[AWM]≡ Libro Gratis The Reluctant Widow Georgette Heyer 9780434328161 Books

The Reluctant Widow Georgette Heyer 9780434328161 Books

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The Reluctant Widow Georgette Heyer 9780434328161 Books

Heyer was the second Regency romance author I discovered, 50 yrs ago. The first was, of course, Barbara Cartland, whose fluffy saccharine-sweet stories quickly gave me a literary toothache. Then I read "The Grand Sophy" and I was entranced. I collected every Heyer Regency (sad to say, I never cared for her later period mysteries). Her historical expertise - "The Spanish Bride" is still used at a prestigious English university to discuss Wellington's Peninsula campaigns - is unexceled. Others have covered the plot of this book, so I will not repeat their efforts. If you are only familiar with the randy, sex-in-search-of-a-story romantic historicals, you will find Heyer a very different kind of author. I'm pleased to see her books being released as e-books and hope a new generation will find/appreciate her remarkable and fun stories.

That said, "Widow" is not my favorite Heyer. It is a quiet, more restrained version of some of her better stories, but I agree with other reviewers that there is humor and charm in this one. For me it ranks below "Grand Sophy", "Frederica", "Unknown Ajax", "Cotillion" and "These Old Shades" (her only trilogy); but well above the banal "Black Moth" (a poor predecessor to "Shades") and "Pistols For Two" (Heyer's only anthology). It is, for me, equivalent to her "Sylvester", "Regency Buck", "The Conqueror", "Friday's Child", "Black Sheep" and "Faro's Daughter".


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The Reluctant Widow Georgette Heyer 9780434328161 Books Reviews

This was my second time through this story and I have to say this author's work stands the test of time and re-reading. I appreciated it more than I did in the first place.

I saw more humor and wit than I did the first time around. I saw the subtle hints of romance where I didn't see the evidence of it before and I was most struck by one of the more dubious characters in the story, Frances Cheviot.

The story is most definitely old school Regency Romance at its best with a tinge of the Gothic to it. I wasn't that into the heroine the first time around, but found her more than tolerable this time. She has a stinging tongue, but I could see how the hero's laid back cool attitude in the face of the mayhem going on would drive her to it. They are quite the pair and I enjoyed their sparring.

The narrator did a fantastic job capturing the tone, pacing, and characters.

In summation, I was delighted by this re-read in the form of an audio version.
Lady of fashion turned governess Elinor Rochdale gets into the wrong carriage on her way to her next post. She finds herself pitched into high drama, with a fatal barroom fight, sinister housebreakers, and French spies. The story is delightfully absurd, and a lot of the humor of the book arises from the commonsense ordinariness of the characters when faced with such melodramatic events.

A number of Georgette Heyer’s books feature what I would call an “angry” heroine, and usually I find those heroines rather tiresome. The knee-jerk tirades get on my nerves! But in *The Reluctant Widow,* Elinor has just enough justification for her ire to make it logical. I do enjoy the mystery aspect of it, and the twist at the end; and of course the minor characters are vividly drawn, as in most Heyer novels.

I suppose my one quibble would be that I don’t find the hero very romantic. I could have done with a few more hints of his growing attachment—would have liked to see his heart at war with his matter-of-fact nature. He could be less perfect at stage-managing, too, especially when his emotions got entangled with his judgment. But for me that’s less important than the fun of the plot and characters.

