Author: Georgette Heyer
Originally Published: 1940
Courtney’s Edition: 2004
Publisher: Arrow Books, Random House
Source: borrowed from the library
The Story
Sir Richard, looking ahead to a loveless marriage, stumbles upon a young Penelope Creed escaping out of her bedroom window one evening. Pen has disguised herself as a boy and is planning on escaping to her country home, and even though Sir Richard is extremely inebriated, he knows that a girl her age should not be traipsing around the countryside on her own. And so, he decides that he simply must accompany her.
Of course, there are all sorts of crazy hijinks that ensue – the stage coach gets turned over, they come into close contact with a thief, a friend of Sir Richard’s gets murdered, and Pen is convinced that her aunt will come chasing after her to take her back and force her to marry Pen’s cousin.
And of course, as with any of Heyer’s regency books, there is a dash of adorable and delicious romance.
The Review
Rachel and I read this together and then decided to blog about it together.
Courtney: I haven’t read any Georgette Heyer in a while and I’m always pleasantly surprised by her books when I pick them up just because of how fun they are. I found The Corinthian to be a lot more fun than some of the others I’ve read just because of the crazy hijinks that were involved – girls dressed as boys getting into scrapes, murder, theft, running away in the middle of the night, oh joy! What a great escapist novel, and how perfect for the February blahs. You’ve been devouring your way through her books – how did you find this one compared to the others that you’ve read?
Rachel: I really liked the pace of this one. There was lots of adventure and it didn’t take her very long to catapult us into the plot. Plus, she kept the whole cloak-and-dagger motif running rampant throughout the story. Like you, I really enjoyed the hijinks— and the image of carriages running helter skelter at a dizzying pace. This was sheer fun. Some of the books of hers I have read have serious undertones — like These Old Shades ( a great romance of redemption, in a way) and Black Sheep ( where the theme of women as marriageable commodities is pretty abundant ) —- but The Corinthian—well—- it was as of Heyer was writing with her tongue in her cheek.
Courtney: Yes, she does tongue in cheek very well. One thing that I noticed with this book is how much the quality of her writing improved from earlier books – this one is about 20 years into her career as a novelist, and you can really tell the difference. There’s more depth, more maturity in the writing (not necessarily the content, but certainly the writing style), etc. That’s one thing that is so much more noticeable when you can pick and choose your way through an author’s whole catalogue of books, as opposed to having to wait for the next one to be released.
Rachel: I also get the sense that Heyer was writing first and foremost for her own enjoyment. I love books like that because they allow the author’s personality to seep through. To continue your noting of her depth and maturity, I also feel she improves her grasp of how to tell convincing historical fiction. Whereas her early works had the tendency to lapse into encyclopediac knowledge now and then ( in an almost cut and paste fashion), the regency details in the Corinthian were more implied and ingrained so you had a keen picture in your mind’s eye and got a feel for the period without it being bludgeoned over your head with numerous factoids. Can I also just throw the word verisimilitude in here because I never get to use it? Thanks.
Courtney: I just had to look up “verisimilitude.” Google tells me that it is “the quality of seeming to be true or real.” But I can really see how this applies to The Corinthian. It does appear that she knows a lot of what is going on in the regency period, and it is sometimes surprising (in the case of this book, for example) to realize that she didn’t experience it herself. While this was a fun romp, it still does touch on some of the issues that would have been relevant at that point in time – specifically expectations of women who spent unchaperoned time with men, the difficulties families face with financial issues, and the necessity of women to make a good marriage. As much as I love reading regency books, I really don’t think I’d want to live in a time where it was depended on me to marry well just so I could secure my family’s financial stability!
Rachel: What I liked about this particular novel is that Sir Richard was facing the same impending threat of a loveless marriage to secure his family’s financial gain and to hold up in society. It is rather refreshing to see a man have the same expectations thrust upon him. It immediately set the stage for an understanding friendship between Sir Richard and Penn. I rather enjoyed this. Richard immediately understood Penn’s dilemma and I think, in part, that was why he was so eager to jump and save her. He knew what it felt like to have this unsavoury future looming afore him.
Courtney: Well, that plus he was completely smashed when he came across her attempting to run away in the first place. That might have had something to do with it, haha. I love the relationship that Penn and Sir Richard have right from the beginning in this book – she’s adventurous and naïve, and he is amused by her and knows that she needs protection in her wild and crazy schemes. I love that she puts him in situations he doesn’t feel comfortable with at all (hello, stagecoach?) and that he lets her do this. And that he goes out of her way to protect her without caging her in or patronizing her for her naïveté.
Rachel: He treats her like an equal— and I suppose she is— in humour and in situation and circumstance. But, I think he smiles at her out of his eyes the entire time and doesn’t always take her seriously. But, I am not altogether sure he completely takes life seriously so this is just another one of his many charms. I also enjoy the hint of rogue he has. In fact, talking about him makes me want to cast him. Jack Davenport?
