At five-and-twenty Venetia Lanyon has never been in love. All her experience with romance comes from between the covers of a book. All her experience of the world outside her Yorkshire village comes from the books she has read. Yet, she does not dream of romance and is content to run her family's estate while her eldest brother is with the Army of Occupation on the Continent. She enjoys the company of her younger brother Aubrey and when Conway returns home and Aubrey goes to University, Venetia plans to set up house for herself and Aubrey. Marrying her neighbor Edward Yardley does not factor into her plans, despite what Edward may think. While out berry picking one afternoon, Venetia runs into the "Wicked Baron", Lord Damerel, her nearest neighbor and the object of village gossip. She's been told that Lord Damerel is a wicked libertine who, on his ost recent visit, held an "orgy" (wild drunken party with gentlemen and women of loose morals). When Damerel steals a kiss from pretty Venetia, she does not scream or swoon. Instead, she responds with an angry retort and witty quotations from her favorite books. When Aubrey meets with an accident that forces him to recover at Damerel's home, Venetia and Lord Damarel discover an easy friendship that comes from a shared love of literature and the same sense of humor. Even after Aubrey returns home, Damerel remains in Yorkshire long after he was expected to return to London. The so-called Wicked Baron earns the enmity of both Edward and Venetia's much younger suitor, Oswald Denny. Then comes a day when Venetia is forced to think about her future and what she wants for her future happiness. Damerel is forced to confront his own feelings and finds that his original plan has gone awry. What will their fates be?This is my top Georgette Heyer and one of my top Regency books. I love everything about this book, especially the characters. First we have the unconventional heroine, Venetia, who is neither young nor silly. She's sensible, has a pragmatic nature and a wicked sense of humor. She shares her sense of the absurd with Lord Damerel, which is why I think they make the perfect couple. They fell into friendship first based on mutual interests and personality type. Then they fell into love. Georgette Heyer was more concerned with relationships of the mind "true meeting of like minds" than with passion but this book also sizzles with unstated passion. You can feel the bond between the heroine and hero as their relationship develops. Many people dislike Damerel and dismiss him based on his reputation alone. This is true for readers as well as characters in the book. If you read the novel closely, you will know that Damerel is not an unrepentant rake or libertine. If he was a libertine, he would have seduced Venetia and been done with it. If he was unrepentant, he would have gone back to London or to his friend's hunting box to carouse. If the reader pays attention, they will note that Damerel's man, Marston notes that his master only drinks to excess when he's bored or really upset. In fact his whole career as a rake began with ONE mistake in his youth. He got carried away with a youthful passion and then was labeled black by all who knew of him. He then proceeded to live up to his reputation because why not? If everyone thinks him so bad then so be it! However, in the few months the story takes place we get to know him quite well and understand that he's sensitive about his wicked reputation. He feels deeply that his family was prepared to write him off. Yes the first time he met Venetia he behaved very badly, but the way it's written we know it's supposed to be funny, especially when Venetia does not behave as a typical heroine in a romance. Her behavior intrigues and attracts Damerel but it takes Aubrey's accident to really bring them together. The ONLY time he gets drunk after the initial "meet cute" is towards the end when he's suffering. If he was an unrepentant rake, he would be drunk a lot more and not care. He wouldn't have been so good with Aubrey or had such a great time exchanging witty banter with Venetia. I think Damerel must be based on Rhett Butler or Rhett based on a GH hero! I disliked Rhett in the movie because he did drink to excess at times and he did not share a true connection with Scarlett (who I hated even more). Some readers take exception to the "boys will be boys" attitude of the novel but you must remember that the story takes place in 1818 and was written in 1958. Neither time was a great time for women and in the context of marriage at that time, it makes perfect sense. People married for money and power. If a husband and wife had some degree of affection for one another, they were lucky. A wife was supposed to turn a blind eye to her husband's extramarital activities. "Thou shall be discreet" was the cardinal rule of relationships. To be fair, many women also had affairs. At the end of the novel, Damerel is honest about not sure if he can entirely reform and Venetia is fine with that. For one thing, she's bored. Also, she loves him enough to know that his love for her will never change no matter what he does. I think he can be faithful because he'll never be bored with such a good friend by his side and he'll be busy dealing with her brothers and their problems. The relationship between Lord and Lady Lambton is nice because he flatters her vanity and she allows him to flirt. They accept one another for who they are and Venetia knows that. She accepts Damerel for who he is and unlike Edward, he appreciates her true self. Thus I think they will have a long, happy marriage. The plot develops well until Ch. 11 when it reaches a painful turning point. The actions from there until Ch. 20 are difficult to read. I always have a hard time with this section of the novel. Georgette Heyer once again creates quirky secondary characters and Mrs. Scurrier is one of the best. I love to hate her. The plot winds up a little too quickly and needs a bit more at the end. The plot and the characters truly make this one of Georgette Heyer's best among her many masterpieces.