This is one of Georgette Heyer’s shorter Regency romances, and not overburdened with Regency slang—a good starting point for someone wishing to try this author for the first time. It’s at the top of my second rank of Heyer faves.
Talk about reluctant - I've been dreading writing this review. I adore Georgette Heyer, and sincerely hope this remains the most troubled book she ever wrote, in my opinion, anyway. It certainly doesn't make you want to rush out and read her mysteries. The novel sets out to have some fun with the well-worn British Gothic novel. You know the schtick - poor but proud beautiful young governess in danger in the old dark house. In the hands of a master as deft as Heyer, it should have been a piece of cake. It does feature her usual well-drawn characters and fine dialog. But it's troubled from the start, although it's arguable that stretching credibility is part of the game here. Elinor Rochdale leaves London for her new post, arriving in the village of Billingshurst in Sussex, where, by accident, she gets into the wrong carriage and ends up being mistaken for a woman answering an ad placed by the handsome, overbearing and seemingly straightforward Lord Carlyon. He's seeking a woman, any woman, to marry his cousin Eustace Cheviot. It won't be for long, he assures her, since Eustace, a drunkard and a louse, is rapidly drinking himself to death. And the young man will not impose on her, since he agrees with the rather convoluted reasons for the wedding. Events move forward from here at a dizzying pace, and by midnight Elinor is a widow, installed in said old dark house. She becomes entangled with Carlyon's large family, sends for her own old governess to stay with her, the comedy relief of Miss Beccles, and we're off, to secret doors, midnight visitors, gunplay, stolen government documents, French spies, and a very large dog named Bouncer, who's one of the best characters in it.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? For awhile there, it is. So why does it fail? Hard to say, but I suppose the worst part is the flat, incredibly disappointing ending. Actually, I couldn't quite believe it. Not the Who, or the How, but the resolution itself, in a way that's difficult to explain without spilling a spoiler. I will take it on myself to warn you that no one pays for an assault on Elinor or the murder of one of the characters, which, despite the reasons feebly given, is very, very dicey. Take-off or not, a story still has to be believable.

Heyer fans know this is the only one of her books ever made into a film, which is sad. All the talk of a film version of The Grand Sophy seems to have faded away. Someone dug up an obscure German-language version of the charming Arabella from 1959 that doesn't look like much to brag about. The British film of The Reluctant Widow from 1950 is called The Inheritance, and is nearly impossible to get hold of, though someone has posted it in sections on YouTube, with Greek subtitles. Don't be too bitter - it's pretty lousy. Heyer never saw it, and her son walked out half-way through. Interestingly, both Heyer biographers give the experience of the movie very short shrift. Heyer was upset from the time she saw the promotional materials, which she said were abysmal and salacious, and made her feel like a slug was crawling over her skin. Fair enough, I guess, since she really hated being labeled an author of what we call bodice-rippers. But from what I've seen of it, the film suffers from a lousy choice of cast, a plodding script, and absolutely none of the sparkle required doing Georgette Heyer. Doubtless anyone who filmed this would want to rewrite the ending, though the reason for changing Elinor's first name escapes me. As bad as anything Hollywood might have done.

So, why did I give it four stars? Because it's Heyer, so of course there are some wonderful things in it. Solid history, great characters, great dialog, this despite the romance being a bit flat. The exquisite dandy Francis Cheviot is laugh-out-loud funny. Along with eccentrics and dogs and strong-minded women, she was a master for some reason at adolescent boys, who always shine, as does the character of Nicky in this book. Had this had a believable ending, it still would have been so-so overall, but would have rated a far higher place in the pantheon. As it is, I think it's really only for Heyer aficionados like me, who intend to read all of her books.

Between reading this book and writing this review, I polished off Cotillion. Incredible! When it was done, I shouted to my husband, "She's back!" Along with Venetia, it now shoots to the top of the favorites list. If you're looking for your dose of Regency, I'd suggest it whole-heartedly, and far above The Reluctant Widow.
Heyer was the second Regency romance author I discovered, 50 yrs ago. The first was, of course, Barbara Cartland, whose fluffy saccharine-sweet stories quickly gave me a literary toothache. Then I read "The Grand Sophy" and I was entranced. I collected every Heyer Regency (sad to say, I never cared for her later period mysteries). Her historical expertise - "The Spanish Bride" is still used at a prestigious English university to discuss Wellington's Peninsula campaigns - is unexceled. Others have covered the plot of this book, so I will not repeat their efforts. If you are only familiar with the randy, sex-in-search-of-a-story romantic historicals, you will find Heyer a very different kind of author. I'm pleased to see her books being released as e-books and hope a new generation will find/appreciate her remarkable and fun stories.

That said, "Widow" is not my favorite Heyer. It is a quiet, more restrained version of some of her better stories, but I agree with other reviewers that there is humor and charm in this one. For me it ranks below "Grand Sophy", "Frederica", "Unknown Ajax", "Cotillion" and "These Old Shades" (her only trilogy); but well above the banal "Black Moth" (a poor predecessor to "Shades") and "Pistols For Two" (Heyer's only anthology). It is, for me, equivalent to her "Sylvester", "Regency Buck", "The Conqueror", "Friday's Child", "Black Sheep" and "Faro's Daughter".