Why Shoot a Butler? (1933) Georgette Heyer This story was all over the place. Barrister Frank Amberley gets lost taking a shortcut to visit his aunt and uncle, and comes upon a car alongside the road, and a young woman beside it. A closer look find a man dead in the drivers seat, and the […]
The Unfinished Clue (1934) Georgette Heyer Sir Arthur Billingham-Smith and his wife Fay are throwing a house party. Except that the general didn’t want to have the party, doesn’t want to see his son and the woman he wants to marry, and is pretty much a complete bastard. He dislikes his son almost as much […]
No Wind of Blame (1939) Georgette Heyer (Inspector Hemingway) Ermyntrude Carter married Wally Carter, but has come to regret doing so, as Wally isn’t a great human. Yet Ermyntrude and her daughter Vicki Fanshawe, and Wally and his ward (and cousin) Mary Cliffe lived together on the money Ermyntrude inherited from her fist husband. Although […]
These Old Shades (1926) Georgette Heyer I finished some good books, which left me unsure what I wanted to read next, so I turned to a favorite, These Old Shades. It’s an historical romance where the heroine is pretending as a boy, the hero is a horrible person to is believed beyond redemption, and there […]
A Blunt Instrument (1938) Georgette Heyer The 4th Inspector Hannasyde mystery. Ernest Fletcher seems to have been a likable man, so his death–bludgeoned to death in his story–came as a surprise to everyone. The obvious suspect is his nephew Neville, his heir who seems to owe money to everyone, and who was heard to have […]
They Found Him Dead (1937) Georgette Heyer The third Inspector Hannasyde mystery. This one I was pretty sure who the murderer, even if I couldn’t figure out why. Or quite how the second murder was managed. Silas Kane is found dead the day after his 60th birthday celebration. He’s survived by his mother, and a […]
Behold, Here’s Poison (1936) Georgette Heyer The second Inspector Hannasyde mystery. Gregory Matthews is found dead in his bed one morning, with a terrible look up on his face. Everyone assumes it’s a natural death, except for his sister who insists upon an autopsy. The list of possible culprits is quite large, especially since two […]
Death in the Stocks (1935) Georgette Heyer This is, as best I can tell, set around the time it was published, the mid 1930s. What I found fascinating was that I was totally unable to pin down the time. I was pretty sure it was post WWI, but wasn’t quite certain. I think the police […]
Venetia (1958) Georgette Heyer Set in England in 1818 (guessed from death of the queen) The first meeting of the two is problematic–Damerel grabs Venetia and kisses her. He does stop when he resists, and it’s not like such things were uncommon, but… it’s distressing to modern sensibilities. Aside from that, I quite liked it. […]
The Reluctant Widow (1946) Georgette Heyer Set in Regency England Elinor has set out to take a position as a governess–her father’s ruin and death left her to make her own way in the world–at this point hiring out as a governess. Unfortunately, Lord Carlyon believes her to have answered her advertisement, which is not […]
Cotillion (1953) Georgette Heyer Kitty was adopted by Mr Penicuik, and now he is elderly, he wants to make sure she is provided for, but doesn’t want to cut his great-nephews out of his will entirely. However, he is a crotchety, cranky old man, and his method of deciding who to leave his fortune to […]
The Masqueraders (1928) Georgette Heyer Set in England in the mid 1740s Kate and Peter Merriot are returning to England, the country of their birth, to meet with their father. But they have a secret: they are fleeing after the failure of the latest Jacobite revolution, and are in disguise, to remain safe, and have […]
These Old Shades (1926) Georgette Heyer There is so much to delight in, in this story. Justin Alastair, Duke of Avon, is unrepentant about his deserved reputation as Satanas–the Devil. I never have intentions. That is why mothers of lovely daughters eye me askance. He has done pretty awful things, and isn’t particularly sorry about […]
Lady of Quality (1972) Georgette Heyer Annis Wychwood is twenty-nine and an old maid. Her beauty led to previous offers for her hand, but she turned them down, none from a man for whom she was willing to give up her independence. Of course, she is still young enough she must keep someone with her, […]
Cotillion (1953) Georgette Heyer Another re-read, because there’s nothing quite like foolish young people to distract from the real, modern world. Kitty Charing was adopted by the very rich and very unpleasant Matthew Penicuik. When he makes his will, he states that she will inherit his entire fortune–if she marries one of his great-nephews. The […]
These Old Shades (1926) Georgette Heyer This was a reread. I got so depressed by the news I needed something comforting, and this is what I ended up reading. Some of the bits are somewhat horrifying–and probably not the bits that were originally so. More the whole fact that Alistar will not–cannot even!–marry anyone so […]
Lady of Quality (1972) Georgette Heyer Miss Annis Wychwood believes she is too old for marriage, and not wanting to spend the rest of her life being little more than an aunt to her brother’s children, she insists on setting up house for herself. Of course, no unmarried woman can live alone, so her cousin […]
These Old Shades (1926) Georgette Heyer This was a reread, just because I felt like it.
The Black Moth (1929) Georgette Heyer This is the first of Georgette Heyer’s historical romances, and in it are all the elements of the later stories of hers I have read: love, romance, kidnapping, spouses misunderstanding one another, highway robbery–everything needed for a romantic adventure. Interestingly, although it is a romance, one of the main […]
The Convenient Marriage (1934) Georgette Heyer The Earl of Rule has decided to finally get married. As he’s not particular about who he marries, he decides to request the hand of Elizabeth Winwood. Unfortunately, Elizabeth is in love with someone else, so her younger sister Horatia decides that Elizabeth should not have to make the […]
Footsteps in the Dark (1932) Georgette Heyer Peter, Margaret, Cecelia and Charles (Cecelia’s husband) have inherited an old house in the country–the Priory. Some claim the house is haunted, and others claim to have seen the figure of a ghost on the grounds. But the four–and their aunt Lilian–refuse to be driven from the house […]
Frederica (1965) Georgette Heyer Lord Alverstroke is a selfish rake who hates–more than anything–to be bored. When his sister as well as their cousin ask him to throw a ball to launch their daughters, Alverstroke refuses unequivocally. Frederica has come to London determined to find a good marriage for her beautiful younger sister, while keeping […]
Devil’s Cub (1932) Georgette Heyer It took me a ridiculously long time to realize that this is (sort of) a sequel to These Old Shades. Dominic Alistair, Marquis of Vidal, is the son of Justin Alastair, the Duke of Avon, and he is, if possible, more of a rake than his father. And her certainly […]
Cotillion (1953) Georgette Heyer Kitty Charing has been adopted by the very rich and very unpleasant Matthew Penicuik who has decided that she will inherit his entire fortune–if she marries one of his great-nephews. Odds are on Jack, who is Uncle Matthew’s favorite (and Kitty’s too) but Kitty doesn’t like being told what to do, […]
Faro’s Daughter (1941) Georgette Heyer Max Ravenscar is one of the most wealthy men in London, but seems to care little for high society and fashion. Yet, as trustee of his nephew’s fortune, a call from his sister to keep Adrian from marrying the niece of a woman who runs–of all things!–a gaming house, send […]