Courtney: Mmm. I was just watching The Wedding Date last night and he is in it. He would definitely be able to pull off the rogue aspect, and we’ve already seen him in that same sort of time period in Pirates of the Caribbean. He could pull off being Sir Richard. What about Penn?
Rachel: I really like the idea of Carey Mulligan (Bleak House, An Education, Dr. Who) as Penn.
Courtney: Is that Sally Sparrow? She looks a bit old for the role… I don’t know too many young females in acting, so this part is a little hard for me. What about Alexa Vega or Eliza Bennett? Actually, Eliza Bennett probably looks a little bit too young. Oh, what about Rachel Hurd-Wood? She’s rather adorable.
Rachel: What’s REALLY funny is that when you said Eliza Bennett I was thinking of the “real” Eliza Bennett ( which, in my crazy mind, was automatically Jennifer Ehle ). Alexa Vega!
Courtney: Yeah, I remember thinking that quite a bit when I read her name in the credits for Inkheart! Oh, Jennifer Ehle is such a wonderful actress. And Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, mmm… Anyway! Tangent! I hate to say this, but I think if they were to make a movie out of this, it would actually be better as a 2 hour movie than a 4 hour miniseries. As much as was going on, it felt like not everything was necessarily needed to make this a good story. Not that it dragged on, but it just wasn’t all that important to furthering character development or pushing the story to a climax – like the meeting between Penn’s aunt and Sir. Richard.
Rachel: What they should do is a BBC series featuring two hour episodes of each Heyer novel. They could totally squeeze this into two hours. I mean look at the ITV Northanger Abbey— that worked brilliantly. As did the ITV Persuasion ( Unfortunately, I have nothing good to say about the ITV Mansfield Park so I am just not going to say anything at all…..)
Penn’s aunt! Sir Richard! How Lady Catherine de Bourgh-esque was that pivotal moment. Good God Georgette Heyer! You’re like mango gelato. You are the sweetest confection in the world. And you ruin me for real life…. And so do your men with their boots and cravats and eye glasses hanging from dainty chains!
Back to Jack Davenport ( because isn’t that just the best segway??? ) he has a delicious voice. I have a feeling Sir Richard would have a delicious voice.
Courtney: He really does have a delicious voice. And I imagine Sir Richard would too, especially when he is amused at Penn. And Jack Davenport could totally pull off Sir Richard’s bored attitude that seems to intimidate those he doesn’t care a fig about. Mmm, I totally want to rewatch all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies now, darn it!
What did you think of all the secondary characters? I loved me the thief they met in the stage coach. He was a lot of fun.
Rachel: I loved the thief and I loved the rather portly relative whose house Sir Richard visits at the beginning of the story— the one who tries hard to emulate Sir Richard’s flair with a cravat ( his name escapes me right now )
Courtney: The sister’s husband?
Rachel: Yah. That’s him. He was super cool.
Courtney: Yeah, he was pretty awesome. They were all mostly awesome; in fact, there were only two characters that I DIDN’T like – Penn’s childhood friend (again, the name is not coming to mind) and the girl he’s in love with. I have no patience for silly little people like them. I was especially aggravated when whats-her-name told her father that she met Penn for a romantic rendezvous instead of whats-his-name. This girl came across as being way too flakey, and I have no stomach for characters like that.
Before I start going on a rant, I need to change the subject.
How about the last moment when Penn and Sir Richard finally both admit and realize that the other is in love with them? It is up there with the awesome endings of Rilla of Ingleside and North & South, as far as my favourites go.
Rachel: I also loved the last moment. The thing with Georgette Heyer is she always leaves the romantic climax until the very last page. You know it is coming but she makes you wait and wait and THEN …. Then she ties it up with a happy bow ( same with North and South, eh?)
I really enjoyed the ending and the discovery of love which, really, when you think about it had been there since Sir Richard first saw Penn—all inebriated and blurry and cleaned her up and whisked her away.…..
Courtney: Oh, he obviously loved her from the beginning. And she was in love with him from that point too even though she didn’t realize it until later. But all-in-all a satisfying end to a good book then. Yay!
The Bottom Line
Read this book. Reeeaaad it!
Other Reviews
A Work in Progress, Bookfoolery and Babble, Becky’s Book Reviews, Ex Libris. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.
Author: J.R. Ward
Originally Published: 2005
Publisher: Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group
Source: Borrowed from a friend
The Story
Beth Randall has been living in Caldwell, New York, working at an unsatisfying job at the local paper. Being kept away from the large stories, Beth is starting to feel like she needs a little bit of adventure in her life. Enter Wrath, one massive, gorgeous and dangerous purebred vampire.
Believing that she is an orphan, whose parents died shortly after she was born, Beth has always thought she was a normal human being. But when Wrath tells her that her father was a vampire who just got killed by a group of lessers (vampire hunters), her world is turned on its head. Neither Beth nor Wrath expect to fall in love with each other while they adjust to the changes their lives are taking, but things don’t always happen as you would expect them to…
The Review
Let us just take a moment to reflect on a couple of things. First, what have I stated over and over again that I am totally sick of?
