Monday, October 01, 2007
Charity Girl
**** Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer. Historical romance.
This is my fourth Heyer. I liked it better than Beauvallet, about the same as Cousin Kate and not quite as well as Sylvester (#13). Although now that I look back at what I wrote about 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 & 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.
...more
Categories: Books, 4stars, HistoricalRomance
Labels: 4 stars, books, HistoricalRomance
