“You may depend upon it that I shall take care to be seen every now and then in your company, for I cannot be so sure of my credit as to run the risk of having it said that the Nonpareil has begun to find me a dead bore!”
Title: Arabella
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publisher: Arrow Books (Random House)
Date of Publication: 2004
Rating: 4/5
There are many things to love about Georgette Heyer’s novels. Her wit, her accuracy in describing eras of the past, her characters. Even though she writes romances, her works have quality. They are not your usual “no plot, no originality, just sighing and swooning” romance novels. If they were, I would keep clear of them.
Arabella is a perfect example of Heyer’s mastery. The dialogues are witty, partly following the tradition set by Jane Austen – partly original Heyer humour.
“And if I may say so without offence, Painswick,” retorted Mr Beaumaris, “you are being foolish beyond permission! I will readily own that you keep my clothes in excellent order – I should not continue to bear with you, if you did not – and that the secret of imparting a gloss to my Hessians, which you so jealously guard, makes you not wholly undeserving of the extortionate wage I pay you; but if you imagine that I am unable to dress myself creditably without your assistance, your powers of self-deception must be greater than even I was aware of!”
Sometimes the plot is indeed a bit predictable, based on one’s expectations about a happy ending in case of a romance, but it doesn’t really destroy the reading experience, it rather enables one to pay attention to the language.
Love is naturally the main theme of the novel, but Arabella is about much more than that! It may not contain Dickensian descriptions yet it doesn’t lack attention for the social issues of the time. A climbing boy, an abused dog (one cannot help loving Ulysses), the dangers of gambling – these all appear in the story (their chief role, though, is to prove the kind-heartedness of the heroine and the hidden goodness of the hero).
Mr Beaumaris (and not Beaumarais, as I was originally tempted to pronounce it) is a typical Heyer hero: he is handsome, well-dressed, cynical and wealthy. Yet he is a gentleman (unlike Vidal in Devil’s Cub), and he definitely knows how to earn a woman’s gratitude: by withdrawing after being refused.
“He said gently: ‘I am not, I hope, such a coxcomb as to distress you by repeated solicitations, Miss Tallant, but you may believe that I am still of the same mind as I was when I made you an offer. If your sentiments should undergo a change, one word – one look! – would be sufficient to apprise me of it.’ She lifted her hand in a gesture imploring his silence. ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘I shall say no more on that head. But if you should stand in need of a friend at any time, let me assure you that you may depend upon me.’”
Arabella Tallant is not less likeable a character. Her fiery temper is adorable, her retorts amusing and her good heart enviable. Yet, and this is the only thing I shall ever say against her, she is rendered a bit too childish and weak in the end. Somehow Heyer’s independent, fiery females often seem insignificant beside the hero – not that I do not approve of a flattering image of Mr Beaumaris, but I would have Arabella less child-like and fallible.
“I hope, ma’am – indeed, I know! […] that not one of Papa’s children would pass by a fellow-creature in distress!’
Beside that, there are allusions to the inablity of foreigners. It should appear that they are unable to manage children and they dislike animals. While I’m quite sure that these statements are not true (I, for one, LOVE animals, and sadly enough, I am certain that I have not a drop of British blood in my veins), they made me smile, for they seemed to be so typically British remarks. (At least, having seen Yes, Minister and other British series would lead me to believe so.)
One more passage I enjoyed, was Arabella’s opinion over one of her suitors:
“He is the most odious little man, and seems to think he has only to persevere to make me receive his advances with complaisance!”
It reminded me of a type of man I’ve had the misfortune to encounter – the type I’d label as “Mr Collins incarnation.”
Anyway, I recommend Arabella to anyone who likes to read novels set during the Regency era (and I hope that some of you do, for there shall be some more reviews of Heyer novels 😉 ).
Have you read anything by Georgette Heyer? Or anything set in this era?
Feel free to leave a comment below.
The cover of the picture is really pretty with lovey lady standing quietly looking down. Reading book in the Regency era may help me to understand more about how people live and think during that period of time.
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I’m definitely getting my reading on this year and I love romance. Especially the ones you call “no plot, no originality, just sighing and swooning”..lol. But I love Historical fiction too because the dialogue and banter in some of them are so real. I’m definitely checking this out.
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I have not read anything from Georgette Layer but I am also keen to discover new authors! I quite like romance and that era so I could defo give this book a try!
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I never heard of this author or book, always so happy to get introduced to a new author. Putting this in my amazon shopping cart now, thanks so much for the recommendation!
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I’ve never read anything Heyer but am always on the lookout for book recommendations. The little snippets you’ve included have left me wanting to read more!
Vivian | LIVE IN LOVE
IG | @viviyunn_
~
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Not heard of the author, but I am always looking for a new read. So will be checking this one out x
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I havent tried this genre but it does look appealing so I think I will give this author a try!
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I have not read her yet to my knowledge. While it’s not my typical genre I feel like you articulated your thoughts of the book in such a way that it makes people (such as me) want to pick it up and read.
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I’m currently looking for new books to add to my reading list! I’ll have to check this one out.
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Oh this has my attention, I like that the novel features more points than just the romance plot – I am greedy and need more than that hehe. Adding it to my growing list – your a good influence on me!
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Glad to hear that I’m a good influence, haha! 😉
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I’m not really big fan of these type of books but your book review makes me want to change my mind and give it a chance.
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What kind of books do you like to read? 🙂
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I haven’t read this book but you are right, I got tired of romance novels a decade ago after getting addicted to it temporarily… They became typical and having a witty author will definitely help enhance the reading experience
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I can imagine getting tired of them! I’ve never really read romance novels before, so it’s both new and entertaining for me.
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I haven’t tried to read this book and it sounds so interesting. So I will surely give this author a try.
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If you do, let me know what your opinion is about her work 😉
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I have not read Georgette Heyer’s work yet but from your description sounds amazing. I like novels that are set during regency era, would love to check this one out.
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If you like the era, I definitely recommend it!
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I love Historical fiction because the dialogue and how they acted in front of other. I love novels.
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That’s one of my favourite things about historical fiction, too.
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I haven’t heard of this author. But your review sounds interesting, and I am going to dig into it.
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Let me know what you think of it 😉
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Very beautiful cover of tthis book. It seems to be a good choise to read.
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I’m glad that you find so. I think it’s a great choice for cover-art, too.
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I haven’t heard of this author before but this sounds like a great read!
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I believe only few people know about her work.
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