5)
The writing seems to be a bit more hectic in Sprig Muslin than in other Heyer stories. I would have liked more scenes with Lady Hester and Sir Gareth Ludlow. Recommended for Heyer fans but if you are just starting to read Heyer, this is not her best effort. 

I just want to mention how much I love the Sourcebooks Landmark releases of the Georgette Heyer novels and I have almost finished collecting all of the romance titles and some of the historical titles. I would snap them up if you find the print versions, as the bookstores tend to sell out of copies.

Related Posts:

Powder and Patch
Arabella

The Toll-Gate

Sylvester

Frederica

Black Sheep

The Reluctant Widow

Devil's Cub

The Salt Road by Jane Johnson

I read Jane Johnson's The Tenth Gift in July of 2009. That story involved the lives of two women living in two different time periods paralleling each other. The story and Johnson's writing stayed in my mind; a woven tapestry that at the end was revealed its completion not its unraveling. I know I'm being overly dramatic here but I've never really come across another writer like Jane Johnson, with her exotic settings, evocative prose and dynamic female characters. Maybe I could call up a few authors that have storylines with similar elements but not the same way of threading together the stories and histories of the female characters.

From the author of The Tenth Gift comes another story of exotic, foreign lands, entwining storylines spanning generations, and the quests to overcome love lost.

"My dear Isabelle, in the attic you will find a box with your name on it."

Isabelle's estranged archeologist father dies, leaving her a puzzle. In a box she finds some papers and a mysterious African amulet — but their connection to her remains unclear until she embarks on a trip to Morocco to discover how the amulet came into her father's possession. When the amulet is damaged and Isabelle almost killed in an accident, she fears her curiosity has got the better of her. But Taib, her rescuer, knows the dunes and their peoples, and offers to help uncover the amulet's extraordinary history, involving Tin Hinan — She of the Tents — who made a legendary crossing of the desert, and her beautiful descendant Mariata.

Across years and over hot, shifting sands, tracking the Salt Road, the stories of Isabelle and Taib, Mariata and her lover, become entangled with that of the lost amulet. It is a tale of souls wounded by history and of love blossoming on barren ground. From the Hardcover edition.

Johnson's sophomore effort The Salt Road, is equally good as The Tenth Gift, and follows a similar formula. This time we are taken to the historical land of the desert Tuareg tribes and modern day Morocco. At its heart, The Salt Road is about the strength of women, and further, is wonderfully insightful about the lives of the Tuareg people. The women in the novel, Mariata and Isabelle, overcome abuse and hardship and in the process find their true selves. There are also good and not so good surprises in store for both characters that keep the story suspenseful. Johnson portrays the Tuaregs as a fierce people fighting to preserve their traditions in an oppressive world. 

I recommend The Salt Road. Its focus on the lives of women reminded me other great novels with strong women within an historical context:

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
The Expected One and The Book of Love by Kathleen McGowan
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

My Rating: 4.5

ChaptersIndigo
Amazon

Related Links:
The Tenth Gift by Jane Johnson 
The Book of Love by Kathleen McGowan

Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer

Powder and Patch is a lighter piece of fluff for Georgette Heyer, and much shorter in length than the majority of her novels. The book centralizes on two characters, Philip and Cleone. Here is the synopsis:

To win her hand, he must become what he despises . . .
 
Cleone Charteris's exquisite charms have made her the belle of the English countryside. But Cleone yearns for a husband who is refined, aristocratic and who is as skilled with his wit as he is with his dueling pistols . . . Everything Philip Jettan is not. As much as she is attracted to the handsome squire, Cleone finds herself dismissing Philip and his rough mannerisms. 

With his father's encouragement, Philip departs for the courts of Paris, determined to acquire the social graces and sirs of the genteel -- and convince Cleone that he is the man most suited for her hand. But his transformation may cost him everything, including Cleone . . .

The charm of Powder and Patch, as with many of Heyer's other novels, is her discourse on the social customs of the time, revealed through character exchanges and descriptions of dress and mannerisms for both ladies and gentleman. There is certainly a lot of great description of the clothing and accoutrement from the Georgian period in Power and Patch. Of course, what constitutes a gentleman has changed from era to era, in the Georgian period gentlemen must have great "love making" technique, have a certain air and posture, be a wonderful dancer, have a sly wit and, of course, must have great swordsmanship for all those duels to defend "my lady's" honour. Anyhoo, Powder and Patch is a fun read. I highly recommend for fans of Georgette Heyer but would recommend The Grand Sophy, The Nonesuch or Arabella instead for Heyer first timers.

