Reading is only for the young.Gilly/GideonI never wanted to read any Heyer slash. That should be self-explanatory, because her romances were the only real ones, with the m and f really belonging together, fitting, genuine love, affection and attraction, it made me sick to consider slashing the men, no matter how many there were, how many were attractive in every way. It still makes me sick. But Gideon's love for his "little one", and that first scene were Gilly comes a little bit apart and a little bit into his own while looking up at his best friend, they even had me wonder if Gilly wasn't meant to be a woman in a romance about him and Gideon, with her adventuring, it would all fit - except the first chapters paint such an excellent picture of this sweet natured young man, and she's dead so I will never know. But scenes between men of various ages and brains tend to be her best, and the four novels I now reread emphasis that GH always wrote antiromance-but not like Beaton! Who is genuinely nasty and depressing, while reviled GH is more genuinely feminist and empowering and of course in another league, ten thousand miles above that hack, with her great talent in writing people and scenes and plots like clockwork, the elegance of it all evolving and fitting and making sense and amusing and formerly warming a dead-now girl's heart.I also cannot understand why a critic said "all her heroines are young, beautiful and lively" when that is blatantly untrue, and why that is quoted now, on novels where those girls are witless antiheroines. Just like that phrase I remember from her biography, oddly the only one, that her daughter in law luckily was one of those golden girls Heyer used to write about, when those blonde beauties that dazzled and shone like gold were nearly always those the heroes or heroines had to take care of.I cannot post this, not even on GR, because GH is too ingrained in me and I cannot discuss her novels with people who find her boring or worse anyway, esp. when I criticise.And I loved Gilly. Even such pet names are different in GH - I never noticed them, and they are only given to people whom they suit by people who would. A Freddy, Ferdy or Gilly is not the same as a Hugh or Ivo, a Kitty is no Serena. Her novels also do not really change pov like that woman said - this is Gilly's book, and a romance about him, because you love him and know that she always loved him so it is a happy end.And Gilly standing up to Gideon on that matter of Belinda not becoming a whore was one of those priceless little in-between moments, so important, even when I thought we heard often enough how Gilly changed, even when I didn't laugh at Tom. Or the minute he was tempted to leave her with his brother in law, human and real and making the rage following right after all the more gratifvying.Having read most of her books dozens of times, unlike any of my other adult novels, it is only now that I think - huh, at least five of them have exactly this theme, so maybe others share another theme. I always grouped them a little in my mind, and I think I reread those with so little couple interplay less, but I never EVER noticed the similarities, and it's a coincidence I reread them in this order now, more a following of the quieter guys - and all of them have a stunning blonde beauty of little brains and a tall dark dashing heartless cousin, and the quiet romance sort of confirmed at the end.
Another lovely reading experience, brought to you by Georgette Heyer. I think that this one is my favorite so far by her. It had all of the components of her other historical romances, but this one managed to pull them all off flawlessly. It is a slightly different story than seems typical for her books, but maybe that's why I liked it so much.The Duke of Sale, known as Gilly to most people (his full name and titles are amusingly very long), is an orphan, raised by his uncle until he reaches his majority at age 25. We meet him at 24, and see in him a man who has been so sheltered and cared for all of his life, that he practically cannot stand up for himself. He wants to speak for himself, and live his own life, but he knows that those responsible for his extreme disconnection from the world, his uncle and servants, only treat him so because they love him so much. And he does not have the heart to cause strife among his household. However, we see that this "mollycoddling" has begun to be simply too much for him, and he begins to show signs of breaking free. When his cousin finds himself in some trouble, Gilly volunteers to solve the problem. His first step? Tricking his servants and informing absolutely no one, not even his closest friend Gideon (another cousin), of his intentions, he sets out to have himself an adventure, to prove to himself whether he is "a man, or only a duke."Gilly is a fantastic character, one whose strength the reader can see through all of the sheltering he has grown up with. The other male characters are equally well-drawn; I especially love Gideon, and his attitude towards Gilly, who he insists on calling Adolphus (his true first name). The two main female characters are also likeable, and Heyer does a terrific job of making us love the foundling Belinda, while being just as annoyed with her as the rest of the cast of characters most of the time. The romance in this book is more subtle than in the others, but I found it perhaps even more satisfying. Like I said, this is my favorite of the Heyer books I have read so far, and I would definitely recommend it to fans of historical fiction and romance.
What do You think about The Foundling (2003)?
I know many love this one, but I have never been able to finish it in the forty years I've been reading Heyers. The conversations are interminable, seeming to exist for the sake of using period slang (especially that made up by Pierce Egan) and not particularly witty to me. The plot meanders, never catching my interest; I just do not like her long-suffering heroine plots. I wish is idea--the put-upon, mild young duke who runs away and assumes an ordinary identity and promptly finds himself in adventures--had occurred to her decades before, when she was at the top of her game.
—Sherwood Smith
I'm rereading this delightful book for the umpteenth time now that I've discovered it at Audible in audiobook form.Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware, the Duke of Sale, known as Gilly to his friends, is a mild-mannered and kind-hearted young man. He is too kind, in fact, to snub the well meaning servants and relatives who push him around "for his own good." When a chance for independence and adventure comes in the form of helping a young relative out of a fix, Gilly jumps at the chance to be "plain Mr. Dash of Nowhere." Naturally he finds that there is a great deal of inconvenience in being poor and anonymous. However, in extricating himself from the series of adventures that ensue, he also finds himself and true love. Heyer's trademark humorous, charming romances are written for those of us who don't want bodice rippers and appreciate being credit for having a bit of intelligence. This one is a romance that actually doesn't dwell much on the romance and features a well-turned plot, a sense of the ridiculous, and a bit of escapism.
—Julie Davis
The Foundling was nothing like I thought it would be. First of all- the synopsis talks about Gideon being in trouble, when really it's Mathew. It also leads you to believe that Gilly will fall in love with the "beautiful country girl", when- for the first time in forever- he actually sticks with the girl he's already betrothed to! I was really glad about this, cause I didn't like Belinda above half! It was like chapter upon chapter of Harriet Smith. Blonde and a bit ridiculous. I was happy for H
—Alice
