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Title: Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer ISBN: 0-06-100204-6 Publisher: Harper Mass Market Paperbacks Pub. Date: June, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: GH has done it with great humor
Comment: In spite of the negative reviews posted prior to this one, I must give this book a thumbs up. I've read this story several times, and each time I gathered new details and discovered a funny line I didn't remember from the previous reading.
Heyer's style of writing, as usual, is sophisticated and informative. The details in any of her books make you inquire more deeply into the period of which she writes.
Personally, I LOVED Rotherham and Serena -- perhaps it's because I'm a bit tempermental myself. The clash between them and eventual realization of their respect and love is amusing. The twist in plot by the end makes for an endearing read. The reader does feel a sort of short-circuited denoument to the story by the time Rotherham and Serena realize their love - one awaits more - though it's not necessarily a drawback (Austen's own writings reflect similar tendencies).
It is not a fast-paced story, but watching the love develop in this story makes me think of a dawn. The sun rising over the horizon has never been a quick event, though it is always a beautiful setting with incredible shades of color to add the most intriguing character to our day.
Rating: 4
Summary: Enjoyable
Comment: On the whole I enjoy this story, although I can see why some readers have a hard time with Serena and Rotherham. I can take them because they are both decent people at heart, in spite of their faults. And their clashes of temper can be fun to watch! The one thing I find really unacceptable is the scene where Serena berates Emily. If you've read the book, you know the scene I mean. (Rotherham also berates Gerard, but he has a purpose. Serena means it.)
I also like the romance that blossoms between Fanny and the man she least expects.
Heyer makes one of her favorite points with both couples, one that is probably snobbish but has some truth to it, about the importance of similar "background" (class).
Serena and Rotherham were both born to the ruling class. Through the story the reader sees that Serena will never be happy outside that world. It's too much a part of who she is.
Hector, Serena's old flame, was born to the more modest rank of "landed gentry" and doesn't want her life. Neither does Fanny, Serena's friend. The life Hector can give her is exactly the kind that makes her happy.
In Heyer's eyes, it is this clash of background and values that makes Hector and Serena wrong for each other. It is the similarity of background/ values that makes both couples right for each other.
The study of Regency manners here is rewarding if you pay attention.
Serena and her Aunt Teresa are a portrait of aristocratic ladies: how they spoke, thought, and gossiped, and what they gossiped about. Fanny, Hector and his mother show the manners and values of the landed middle class, Jane Austen's level of society. Mrs. Floore and Ned Goring represent the up-and-coming merchant class (though Mrs. Floore is really more caricature.)
One problem is that GH makes many elliptical references to political events of the time. Her original readers probably knew what she meant. For the modern reader it's frustrating--she tells just enough to make you curious. It needs footnotes.
The story is well written and plotted. Though it is complicated, everything is kept tangled until the end. Not as easy to do as it seems. It's worth reading for the portrait of Regency life, and several vivid characters, even if you don't like Serena and Rotherham.
Rating: 2
Summary: My least favourite
Comment: Leave this way down on your list of Heyer's books to read. Heyer's usual virtues of good writing and period detail can't make up for characters who are unpleasant (Rotherham), unlikeable (Serena), or just boring (everyone else, with the exception of Mrs Floore). The story is as slow as Serena finds life after her father's death. Read "Black Sheep" instead for a fun tale about romance in Bath.
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Title: Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer ISBN: 0373835639 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer ISBN: 0451173457 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: August, 1992 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: April Lady (A Harper Monogram Regency) by Georgette Heyer ISBN: 0061002429 Publisher: Harper Mass Market Paperbacks Pub. Date: May, 1995 List Price(USD): $3.99 |
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Title: Arabella by Georgette Heyer ISBN: 0373835558 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer ISBN: 0373835590 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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