News flash: I'm not 18 any more. So even though I still have a soft spot for romances in general and Regencies in particular, my appetite for reading about sweet, silly young girls who do brainless things and have Big Misunderstandings with the guy has dwindled to almost zero. When you're yelling "TALK TO EACH OTHER, PEOPLE" at a book, it's not particularly conducive to the romantic feelz.Which brings me to Venetia. Venetia herself is one of my favorite Heyer heroines: intelligent, witty, resourceful and not easily fazed by events that would make most ladies throw up their hands in despair. She's 25 years old--just about on the shelf by Regency standards. Because her father was a damaged soul, Venetia has spent her entire life in a small town with a very limited circle of friends and acquaintances, but she's nevertheless well-read and socially adept, if rather innocent in the ways of the world.Enter Damerel: an older man who's a confirmed rake and pretty much doesn't care about anything any longer. Or at least he thinks he doesn't, but underneath there's an intelligent, kind man that his growing friendship with Venetia brings out of hiding. He starts out intending to seduce her--hey, she's a lovely girl and he's bored--but his growing friendship with and respect for her and her brother soon make him realize that he can't do that. Which leads to a moral conundrum for Damerel: his life has been so reprehensible that he's no longer accepted in society, and marrying a sweet younger lady like Venetia would make people despise him even more, and shun them both."[I'm] something worse than a fool. Would that she could make of me a saint, or I of her a sinner-- For the first part it's too late, old friend, too late! And for the second--it was precisely my intention, and a rare moment this is to discover that if I could I would not!"What to do? The resolution isn't as simple as you might expect.It's lovely to watch Venetia's developing relationship with Damerel. They trade literary quotes and allusions and they just understand each other. Their relationship is in turns witty and heart-wrenching. And way sexier than any other Heyer romance I'm aware of! Heyer never gives you anything more than a kiss--no tangled tongues or groping or anything like that--but you can almost feel the heat rising off the pages when these two are together.I loved both the humor and the literary allusions and references in this book. I think it's the most intelligently written of the Heyer books I've read. I can feel my brain cells multiplying while I read it. Or expanding. Whatever it is they do. I found a handy online guide to the literary references in Venetia, which might help other readers too: http://www.heyerlist.org/notes/veneti.... This was invaluable in keeping my brain cells from exploding from trying to expand too fast.And I've changed my mind on this second read: Venetia gets all 5 stars.P.S. re "orgies": at the end of the book(view spoiler)[ Damarel jokes that they're going to have a lovely orgy, or something to that effect. This has bothered a lot of readers, including me. But here's my evolved take on that scene: The first time I read that orgy comment I thought it was cynical; the second time I decided he and Venetia were just joking around. Then we were discussing it in our Georgette Heyer group read a few months ago, and someone said that what Damerel really means with that comment is that they're going to have a great wedding night and love life generally--a nice little "orgy" with just the two of them. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Venetia (2006)?
This was the first book by Georgette Heyer that I have ever read and it got me hooked to Georgian romance. A second rereading has proved that it stood the test of time and I still love it as much as I did around twenty odd years ago!Venetia is a sheltered woman who finds love with the most unsuitable man. What follows is the inevitable social claptrap with family and friends contriving to keep them apart and Venetia determined to marry the man she loves. The characters are fun and well-drawn though often trivialised. The heroine is smart, witty and knows her own mind. She takes on her friends, family and society to follow her heart and her destiny. It's quite refreshing to read a romance novel with a woman who takes charge of her own life, and at the same time, her behaviour is not at odds with established customs of the period.The novel lacks minute descriptions of clothes and parties, that is often a trademark of this genre. But it is neatly offset by an interesting story and believable characters. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot even though it's a lot different from most other works of the author.
—Kavita
Oh. My.After years of ignoring this book on my shelf (I think it's the cheesy '80's cover), I have now found my new favorite Georgette Heyer. Oh. My.This book has everything! A saucy young lady with an oddball family. A leading man who is just as witty as she is. Meddling neighbors. Meddling family. And scandal after scandal after SCANDAL. Divorce! Secret marriage! Overbearing in-laws! Rakes! Elopements! Squandered fortunes! Venetia's delightfully witty responses to everyone from her bookish brother to her dull-as-a-brick suitor to her surprise stepfather are priceless. So much fun! I couldn't put it down!
—Jessica
Georgette Heyer is the first author I've read who makes Jane Austen seem emo. Don't get me wrong, I adore Austen and consider WWJD to stand for "What Would Jane Do?", but I really enjoyed this charming and angst-free Regency tale of Venetia and her Wicked Baron, the rake Damerel. Oh Damerel... Imagine Sense and Sensibility's Willoughby and Jane Eyre's Rochester without their respective issues -- or wives. Damerel is charming, mischievous, and funny. The same could also be said of Venetia, who is nearing spinsterhood at, gasp!, five-and-twenty.Heyer touches on social issues, whereas Austen really delves into them, but don't confuse lightness of touch for lack of deftness. How can else an author get away with mentioning orgies while staying true to the time period? And not just mentioning them, but having her characters joke about them! There is so much humor and laughter throughout the novel, and not because the characters are ridiculous or silly.You're laughing along with them, not at them. Okay, maybe you're laughing at too serious Aubrey, who nonetheless ended up being one of my favorite characters.I had a hard time letting go of my favorite Austen characters too and turned to terrible-to-fucking-terrible books like An Assembly Such as This, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, and A Little Bit Psychic. Spare yourself the ignominy and read a book that doesn't have Austen rolling over in her grave. I highly recommend delightful Venetia!
—Maggie
