I have finally read another book for my 2013 Just For Fun Challenge.
Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor Rochdale is swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. Overnight the would-be governess becomes mistress of a ruined estate and partner in a secret conspiracy to save a family’s name. By midnight she is a bride, by dawn a widow.
A typically thrilling and sweeping tale of romance and tragedy, The Reluctant Widow is Georgette Heyer at her best – the undisputed queen of historical romance.
Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer was an amazingly prolific writer who created the Regency England genre of romance novels.
Georgette Heyer was an intensely private person. A best-seller all her life without the aid of publicity, she made no appearances, never gave an interview, and only answered fan letters herself if they made an interesting historical point. Heyer wrote very well-researched historical fiction, full of all you could ever want: romance, fashion, upper classes, cross-dressing, arranged marriages, murder, intrigue, cant language, sarcasm and humour!
Walk into any second-hand bookshop and they will know her name and may even know that she wrote her third book under the pseudonym of Stella Martin. In fact, you usually find that many people have read at least one of her books.
The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was supposed to be for my “read for fun” challenge, and I have to admit that it was not always a lot of fun. In the beginning of the book, it showed a lot of promise. I felt that I was reading a classic romance. It had all the elements as well as a few surprises. I enjoyed the strength of Elinor, and there were portions of the story that were somewhat humorous.
About halfway into the book, I have to admit that I lost interest. I tired of the mystery (that truly didn’t appear to be much of a mystery). And I grew very tired of how much dialogue included the misuse of the name of God. That bothered me more than anything else. I also was fatigued with the overuse of the exclamation point. I know that sounds funny, but all the characters seemed to do a lot of yelling.
The ending of the book honestly made no sense whatsoever to me. The romance defied my reasoning, and I was glad for it to be done. I’m not saying I will never read another of Georgette Heyer’s book. This one is proclaimed to be one of her finest works, but I would like to read one of her detective novels. But not any time soon! As far as historical romance, give me the great classic females, and I will be much happier.
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