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Sourcebooks has been doing a splendid job of reissuing the novels of Georgette Heyer, the renowned mystery writer and Queen of Regency Romance. But, let's face it, romance novels are something our grandmother read and not fit fare for men, right? So we read and reviewed just An Infamous Army, her novel of Waterloo, which can pass for historical fiction, but resisted the subsequent titles, with their srooping maidens in watercolor on the cover. But then I stumbled upon a BBC production of Friday's Child and figured it couldn't hurt to give a listen. To my surprise, and great pleasure, it was laugh-out-loud funny and so is the original book.

When the delectable Miss Isabella Milborne turns down an offer of marriage from the impetuous Viscount Sherrington--who has to marry by 25 in order to inherit the family fortune--he storms away to London vowing to marry the first woman he sees. She just happens to be Miss Hero Wantage, a childhood friend who has long adored him though their uneven social stations made any much unlikely if not impossble. She's eager to avoid her pending job as a governess so she takes him up on the deal despite his honesty about why he's asking and the dubious approptiateness of the match.

What follows is a comedy of manners as the two try to conform to the contours of a supposed marriage of convenience even as they fall in love with one another. This leaves Sherry challenging friends to duels for spending too much time and paying too much attention to his wife, though he's encouraged her to befriend them, and ultimately to her running away because she can't stand the pretense anymore. He follows, of course, but with her hiding out under an alias and pretending to be single the opportunities for confusion are rife and Ms Heyer takes full advantage. This is Jane Austen as presented on the Carol Burnett show and it's more fun than a bag of cats. Just wrap it in a book sock so folks on the beach or the plane don't realize you're reading a Romance and enjoy every page.


(Reviewed:)

Grade: (A+)


Websites:

See also:

Georgette Heyer (2 books reviewed)
British (Post War)
Georgette Heyer Links:

    -Georgette Heyer Website
    -WIKIPEDIA: Georgette Heyer
    -The Romantic Novels of Georgette Heyer (BBC)
    - GEORGETTE HEYER: the Queen of Regency Fiction (TomFolio)
    -BOOK SITE: An Infamous Army (SourceBooks)
    -BOOK SITE: Friday's Child
    -WIKIPEDIA: Friday's Child
    -Georgette Heyer (kirjasto)
    -ESSAY: She was the Agatha Christie of romance novels. You’ve probably never heard of her.: When will Hollywood discover Georgette Heyer? (Aja Romano, Mar 11, 2022, Vox)
    -ESSAY: The Influence of Georgette Heyer (Tracy Grant, Secrets of a Lady)
    -ESSAY: An Appreciation of Georgette Heyer (Jay Dixon, Historical Novel Society)
    -ARCHIVES: Georgette Heyer (Find Articles)
    -REVIEW: of An Infamous Army (Whitney Mallenby, Rambles)
    -REVIEW: of Infamous Army (Historical Tapestry)
    -REVIEW: of Infamous Army ( Dr Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Break of Day in the Trenches)
    -REVIEW: of Friday's Child (Brandy, BlogCritics)

Book-related and General Links: