Cotillion
by Georgette Heyer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Georgette HeyerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-01
ISBN: 1402210086
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Book Reviews of Cotillion
Book Review: 4 ½ stars. Light-hearted romantic adventure with quirky and endearing characters.
Summary: 5 Stars
REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I couldn't decide between 4 and 5 stars, but I rounded to 5 because I continued thinking about it afterwards and am glad I read it.
This was written more than 50 years ago and is dated in some ways. It's an example of a wonderful variety of characters whose "natures" create romantic conflicts. It's a nice change of pace from the typical popular character types in most romances written today. It's also a welcome change from the typical good-guy-bad-guy plots. I can see how Heyer became famous, and I think this would be a good novel to start with if you haven't read any of her. The British dialogue may be a little hard to understand, but you can get used to it. I liked this as an audiobook. I'm not sure how I would feel reading it in paperback. Because I was doing the audiobook, I found it helpful to print the list of characters from the website heyerlist org under Who's Who. The ending was great. I loved the secondary story about Lord Dolphinton.
COMMENTS FROM OTHER REVIEWERS:
The following Goodreads reviewers said some excellent things worth repeating. Thanks guys.
Abigail A
(source of my title above - she sums it up well)
Katharine
"The heroine is (typically for Heyer) impulsive and a bit strong-minded and clueless at the same time, but somehow manages to be wholy charming instead of obnoxious."
-inbetween_
"My eyes did sting at that one line, though: "What I mean is, like you to have everything you want. Wished it was me, that's all.""
Dlora
"I just finished Cotillion and was enchanted with it. I'm always intrigued with the titles of a book and I had wondered why Heyer had chose cotillion for this novel. As I recall, a cotillion is a formal ball and almost at the end of the novel I realized that the characters were dancing around each other, coming together and moving apart, just like a dance. I loved it. The main dancers are Kitty Charing and her "cousins" who are dancing to the tune of their rich irascible uncle who will leave his fortune to Kitty if she marries one of his grandnephews."
STORY BRIEF:
Kitty's parents died. Matthew Penicuik was a friend of her father's and became her guardian. He is gout ridden, irascible and sharp tongued. His relatives rarely visit. He's wealthy but rarely spends money on Kitty. He won't let her travel to London or have pretty clothes. The story begins when Matthew announces that he will leave his entire fortune to Kitty if she marries one of his five great nephews. If she does not, his fortune will go to charity. Kitty apparently does not want to marry any of his great nephews. She wants to go to London to search for a job as a governess and maybe meet someone she could fall in love with and marry. Also she would like to have a few weeks of fun in London, something Matthew would never allow. Freddy is one of the nephews. He is wealthy and into clothes. He's not the scholarly type, but he has practical knowledge. He's the good friend type. Kitty asks him to help her with a favor. She wants to pretend they are engaged and that Freddy needs to take her to London to spend time with his parents. Freddy is reluctant at first, but he agrees. Matthew then reluctantly allows Kitty to go to London and gives her a small amount of money to spend on bridal clothes. They come up with a reason as to why they are delaying making a public announcement of their engagement.
Kitty sees the best in people. When she sees a need, she feels she must help others and thinks up hoaxes to accomplish this. But sometimes she's a bit clueless and her hoaxes need help. Of course Freddy is pulled into it and helps her. The story is mostly about Kitty's time in London and her interactions with others.
Jack is the handsome, arrogant ladies' man - another of the nephews. Kitty had a crush on him while growing up. When Jack heard of Matthew's fortune going to Kitty, he planned to be the one to marry her, but he wasn't ready yet. He wanted to continue his single lifestyle with mistresses for a while. He thought that all he had to do was crook his finger and Kitty would come running. This was Jack's belief, but we don't know Kitty's thinking about Jack until later.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook length: 12 hours. Narrator: Phyllida Nash. Swearing language: none. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1816 England. Book Published: 1953. Genre: regency romance..
Summary of Cotillion
"My favourite historical novelist."-Margaret Drabble"Sparkling."-Independent on Sunday
A sham betrothal isn't the only thing that gets Kitty and Freddy into trouble, but it's definitely the beginning ..
A most unusual hero
Freddy is immensely rich, of course, and not bad-looking, but he's mild-mannered, a bit hapless-not anything like his virile, handsome, rakish cousin Jack ...
A heroine in a difficult situation
Young Kitty Charing stands to inherit a vast fortune from her irascible and eccentric guardian-provided she marries one of his great-nephews ...
A sham betrothal
No sooner does Kitty arrive in London then the race for her hand begins, but between confirmed rakes and bumbling affections, Kitty needs a daring scheme ...
"Thus begins Cotillion, arguably the funniest, most charming of Georgette Heyer's many delightful Regency romances."
-Amazon.co.uk
"Triumphantly good ... Georgette Heyer is unbeatable."
-Sunday Telegraph (20080506)
Young Kitty Charing stands to inherit a vast fortune from her irascible great-uncle Matthew--provided she marries one of her cousins. Kitty is not wholly adverse to the plan, if the right nephew proposes. Unfortunately, Kitty has set her heart on Jack Westruther, a confirmed rake, who seems to have no inclination to marry her anytime soon. In an effort to make Jack jealous, and to see a little more of the world than her isolated life on her great-uncle's estate has afforded her, Kitty devises a plan. She convinces yet another of her cousins, the honorable Freddy Standen, to pretend to be engaged to her. Her plan would bring her to London on a visit to Freddy's family and (hopefully) render the elusive Mr. Westruther madly jealous. Thus begins Cotillion, arguably the funniest, most charming of Georgette Heyer's many delightful Regency romances.
No sooner does Kitty arrive in London than she becomes embroiled in the romantic difficulties of several new acquaintances. Kitty's French cousin, Camille, a professional gambler, has won the heart of her new friend, Olivia--who also happens to be the object of Jack Westruther's dishonorable intentions. Meanwhile, Kitty's doltish cousin Lord Dolphinton has fallen in love with a merchant's daughter who's embattled with his mother and needs his help. Finally, there is Kitty herself, who begins to wonder if the dandified Freddy might not be the man for her after all. As in all of Georgette Heyer's books, Cotillion transcends genre--it is, quite simply, wonderful literature. Historically accurate down to the finest details of dress, deportment, and speech, Heyer was also a master at creating unforgettable, comic characters, and Kitty Charing and Freddy Standen stand out as one of her most charming romantic duos ever.
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