This is a lovely selection of shorts comprising what is in effect of sampler of her work. Almost all the stories here are reminiscent of a full length story I've read.Pistols for Two is the story or two young men who have a falling out over a very pretty playmate of their childhood. This could easily have occurred as a background for one of Heyer's romances with a smart corinthian and a demure young miss.A Clandestine Affair is a reunion style with a mature couple brought together by the romance of their wards after breaking up acrimoniously years ago.Bath Miss is a classic story of a nonesuch who is supposed to marry the very boring arranged bride only to be waylaid by a charming girl barely out of the schoolroom.Pink Domino. This is rather sweet. The starchy proud hero has been searching for a young woman he met briefly months ago despite the fact that she was clearly only genteel rather than top drawer.A Husband for Fanny is an adorable story about a woman who is strangely depressed when it seems her ambition to marry her lovely daughter well will come true. It appears she will make the match of the season with the mature and charming gentleman paying her attention.To Have the Honour features a young hero freshly home from the wars and faced with the ruin his father has left the estate. A man of honour, he cannot possibly abuse the trust placed in him by his heiress cousin Henrietta by marrying her for her money. In fact her tells her so and of course she is relieved.Night at the Inn is a little different, more a gothic mystery, but it features characters who may well appear in the background of another story, including a bow street runner.The Duel features an innocent girl who seeks out the wicked Lord Rotherham to ask him to save her brother. However she becomes lost and enters a strangers house. The stranger promises to save her brother by restraining Lord Rotherham who he claims to know well.Hazard is the story of a wild young lord who wins a young woman in a card match when drunk. Snowdrift tells the tale of a young woman who is in a race for an inheritance caught in a snowstorm. The stakes are high and when she seeks the help of a stranger on the road, it turns out quite differently to what she expects.Full Moon is the last story and is about a young woman who believes she is to be married off to a stranger and determines to elope with a childhood friend. The potential groom is unaware of her fathers machinations until meeting the young man in question whose story intrigues him enough to investigate by the light of the moon.
PISTOLS FOR TWO5 starstory about two boys, friends since young, now quarreling over a girl (who is marrying someone else). sweet, fun storyA CLANDESTINE AFFAIR1 starmeh. some misunderstanding 12 years ago. H reproaches h, h says "it's not like you haven't had consolation", H goes "yeah, but i didn't marry any of them", then they make up. oh, and their niece and nephew are in love, which is what brought them together now.BATH MISS4 starsrather questionable (morals, intentions) ... all 3 of them and their actions (H, his 'fiancee' and H's friend's granddaughter, the h, who he had to go pick up from school), but then the characters just didn't have time to be developed.PINK DOMINO4 starsvery gallant H (who promptly, as he rescued his fair damsel, forgot that he had come to rescue his sister!) (for a moment, i thought the h's uncle and aunt might have been arranging accidents and such for her, that unknown to her, she has a small fortune... but this was short story :|)A HUSBAND FOR FANNYoh 5 stars. you can see it coming a mile away, but it is still fun to read!widow wants daughter to marry well, an older, very rich man, who actually likes the mother :).TO HAVE THE HONOUR5 starsdebts, misunderstanding, mischief and patch up, that's pretty much it. i loved it. the only thing was i think the H and h were first cousins (ah.... ick)NIGHT AT THE INN5 starsit was a 'romance' but not quite the same usage as it is in now. i liked the suspense part so much, i think the governess should've made a part of it as well. oh well, it was still awesome.THE DUEL4 starsvery formulaic and rather silly (girl goes to brother's dueller to plead for mercy) , but in small (short?) doses, it's not so bad :DHAZARD3 stars a better (and worse) take on Bath Miss (last minute something so that H and h end up together, cutting out H's fiancee)didn't like the "betting my sister as stakes" formula didn't like the fact that H offered for ow the same day; he's supposedly in love with h!SNOWDRIFT5 starsh and her cousin are racing to their grandfather, who might leave either one of them money. h meets H, romance ensues. not bad :)FULL MOON5 starsh's bff goes drinking because he's promised h he will elope with her to save her from being married off to a very old, dead bore her father has arranged for her. proceeds to explain to H. H puts drunk boy to bed, goes off to meet h. quite sweet.it's sort of a good peek into all the major romance storylines ever, set in that era! just kidding... it only covers about 99% of them :P
What do You think about Pistols For Two (2005)?
I like Georgette Heyer and I enjoy reading her books, but this one was a bit difficult. Firstly I admit it was a mistake not to read the back of the book. With the title "Pistols for two" I had the impression I had one her mysteries in my hands and not one of her romances. Wrong!!! So by the time I had accepted that mistake, the story was over. What? Then I notice it isn't one story but eleven of them. That was a bit too much. I enjoy her romances too but once I get into the story. In this case there was no time to get into the story. They were over. Quite a few of them had exactly the same pattern too. Two people in love driving to Gretna Green to get married without approval. It was repeated in at least four of them, as far as I remember. One of the eleven stories was not even a romance. It was rather a mystery. The whole book gave me the impression that included small stories that the author wrote at her free time or as sketches and instead of letting them unpublished, we add them in a book and publish it. I was a bit disappointed by this book. I will continue reading Georgette Heyer, but maybe start paying a bit more attention on the description on the back.
—Katerina
I keep discovering how much I love Georgette Heyer and this anthology of her short stories is her at her best. All of the characters are vibrant and fascinating with a wonderful sense of place to everything. Most of these tales move quickly usually involving a carriage ride to or from somewhere or an unexpected night. My favorite was Hazard which begins with a bad set up and turns into something good. Sadly some of the stories can be weak at times and easily forgettable but all of them are worth a read. I'd recommend this to someone who's curious about Heyer and isn't sure which book to start with. The variety of tales capture her range from suspense to humor to social satire. There are some disturbing situations such as a brother betting his sister, but no sex and little violence.
—Kate K. F.
Whenever I need a Georgette Heyer fixs but don't have time for a full novel, I grab this delightful collection of short stories. Of course GH is at her best when there is time to develop her characters and all the wonderful side plots, so a short story will never show her at her best. But it is fun to see her toying with ideas and characters she has either abandoned in earlier books or want to explore before reusing in later books. It is amazing how many plans for Gretna Green there can be in one book. A lot of the stories are on the road, which makes it a perfect read for travelling. It is hard for me to choose a favourite but the ones I most often return to is A Husband for Fanny, The Duel and Hazard
—Trine
