Wednesday 5 September 2007

Dandies, Corinthians and the Nonpareil.

MissM is going through a serious Georgette Heyer phase.

It is a passion she shares with her Granny.


Although, perhaps serious is the wrong adjective
because these are not wholemeal bread
but the lightest of patisserie.

I had not read Georgette Heyer
and was worried that such frivolity
might be bad for her intellectual digestion.

The modern edition by Arrow features delicious covers
for the adventures of the various heroines
and, I was surprised to discover,
a range of reviews from the most impeccable of sources.

Who can argue with Margaret Drabble?

I discussed this with a young academic
who specialises in Nineteenth Century Literature
and she admitted to reading everything
that Georgette Heyer had written
before moving on to Dickens.

Georgette Heyer to Charles Dickens.

That must be like
gorging on meringues
before gobbling fruitcake.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Heyer is wonderful for Regency Romance, strangely enough I don't think I could read this sort of stuff by any other author. She also wrote some murder mysteries which I fully intend to delve into sometime in the not too distant future.

Anonymous said...

Hmm...never read. But I'm intrigued just by looking at the covers! (Sorry, is it bad to admit that?!:)

Unknown said...

Margaret Drabble is one of my personal favorites. Hmmm if she likes the author, maybe it IS worth investigating. (What is Blogger comments point with the word verification test. It has a handicap logo next to the space but i think if you had a handicap you would surely fail. I tend to fail it about 50% of the time!)

alice c said...

I think that the best thing about this is that she has discovered that she shares an enthusiasm with her Granny. It is not the only shared passion that they have - clothes and jewellery is another - but I am so glad that they have made that connection.

I think of Heyer as 'Austen Extra Lite' but it is well written and very amusing and full of period details.

Anne - re the Blogger comments thing - I am sorry - I know it is a nuisance but I had some spam comments and I was worried about Malware and viruses

dottycookie said...

Hmmm, I adore Jane Austen. I have not tried Georgette Heyer; perhaps she would be well suited to my decimated guardian-of-small-people brain.

I must confess that Dickens is not a great favourite here ... O-level Great Expectations killed him for me. Stone dead.

carrie said...

I will have to see if I can find that in my local library!

Anonymous said...

As an English major heading off to work on my MA/PhD in Englit (poss long 18th c) I have to say that I ADORE Georgette Heyer. Yes, the works are light reading and fun, but they're meticulously researched and well-written. And very clean, if that's a worry. There's nothing wrong with a bit of meringue. :)