My Rating: 3.5

ChaptersIndigo

Amazon

Related Posts:

Arabella

The Toll-Gate

Sylvester

Frederica

Black Sheep

The Reluctant Widow

Devil's Cub

From TIME Video: The Making of a Romance Novel Cover

TIME goes behind the scenes of a romance novel cover shoot.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,1292273354001_2100414,00.html#ixzz1fA3S2dm9




A rare look into the making of the the romance novel cover...all
kinds of good stuff in this video.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Soldier Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they start to die...

Possibly her most famous book, and certainly the most adapted, Christie used different endings for the novel and her stage adaptation, giving the stage version a happier ending. The Boston Transcript

I love a good mystery. Strike that...in this case a 'great' mystery.  And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie has actually been called the greatest mystery novel of all time and the author spent months researching before she started writing the story.

So I thought it was finally time to read this novel. As I was reading the first few pages, I started to ask myself questions about how 10 characters could die. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to write all these questions down first...get my thoughts in order and make some assumptions before I read any further and then after I read the novel I could go back and reflect. Create for myself a sort of logic puzzle research project. This book is also known as, "Ten Little Indians," so with no insult intended to indigenous cultures, I am going to call a participant an Indian. Stopping at page 27, the end of chapter two, I have the following:

1. There are 10 strangers and they all die. But the book summary does not state they are all murdered, just "they die". A death could be faked.
2. Crimes of passion are committed because of jealousy, greed or revenge. It could be revenge. The deaths likely are not crimes of passion but of justice.
3. There must have been at least one person who investigated each "Indian" on the island. If each Indian committed a crime then the common thread is the law - justice.
4. The external characters are the boatman (Fred Narracott), the old seafaring gentleman, the jew (Mr. Isaac Morris), the porters and taxi drivers.
5. Only Justice Wargrave was NOT invited by Owen, but supposedly by Lady Constance Culmington. Rather Wargrave is the only one who thinks he was invited by her and not Owen.
6. A doctor, someone who can save lives, is one of the Indians. 
7. Someone could be hiding out on the island.
8. Could one of the individuals have a twin?
9. Use of the word prisoner = military.
10. Mr. Isaac Morris arranged and paid for transportation of the Indians to the Island as stated by Norracott. Mr. Blore may have been contracted by Morris.

Wow, ok so after reading the novel I have determined that all my logical assumptions above hold true. But I really can't discuss the plot of the book any further without giving away spoilers. This has been an interesting exercise though!  And Then There Were None is an unforgettable mystery. Its not very long but it has great impact. I highly recommend to fiction and mystery lovers.

My Rating 5.0

ChaptersIndigo
Amazon

Mini-Review: The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn

Partners now in marriage and in trade, Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane have finally returned from abroad to set up housekeeping in London. But merging their respective collections of gadgets, pets and servants leaves little room for the harried newlyweds themselves, let alone Brisbane's private enquiry business.

Among the more unlikely clients: Julia's very proper brother, Lord Bellmont, who swears Brisbane to secrecy about his case. Not about to be left out of anything concerning her beloved—if eccentric—family, spirited Julia soon picks up the trail of the investigation.

It leads to the exclusive Ghost Club, where the alluring Madame Séraphine holds evening séances…and not a few powerful gentlemen in thrall. From this eerie enclave unfolds a lurid tangle of dark deeds, whose tendrils crush reputations and throttle trust.

Shocked to find their investigation spun into salacious newspaper headlines, bristling at the tension it causes between them, the Brisbanes find they must unite or fall. For Bellmont's sakeâ € “ and moreâ € “ they'll face myriad dangers born of dark secrets, the kind men kill to keep….

The Dark Enquiry is the fifth book in the Lady Julia Grey series. First of all I’m not sure the title of the fifth book really reflects the content. I would have liked something more impactful. I absolutely LOVED this installment to the series. There is much protectiveness, tenderness and growth between Julia and Brisbane. Their marriage is put front and center, although Brisbane is still hiding many secrets. Julia has taken up a new hobby, or rather Brisbane has channeled Julia's energy into a hobby so he doesn't have to rescue her from getting into trouble all the time.

Even though the antagonist’s and their motivations can be worked out with some thought, there are still quite a few surprises. The part of the story with Julia confronting the antagonist is a bit too coincidental for my liking but this does not detract too much from the story as a whole. There is a particular sentence that struck me deeply, although I’m not going to give any backstory, as it may lean too much toward a spoiler, but I love the way Deanna Raybourn uses metaphors.

