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Cousin Kate Georgette Heyer 9780099490951 Books

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Cousin Kate Georgette Heyer 9780099490951 Books

So, what’s a Regency cotillion? Four couples facing form a square, then everyone change partners and dance! I admit I’m a Georgette Heyer fanatic, but this book is far beyond something fun for her fans. It sparkles, it shines, and it’s so laugh-out-loud funny you shouldn’t read it anywhere near someone sleeping. It even has a little something to say, in a sly way that sneaks up on you.

Matthew Penicuik is a grouchy tightwad. (A tightwad named “penny-quick” – I thought only Dickens could get away with that.) He has no heirs apart from his adopted daughter, Kitty Charing, and a broad assortment of great-nephews, any one of whom can inherit the money, if he’s the one who marries Kitty. Matthew calls everyone concerned to a dinner at Arnside House, to have the fun of telling them while he’s still alive. The plot device works, for the most part because of the well-drawn characters of all the nephews. Kitty’s a nice girl with a level head, but she’s lived as a virtual prisoner, and she’s desperate to get two things – a trip to London, and a little payback from Jack Westruther, the handsome cousin she’s always adored. He is also the rakish nephew who doesn’t bother showing up for the dinner, thereby humiliating Kitty. Deeply wounded, she wheedles another of the nephews into helping her have both things, by putting on a sham engagement. Freddy Standen, Jack’s cousin, is not a rake, nor is he particularly handsome. Actually, he’s a fashion-obsessed numbskull, but he’s too nice to say no to Kitty. Despite a skeptical Uncle Mathew, the scheme works, and sets her free for a month in London, to be formally introduced to Freddy’s family as well as society.

Now the dance begins, nephews, cousins, friends and acquaintances in constantly-shifting romantic motion in Regency London. The situations are funny, the dialogue bright, and Freddy Standen is one of the best characters ever put on paper. Heyer herself divied up most of her male leads into two categories she labeled Mark I and Mark II; suave, rich and world-weary, or a little more rakish and savage. But both are Alpha males, power players. With Freddy, it’s as if she decided to take a secondary character, someone goofy like Sherry’s boon companion Ferdy Fakenham in Friday’s Child, and look a bit deeper. On the surface, Freddy is Bertie Wooster down to the ground, an adorable airhead not the least ashamed of what he is. He lets his brother at Oxford be the brain-box. Freddy never whips off his glasses and becomes a superhero, but there’s a bit more to him than meets the eye, and his skewed vision of the world is hysterical. Freddy’s father, Lord Legerwood, is a person Kitty holds in awestruck admiration for his intellect and well-bred wit. His scenes with his eldest son are a riot, with a tolerant tone of, “Freddy, I’m astonished. You have unplumbed depths.” He’s the Jeeves to Freddy’s Wooster.

But these aren’t the only great characters. They’re all great, and so a fast-moving book with lots of players is never the least confusing. In a brilliant stroke, one of the nephews, Lord Dolphinton, is a bit slow. Well, more than a bit, actually. “Seven-months baby,” Freddy says. It would never have occurred to me, to write an earl who was just plain simple. I have visions of the politically correct going postal over Dolph, but I don’t think Heyer has to be defended with the standard “product of her time” argument. Dolph is played for laughs, no less than anyone else, but he’s a touching character who takes a surprising journey of his own. In fact, everyone here takes a road trip, and they all come out the other side knowing a lot more about themselves.

I thought Venetia was Georgette Heyer’s best historical romance, but now it has company. In fact, in some ways, Cotillion is even better, because of its flawless pace and plot. When you’re done, don’t give it away. You’ll want to read it again.


Tags : Cousin Kate [Georgette Heyer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Kate Malvern, rescued from penury by her aunt Minerva, finds the grand household at Staplewood very unhomelike — even family dinners are formal. When she begins to suspect the shocking reason for Minerva’s generosity,Georgette Heyer,Cousin Kate,Arrow,0099490951,Fiction General,General & Literary Fiction

Cousin Kate Georgette Heyer 9780099490951 Books Reviews

It's been a few years since I read this book, and I was struck all over again by how amazingly talented Georgette Heyer was. Her Regency romances are so far above what any author produces today that it's unfair to compare them. Most historical novels published now are really contemporary stories with just a little muslin window dressing. When you read a Georgette Heyer Regency, however, you are transported to the era in a way that no other author has, or ever will, match. My favorite thing about this particular novel--one of Heyer's best, in my opinion--is that the hero, Freddy, is so different from the typical Heyer hero. Freddy is not the ruthless, cynical, sardonic Corinthian that Heyer often wrote about. Instead, he's a rather silly, carefree, fashion-obsessed bachelor with no interest in women, who gets roped into the heroine's plot to catch another man. Along the way, we see Freddy grow into a reliable, strong man whose sense of responsibility for Kitty turns into love. Likewise, we see the heroine, Kitty, turn away from her schoolgirl ideas of love and romance, to a better understanding of what makes a man a hero. "Cotillion" is the perfect place to start for anyone wondering what all the fuss over Georgette Heyer's novels is about.
times. In the course of those many moves, I lost it. When I
read for fun and to forget my concerns, I choose something from Georgette. I can laugh and forget my problems. The author once said she started telling stories when her brother was ill as a child. She distracted him and felt the power and gratification of helping to distract the child from his illness. I find her stories do the same for me. Laughing helps me when nothing else does. I cannot recommend her too highly for the fun her books bring to
ones life.
Kit’s guardian wants her to marry one of his grand-nephews and to force their hands he puts her as his heiress.
Kit is forever in love with cousin Jack, but he is the only one that does not respond to his uncle’s summons. To make him jealous, Kit asks the lovely Freddy to pretend a bethrodal and take her to London.
This two are the best of people and together they will help all and sundry and find that they suit so very well after all.
Amazing read!
The characters in this book are so delicious you can't bear to see the end of them. Kitty is put into an impossible situation where she must choose from a group of suitors that does not include devil may care Jack, the crush of her young life. She talks Freddy into a sham engagement and a trip to London to get back at Jack. There are just so many unforgettable moments and people from there on I find myself reading and rereading the book to wring it dry of every last witty turn of phrase and sparkling scene. A truly perfect Regency romance, with a funny, affectionate look at one of the greatest Tulips of the Ton ever written.
This book is Georgette Heyer's attempt at a gothic story. This book, like her first novel "The Black Moth" I don't recco to people who are newbies to Georgette Heyer.

