I have managed to borrow a fe w of Georgette Heyer's, ostenisbly for research as I am probably writing a Regency after my current wip. I am still up in the air on this one and will probably speak to my editor about it. Basically if the Roman series goes well, I want to write more Rome but there again I know Regency does well and it could be useful to increase one's profile.
A decision for a later date.
Anyway, the Heyers have jumped the list in my TBR pile -- for obvious reasons. I loved them when i last read them about 20 years ago and wanted to know if they were still just as good.
Devil's Cub is excellent -- or at least the main story is -- some of the secondaries can get wearisome. But my sister says that I was ever thus -- always saying but I would do such and such. Here I would like to see more interaction between Vidal and Mary. There were a few narrative bridges that would have worked better as full blown scenes. It has also answered some of my own problems with Lupus. Why certain bits weren't working. Now with a few tweaks, all will be right -- or so I hope...
Still I am able to read it like a story and to take a trip down memory lane.
Vidal is a wonderful hero, but he is not ambigous. Thereader first meets him dispatching a highwayman with great aplomb. Heyer makes him appear a hero, even though later he does several unhero like things.
If you haven't it recently, it is a great read and master class in how to make a rake, a sympethic and appealling hero.
4 comments:
Devil's Cub is my absolute favourite Georgette Heyer. Vidal is well...just is.
It's funny my Mum phoned this morning and said she's reading Old Shades.
Sue
When I was cleaning out the garage in Mtn. View, CA, before moving to Virginia, I came across your old high school notebooks. I sent them to you over five years ago. Of course, I read them before sending them off to you. I also read all the comments in your yearbook. (I am your litte sister, after all.) You wrote about how you wanted to be a writer. You had written short romance stories in your notebook too. We would swap Joanna Lindsey books and you'd say that you could write this. Now you have! I'm very proud of you.
Yes, Sue Vidal just is. He is also an object lesson how to make a potentially morally ambigous hero, very heroic and sympathetic.
And yes, I remember about the swapping of Johanna Lindseys and the fact that our mother threw some of them out. Most annoying that one. Still at least she no longer tells me that I am wasting my time reading romance.
I have a confession. I've never read Georgette Heyer. (Ducks) I don't know why, they just never seemed my thing. I keep listening to you and reading Stephen's blog, maybe, one day I'll get round to it.
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