"I was wandering through a garden, a beautiful place, with the most exquisite blossoms. And as I put a hand to smell one, it closed, furling its petals tightly against me. I moved to the next flower, and it did the same, and it happened again and again until I reached the garden gate. I passed through and closed the gate, looking back to see the sea of blossoms, nodding sleepily on their stems. I locked the gate firmly behind me and walked on. I did not look back again."

Now you'll just have to read the story to understand what that quote means! I recommend reading the series in order...The Dark Inquiry is not really a standalone. Raybourn is working on a sixth instalment to the series.

My Rating: 5.0

ChaptersIndigo
Amazon

Related Posts:
Mini-Review: Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

Mini-Review: Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

The fourth Lady Julia Grey mystery (following Silent on the Moor, 2009) finds Julia happily married to handsome, brooding detective Nicholas Brisbane. Their honeymoon is interrupted by her sister Portia and brother Plum, who want Julia and her new husband to come to India, where Portia’s former lover, Jane Cavendish, is living on the tea plantation her recently deceased husband, Freddie, inherited. Freddie died under mysterious circumstances, and Jane suspects he may have been murdered for his inheritance. Jane is pregnant, and she fears her child will be in danger if it proves to be a boy. Despite her husband’s objections, Julia decides to investigate Freddie’s murder, getting to know the potential suspects, including Freddie’s spinster aunt, his cousin Harry, several neighbors, and a mysterious man known as the White Rajah. As Julia closes in on the killer, she uncovers more than a few family secrets.

In this installment, I don’t feel that Julia or Brisbane advanced much as characters or in their marriage though there is still great chemistry in their exchanges. Many significant events happened with secondary characters, such as Jane, Portia and Plum and many new characters were introduced. There are the usual incidents of Julia’s curiosity getting her into trouble and Brisbane coming to the rescue. The setting of India gives an exotic underpinning and the cultural aspects were interesting. Somehow either because of the setting of India or maybe it was all the new characters, Dark Road to Darjeeling just did not work as well for me as the earlier instalments in the series. Raybourn does excellent character building though...maybe there was just too many extra characters for my personal tastes. The ending is a complete shocker and left me wanting more, so this series is still one of my favourites and I look forward to the next book.

The next instalment in the series, Book 5, is The Dark Enquiry. 

My Rating: 4.0

ChaptersIndigo
Amazon

Related Posts:
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

Highlights of London/Scotland/Ireland

We flew to the UK for our summer vacation this year. We were in London for 5 days, then took a train to Edinburgh (2 days), staying in Scotland 9 days in total, then we flew over to Dublin (2 days) and toured Ireland and Northern Ireland for 9 days. An amazing trip with too many experiences to mention but here are the highlights.

London
London is a great city but busy, busy, busy. We will visit again sometime. The shopping districts have the same stores repeat every other block and sometimes across from each other!

Oxford/Regent Street Shopping

 Tower of London/Westminister. City Sightseeing Tours Best way to see London.

The British Museum. Marble Bust of Alexander the Great.

Taking the Train South to Sunny Coastal Worthing

We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre

Edinburgh/Scotland
Edinburgh was by far our favourite city and the West Highlands of Scotland were magical and awe-inspiring. We would go back here again in a heartbeat.

Edinburgh & Edinburgh Castle

Scotch Whiskey Taste Experience. Largest collection of scotch whiskey in the world.

Glamis Castle

Isle of Skye and hiking ALL the way up to Old Man's Storr 

Midlands and West Highlands, specifically the Nairn and Glencoe areas. Spectacular!

Urqhart Castle at Loch Ness

Glasgow Shopping

Restored Great Hall at Stirling Castle

Rosslyn Chapel. A beautiful structure marred by scaffolding.

Ireland/Northern Ireland
The Trinity College Old Library/Book of Kells was ok but I would recommend Dublin's Chester Beatty Library instead.

Dublin. The Spire.

Guinness Storehouse

Powerscourt Estate Gardens

Miven Head

View from Road to Miven Head

Killarney National Park

Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet

Cliffs of Moher

Giant's Causeway

Trim Castle

Newgrange

Did you know that an automatic car rental will cost you three times more than a manual rental in the UK? We had a friend give us lessons in driving standard/manual in order to save costs. So, not only did we have to drive on the wrong side of the road, we wrangled with changing gears with the gear shift on the opposite side we learnt on. Our trip was awesome when we weren't driving but those roundabouts drove us nuts!!! We navigated around using our iPad and Google Maps/Offmaps and drove 1350 km in Scotland and 1685 km in Ireland. Its not something I would suggest doing for the faint of heart. Our summer vacation was very memorable but I think I'm done with 3 week vacations where you are sleeping somewhere different almost every night.