- Urban Fantasy books that centre around romantic vampires
And what are the biggest things that I absolutely hate in books?
- Depthless women who are essentially Mary Sues
- Brooding and/or emo male leads.
- Books where the plot seems to revolve around characters trying to have as much sex as possible, to the detriment of real plot and real character development.
- Women who will give up all their morals or personality as soon as omg hot guy comes along.
- Vampire sex. Lots and lots of vampire sex. Because omg vampires are so romantic and sexy and not scary at all.
- Books where the main character comes across something that TOTALLY BLOWS THEIR MIND (omg, vampires are real?! And I’m turning into one?!) but a page later is totally okay and awesome with it, and doesn’t have to struggle with the fact that omg everything they thought wasn’t true totally is.
Basically I don’t like flakey characters or stories that focus solely around sex without any plot or character development or romantic vampires. So…. if this book had most of the stuff that I don’t like or am sick of, WHY COULD I NOT PUT IT DOWN?!
What is it about this book that made it consume my brain from the moment I started it until the moment I finished it? What on earth is in this book that has done this to me? OMG brain is blown.
Because I don’t know what it was that I loved about this book! I feel like a hypocrite loving it! And it’s a little embarrassing admitting exactly how much I loved it. Because I did. Even though there was so much about it that I hated. Like! Like the two main characters!
There are SO MANY people who LOVE this series and I have a feeling I’m going to get some comments telling me about how awesome this book is and how awesome Beth is and omg how could I think she isn’t a strong kick-ass female? But… I just didn’t get that from the book. As soon as Wrath came into her life, it was like her whole world all of a sudden revolved around him instead of around the sun. She lost her individuality in the span of a day.
And Wrath… can we say “tortured hero”?!? How much did he remind me of Heathcliff? And how much do I hate Heathcliff?!
But… but for every thing that I hated about this book, there was something in it that kept me from putting it down, that kept me turning the pages and actually wanting to know how things turned out.
The only thing that I can put my finger on that I loved was Butch, Beth’s cop friend. Even after Beth hooked up with Wrath, after he met Marissa, he still cared so much for Beth’s safety and well-being. He had nothing in life to live for, but his character growth when he met the Black Dagger Brotherhood was awesome.
I think that if the book was not about Wrath and Beth that I would enjoy it. And so the fact that the other books in the series don’t seem to have Wrath and Beth as main characters seem like a positive to me. Let’s just see if I can get over the whole “romantic vampire” bias that I’ve got going on.
The Bottom Line
This book consumed me while I was reading it, and yet I still cannot figure out why. It actually embarrasses me how much I loved it. I have a feeling I’m going to continue on with this series, but will probably take a break for the time being and attack some of those other books that have been sitting on the TBR pile for a while.
Other Reviews
Love Vampires, Best Fantasy Stories, 25 Hour Books, ReadingAdventures, Bitten By Books. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.
There was an article in The Guardian a couple of weeks ago about a Sweet Valley sequel where the girls are now in the 30′s. I grew up on the Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High books (though didn’t read any of the other spin-off series) so this has me rather intrigued.
The article says that the book
takes place 12 years after the high school series, when the twins and their friends are in their late 20s and early 30s. It will, according to publisher St Martin’s Press, see “the real world intrude after a perfect childhood”. “I’ve had thousand of queries from fans over the years wondering what Jessica and Elizabeth would be like as adults. Well, Sweet Valley Confidential should give them all the answers,” said Pascal, who was originally inspired to write the series by the experiences of her three daughters. “And I can guarantee they will be very surprised. Actually, more like shocked.”
Source
The book will be published by St Martin’s Press and is scheduled for release in early 2011.
Anyway, this has gotten me thinking about all of the books that I’ve read (or want to read) where twins feature a prominent role, and so this week’s listed is about ten sets of fictional twins.
- Elizabeth & Jessica in Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley books. Series created in 1983.
- Fred & George in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Originally appear in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone; originally published 1997.
- Louise & Caroline in Katherine Paterson’s Jacob Have I Loved. Originally Published 1980.
- Emmeline & Adeline in Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale. Originally Published 2006.
- Viola & Sebastian. in Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night. Written 1601-1602.
- Nan & Di in L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. Originally appear in Anne of Ingelside; originally published 1939.
- Sandy & Dennys in Madeline L’Engle’s Time Quartet. Originally appear in A Wrinkle in Time; originally published 1962.
- Lia & Alice in Michelle Zink’s Prophecy of the Sisters. Originally Published 2009.
- Albert & Frederick in Christopher Priest’s The Prestige. Originally Published 1995.
- Simon and Jared in Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s Spiderwick Chronicles. Originally appear in The Field Guide; originally published 2003.
What other fictional twins are out there that you’ve enjoyed reading about?
Do you like this feature? You should also check out Librarian’s Book Reviews’ Listless Monday and A Bookshelf Monstrosity’s Books By A Theme.
