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Title: Cotillion
ISBN: 1402210086
Author:
Georgette Heyer
Publicate Date: 2007-10-05
Publish: 2007-10-05
List Price: $12.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.33
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $6.99
Amazon Merchant Price: $12.95
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Cute Regency Romp
Kitty Charing's guardian, the crotchety Mathew Penicuik, has promised that she shall inherit his fortune if she agrees to marry one of his great nephews.
Kitty, however, wants none of them. What she does want is a trip to London, a place that she's never been.
So she arranges a hoax engagement with great nephew Freddy giving her a good excuse to go to town to meet his family.
Once in London she becomes a woman of fashion and gets entangled in all sorts of scrapes and misadventures.
Overall, Cotillion is pleasant historical fiction that while rather loosely plotted is carried along by the strength of a charming cast of characters. These include: the half witted but affectionate Lord Dolphington, foppish Freddy who has immaculate taste on everything from waistcoats to drapes, and the darkly handsome Jack, a notorious gambler and ladies' man.
The story starts with Kitty dealing with multiple marriage proposals and matters of the heart. However, during the entire middle section of the novel her romantic future is put on hold as she plays cupid for others. I felt as though this took too much focus away from Kitty as a heroine. She pales a bit in comparison to the far more interesting couples and situations around her. I got the impression of her as a kind hearted ing??nue, but not much more than that.
Also I felt that Kitty and Jack's past and present relationship was rather poorly defined. We are made to understand that they had some kind of involvement in the past, but the exact nature of it eludes us. Was it a simple school girl crush as Kitty insists? Or was it something deeper than that as Jack seems to believe? This is a problem when Heyer attempts a love-triangle conflict at the stories' climax. Because we do not know whether Kitty really feels anything for Jack at all, there is a definite lack of tension, romantic or otherwise.
In the end, Cotillion is more of a feel good story than anything else. Suspense is minimal, and the novel's true strength lies in the journey and not the destination.
On a side note, there is a lot of unusual and (I suppose) period appropriate vernacular. For example,
"Wonder if he's playing a deep game?.. No saying what might be in his head, a curst rum touch Jack! Shouldn't have thought he'd whistle a fortune down the wind though. Rather fancy he counted the old gentleman's rolls of soft his own. Never knew such a fellow for wasting the ready! Played wily beguiled with his own fortune!" Pg 48-49.
Recommended if you love regency stories or light-hearted cozy reads.
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2: one of the best Heyer books
If you loved Friday's Child (my very favorite Heyer book) you'll love Cotillion.
Most Heyer books feature heros who need to grow. In Cotillion, a classic comedy of manners, our innocent heroine (madly in love with a romantic, dashing figure as the book begins) learns to appreciate the real worth of a very average man.
Sweet, gentle humor-- a book that gets better with every read.
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3: A Beta hero comes into his own
Everyone loves an alpha hero, whether he's a Duke or a Navy SEAL. Everyone loves competence, good looks, and a quick wit. In "Cotillion", you will find yourself rooting for the very antithesis of those heroes. Freddy is a total Beta. He isn't very quick on the uptake, hasn't any particular wit, and, although he dresses in the height of Regency fashion, his appearance is one of amiable vacuity...or a startled rabbit, when circumstances get out of hand, as they so frequently do. What Freddy does have, in abundance, is warmth, kindness, generosity, and a willingness to go out of his comfort zone to extricate his pretend-fiance, Kitty, from the predicaments her impulsivity launches her into.
Freddy grows on you as the book progresses. From being Kitty's dupe to becoming her savior, you will savor the charms of Mr. Nice Guy, Regency-era version. There are delightful subplots, with a host of well-rounded characters: Lord Dolphinton, the lackwitted cousin who is terrified of his mother and in love with a bourgeoise woman; the Chevalier, Kitty's French cousin who falls for a lovely damsel being groomed for a life as a courtesan; and Freddy's father, who is actually one of the alpha males we would normally expect.
I believe there are superior books by Heyer: Frederica, The Grand Sophy, and Venetia, to name a few. But you shouldn't miss Cotillion, because it is such a triumph for Nice Guys everywhere, as well as being incredibly funny.
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4: Sweet story, funny, better each time I have read it
I first discovered Georgette Heyer when I was a teenager. I read her book Friday's Child and was completely hooked. Cotillion is one of my favorites. The interweaving of the romances of four different couples is delightful. By the end of the book, you feel as if you have spent time with friends.
I cannot recommend Heyer's books too highly. She, in my opinion, created the Regency romance genre (Ms. Austen's books were the contemporary novels of her period.) Heyer created a fictional, glittery, aristocratic world which which is still being utilized by historical romance and regency novelists today. It is interesting to note that she is being republished under historical romances - a genre that relies heavily on sexual escapades. Heyer's books are romantic but not sexual. She is able to build a tension which culminates with a kiss rather than a bed romp.
These are books you can enjoy and still pass to your younger daughters, sisters, etc. without worrying that the subject matter is too mature.
I can only wish that Ms. Heyer wrote twice the number of books she did. I own each in hardcover and am purchasing my set of "reader" copies as Sourcebooks republishes her works.
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5: Cotillion
Another wonderful Georgette Heyer romance which can be read over and over. A definite keeper.
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