Georgette Heyer poll

[altariel]

At the weekend, I broke my 'No New Books' rule resoundingly with a single visit to one of the secondhand book stalls on the market. There was a pile of eleven or twelve Georgette Heyer novels, going for a quid each; the stallholder gave me the lot for a tenner, and threw in a couple more that were a bit worn round the edges.

The burning question chez Altariel is now which one Mr A. should start off with. I haven't read most of them, but I'm certain most of you have, so I thought I'd ask the experts. It's a check box poll to give you a few options, but don't tick all fifteen, LOL! Feel free to expound in the comments.



[Poll #495367]


(I had to break it across two questions because there weren't enough option spaces for all the books - hope that works out OK. Probably should have included a 'none of these' option.)

Comments

[kerravonsen]

Well, I went for "These Old Shades" and "Black Sheep"; not "Devil's Cub" because he should read that after "These Old Shades". Mind you, "These Old Shades" is probably a-typical of Heyer regencies, but it is so cool with the Duke of Avon... and "Black Sheep" is similar in that it has an anti-hero sort of hero, which should appeal to B7 fans (it appeals to me!)

Glad you brought this up, because there are a few here which people are wildly reccommending (like "Frederica") which I haven't read -- and I should really get my own copy of "A Civil Contract", that would be worth re-reading. And "The Unknown Ajax"...

One that's not on your list is "Powder and Patch", which I'm fond of, because the hero is not interested in the fripperies of Society, and when the love of his life rejects him because of this, he teaches her (and his father) a lesson by learning how to out-Fashion everybody.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs :-) I thought A Civil Contract was marvellous, well worth tracking down a copy if you're thinking of rereading. I'm loving the descriptions of The Unknown Ajax that people have been posting.

I'll keep an eye out for Powder and Patch, although s/hand Heyers seem to be thin on the ground these days (just as I start looking out for them, bah) - which was one reason why I snapped up this great pile of them when I saw them. They're coming back into print, but at £7.99 a pop they're not cheap.

[kerravonsen]

They're coming back into print, but at £7.99 a pop they're not cheap.

So I discovered yesterday when I tried to track down four of the above recommended ones (Frederica, Venetia, A Civil Contract and The Unknown Ajax) These new editions are trade-paperback size, and $22 each! The good news is that I managed to find three of the four. The irony is that the first bookstore I went into, a store specifically dedicated to romance novels (it's just around the corner from my work, new, co-sharing the shop space with an SF bookstore) -- they only had one Heyer in stock -- April Lady, which I wasn't going to bother with. So I decided to check out just a normal bookstore, actually, a favourite bookstore of mine, one of the bigger ones in the City. And I looked at the normal fiction shelves, and what did I find? Almost an entire shelf full of Heyer! They only had three of the four, though, for some reason they didn't have A Civil Contract, but, hey, I haven't read Frederica or Venetia at all, so this is still good.

Though at the moment I'm just having fun re-reading 1632, which I have just realized breaks my "500-page" rule -- it's over 500 pages long, but it doesn't drag even a little bit. Maybe I should change that to "600 pages".

[avon7.livejournal.com]

*Enjoy Fredrica - it's just wonderful!
*I have an idea that you're also an Aussie - in which case I'm casing bookstores as soon as! I do own all the Heyers but some are very battered, being both old and loved to death.
**grins* So I'm not the only one who checks page counts! I shy away from anything over 800 pages

[kerravonsen]

I have an idea that you're also an Aussie - in which case I'm casing bookstores as soon as! I do own all the Heyers but some are very battered, being both old and loved to death.

There seems to be two editions out; the older reprints are paperback size, and the newer ones are trade-paperback and more expensive, but I don't think there's many of the older reprints around.

And of course, it will depend on what bookstore you go into, whether they have them.

So I'm not the only one who checks page counts! I shy away from anything over 800 pages

People kept on recommending these doorstops to me, which I gaily started, and got terribly bored by -- things like "The Baker's Boy" I didn't even bother finishing.
But since "1632" is actually 592 pages long, my old "500 page" rule seems to be invalid now. I conclude that it can't just be a matter of length, but of pacing -- and that longer books are much much more likely to have a grinding pace and a cast of thousands and, well, too many words!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

a store specifically dedicated to romance novels (it's just around the corner from my work, new, co-sharing the shop space with an SF bookstore)

If that was anywhere near me, it would be what my mother would call "an occasion of sin".

The similar bookshop on Charing Cross Road has just closed its SF section :-(

[catalyst42.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Powder and Patch. It's the first one I re-read when I started my re-read last week. It's trivial, and mannered in writing (more so, I think, than any other of her books) but it's charming. Philip's poetry is great.

I remember at school taking my copy in to my french teacher and asking him to translate "To the pearl that trembles in her ear". I managed most of this myself, but wanted to know what "Saperlipopotte" (sp?) was. He scorned it and said it was meaningless drivel. I suspect this was more intelectual point scoring, as mentioned by Katlinel earlier.

[avon7.livejournal.com]

No, for me Powder and Patch is one I cna only reread so often - Philip annoys me.

Any Blake's 7 fan should enjoy 'The Unknown Ajax' - Vincent makes my writing fingers itch.