I really liked the heroine. She was like able, honorable, independent and plucky.

There were some endearing minor characters from the "lower orders"--Kate's now married former nurse Mrs. Sarah Nidd and father in law Mr Nidd.

There were some amusing foibles of the superstitious Staplewood estate household servants, a vaporous housekeeper with the dubious gift of prophesy who feuds with another upper servant and a temperamental French chef.

The hero was a nice enough fellow, but he was boring.

I didn't like the insta-love/quick proposal. I would have liked to see more development of Kate and Philip's feelings--a romance was lacking. Suddenly out of nowhere, they were betrothed.

Again, to reiterate, newbies should stay away from this, it's not an example of what the author does best
So, what’s a Regency cotillion? Four couples facing form a square, then everyone change partners and dance! I admit I’m a Georgette Heyer fanatic, but this book is far beyond something fun for her fans. It sparkles, it shines, and it’s so laugh-out-loud funny you shouldn’t read it anywhere near someone sleeping. It even has a little something to say, in a sly way that sneaks up on you.

Matthew Penicuik is a grouchy tightwad. (A tightwad named “penny-quick” – I thought only Dickens could get away with that.) He has no heirs apart from his adopted daughter, Kitty Charing, and a broad assortment of great-nephews, any one of whom can inherit the money, if he’s the one who marries Kitty. Matthew calls everyone concerned to a dinner at Arnside House, to have the fun of telling them while he’s still alive. The plot device works, for the most part because of the well-drawn characters of all the nephews. Kitty’s a nice girl with a level head, but she’s lived as a virtual prisoner, and she’s desperate to get two things – a trip to London, and a little payback from Jack Westruther, the handsome cousin she’s always adored. He is also the rakish nephew who doesn’t bother showing up for the dinner, thereby humiliating Kitty. Deeply wounded, she wheedles another of the nephews into helping her have both things, by putting on a sham engagement. Freddy Standen, Jack’s cousin, is not a rake, nor is he particularly handsome. Actually, he’s a fashion-obsessed numbskull, but he’s too nice to say no to Kitty. Despite a skeptical Uncle Mathew, the scheme works, and sets her free for a month in London, to be formally introduced to Freddy’s family as well as society.

Now the dance begins, nephews, cousins, friends and acquaintances in constantly-shifting romantic motion in Regency London. The situations are funny, the dialogue bright, and Freddy Standen is one of the best characters ever put on paper. Heyer herself divied up most of her male leads into two categories she labeled Mark I and Mark II; suave, rich and world-weary, or a little more rakish and savage. But both are Alpha males, power players. With Freddy, it’s as if she decided to take a secondary character, someone goofy like Sherry’s boon companion Ferdy Fakenham in Friday’s Child, and look a bit deeper. On the surface, Freddy is Bertie Wooster down to the ground, an adorable airhead not the least ashamed of what he is. He lets his brother at Oxford be the brain-box. Freddy never whips off his glasses and becomes a superhero, but there’s a bit more to him than meets the eye, and his skewed vision of the world is hysterical. Freddy’s father, Lord Legerwood, is a person Kitty holds in awestruck admiration for his intellect and well-bred wit. His scenes with his eldest son are a riot, with a tolerant tone of, “Freddy, I’m astonished. You have unplumbed depths.” He’s the Jeeves to Freddy’s Wooster.

But these aren’t the only great characters. They’re all great, and so a fast-moving book with lots of players is never the least confusing. In a brilliant stroke, one of the nephews, Lord Dolphinton, is a bit slow. Well, more than a bit, actually. “Seven-months baby,” Freddy says. It would never have occurred to me, to write an earl who was just plain simple. I have visions of the politically correct going postal over Dolph, but I don’t think Heyer has to be defended with the standard “product of her time” argument. Dolph is played for laughs, no less than anyone else, but he’s a touching character who takes a surprising journey of his own. In fact, everyone here takes a road trip, and they all come out the other side knowing a lot more about themselves.

I thought Venetia was Georgette Heyer’s best historical romance, but now it has company. In fact, in some ways, Cotillion is even better, because of its flawless pace and plot. When you’re done, don’t give it away. You’ll want to read it again.