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Charity Girl
written by Georgette Heyer
Studio : Sourcebooks Casablanca
by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publisher : Sourcebooks Casablanca
Released : 2008-09-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781402213502
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 8 reviews)
List Price : $13.95
Our Price : $8.46
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Product Description |
Georgette Heyer, in her inimitable style, explores the lengths to which a gentleman must go to avoid scandal when confronted by a very young runaway lady.
When Viscount Desford encounters Charity Steane walking to London alone, he feels honor bound to assist her. Dashing about the countryside to find Charity's elusive grandfather, the Viscount must somehow prevent his exasperating charge from bringing ruin upon herself-and him.
"This is the most delightful new Georgette Heyer Regency romance in several years. It is witty, full of dashing period slang, and it trifles with the affairs of several maids and men with such style and gentle irony that readers of good 'ton,' as Miss Heyer herself might put it, will find reading it a very 'comfortable cose' indeed." -Publishers Weekly |
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Disappointed |
I love Georgette Heyer books and I was thrilled when I saw "Charity Girl" which for me was a new Georgette Heyer. It didn't live up to all her other books. The plot was weak and the lead characters barely interacted with each other. Worse the book was all "tell" and barely any show. Still the characterizations were, as usual for a Georgette Heyer book, so well done that Des and Hetta felt like real people.
One definite negative distraction was the typesetting. No one went through and removed the hyphens that were used nearly forty years ago when a word was split in two at the end of a line. The new typesetting has these hyphenated words in the middle of a line. I hope if there is another edition put out in the future they are removed. |
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pleasant, unexceptional |
This is my fourth Heyer. I liked it better than Beauvallet, about the same as Cousin Kate and not quite as well as Sylvester. Although now that I look back at Sylvester, I'm not sure I'm really feeling the Heyer-love. In general, they've been nice, pleasant stories, but I'm not overwhelmed by their wonderfulness. Could be the older style, could be I'm not reading them in the context of when they were written (1970 for this one--I was 9. I'd probably have loved it then, if I'd been allowed to read it.), or could be I just haven't read the best ones.
Viscount Desford's family had intended a match between him and Henrietta Silverdale, but having grown up together, they're instead best friends. And now she has (the very bland) Cary Nethercott as a suitor (who's definitely not good enough for her).
So when Desford rescues Cherry Steane, who's run away from her aunt's cold charity (read: servitude), only to discover that the grandfather to whom she was running is out of town, who better to care for the girl than Hetta?
It's a bit of a comedy of errors with Desford running all over the country chasing after Cherry's grandfather, and friends and family alike assigning him motives for doing so. And there's an interesting and potentially dangerous twist, too.
I really wasn't sure what to expect from this. Perhaps it's obvious to everyone else, but until nearly the very end, I didn't know that the romantic hero and heroine were Desford and Henrietta. Because so much of the story was about Cherry, I thought she must be the heroine, and it just didn't fit. So I spent most of the book slightly confused and wondering what Desford saw in Cherry besides her youth and prettiness.
On the other hand, I liked that it confounded my expectations--yes, I know I'm contrary--I've been told that before. No doubt on a re-read, I'd pick up more on the signs between Desford and Hetta.
I did enjoy all the characters, but it left me feeling a little spoiled or jaded maybe, that I had trouble fully enjoying a story without knowing where it was going. Something to think about.
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marry your best friend.... |
I really liked this Heyer. Unlike many of the silly "love at first sight" stories which are found in my least favorite Heyers (where "offers" are made within days of a couple meeting), this book is about dear friends who have a second chance to find love together.
The characters are realistic and likeable-- a pleasure to spend time with. Not a fevered sort of romance, a quiet comedy of manners and real love. |
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So-so |
Because he kept racing from one town to another to try to fix the problems of a girl named Charity, there really wasn't much time spent between the hero, Ashley, and heroine, Henrietta. We are made to understand that Ashley and Henrietta have known each other all their lives and, after a whole lot of plot spent on resolving events concerning the rather insipid Charity and a series of other characters, we are to assume that Ashley and Henrietta are now in love. Just like that.
Don't get me wrong, I loved both Ashley and Henrietta. Especially Henrietta as she is one of Heyer's older heroines (and I do love the older heroines). I just needed a little more time spent on developing a relationship between the main characters. Something, perhaps, akin to Bath Tangle. |
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Not impressed with this one |
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Everything is just average (if not boring) in this one. I found no sparks flying between the hero and heroin. I kept waiting and waiting for the story to take an interesting turn, and it never did. Halfway through, I was almost tempted to put this one down, but for sheer obstinacy. I was quite disappointed when I reached the last line, but also relieved because I can finally go on to the next one in my Heyer list. |
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