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Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer


Title:  Regency Buck
Author: Georgette Heyer
Read by:  June Barrie
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Length: Approximately 12 hours and 37 minutes (10 CDs)
Source: Christmas Present from my Best Friend Jenn 

Georgette Heyer novels are the next best thing to a new Jane Austen novel.   They take place in the same Regency world and are filled with delightful comedy and witty dialogue.

In Regency Buck, siblings Peregrine and Judith Taverner have lost their father and are surprised to learn they have been assigned a guardian, Lord Worth, whom they have never met.  They travel to London to meet their guardian only to discover the elderly Lord Worth has passed away, and his young and attractive son has taken over.  Peregrine and Judith learn how to navigate high society, “the ton,” with the help of their wealth paving the way.  Judith learns from Beau Brummel that she needs to own her eccentric behavior to really make her way in society.  She then drives her own carriage much to Lord Worth’s dismay and uses snuff.  A series of unfortunate incidents starts to befall Peregrine.  Are they accidents or is someone trying to get rid of Peregrine to get his fortune?  Will Judith and Lord Worth learn to stop their verbal sparring and allow love to take hold?

June Barrie was a fabulous narrator giving a voice to each character with a great British accent.  I enjoyed that this novel had real historical characters in it such as Beau Brummel and the Duke of Clarence.  I also enjoyed Judith and Peregrine’s scraps.  Lord Worth felt too high handed at times with Judith, but I’m looking at it with a 21st century perspective.  I did want the two to get together, but he was not my favorite romantic lead.  Georgette Heyer’s novels are a great look into the world that the upper class of Regency era England lived in.  I do sometimes wish we could also take a look into the life that the other social classes lived.  It must be my years of watching Downton Abby have me wondering about the other half of the story.

Overall, Regency Buck is a classic Heyer novel full of great characters, witty dialogue, and comedy.  This novel is different from past Heyer novels that I’ve read as it has more real historical figures included.

5 comments:

  1. I love GH's books and though this isn't one of my favorites I've enjoyed it. I know what you mean about Lord Worth and the romantic lead. I feel the same.

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  2. These are ideal reads for this time. Agatha Christie too and maybe a Jane Austen thrown into the mix.

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  3. I love the Georgette Heyer audiobooks that Richard Armitage narrates. Aural bliss.

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  4. I do like the sound of this. By the way, if you're looking for a type of Jane Austen book, try Ursula Orange's "Begin Again". Which I reviewed recently on my blog.

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  5. I love Richard Armitage's narration as well. I wish he would Narrate more of Heyer's novels. I will add Begin Again to my "to read" list - thanks for the suggestion!

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