Cotillion (Paperback)

As a contrast, Freddy Standen is about as far removed from Heyer's dangerous archetype as it is possible to get. Not, on first acquaintance, particularly quick on the uptake in the conventional sense, the reader, along with Kitty, soon realises that he is very far from stupid. Importantly, he is a genuinely good person, motivated by the desire to do the best for Kitty and to help her out of the scrapes in which her involvement in the affairs of her cousins and her friends rapidly lands her, and his normally restrained demeanour does not prevent his being roused to passionate emotion.

Kitty Charing is, in her turn, is a delightful heroine - only nineteen (and believably so), raised in rural seclusion with an overdependence on sensational works of literature, she is determined to achieve some measure of independence and gradually learns that what she needs from a man is very different from the romantic heroes of poetry and legend.

In addition, the sub-plots - Freddy's extended family and Kitty's connections, Kitty's slightly dodgy French cousin Camille, her beautiful but impoverished friend Olivia, the feeble-minded but good-natured Lord Dolphinton and his distinctly "trade" inamorata - add sparkle and charm to the narrative and evoke genuine interest in the interwoven plot strands.

Overall, this is one of my favourite Georgette Heyers - and I speak as one who is normally a sucker for her more witty, quick-tempered, and worldly heroes (as in Devil's Cub and so forth). This book may have more of a nice cocoa-ey feel to it, but it's none the less charming and engaging for all that, and I defy anyone not to buy into the general warm fuzziness at the end as Jack gets his comeuppance. Also some genuinely laugh-out-loud lines. Definitely recommended.

I read it again, two months later and completely changed my mind. Freddie IS a great hero because of his sweetness of nature, self-awareness and the way that he rises to the occasion when it becomes necessary and saves the day in so many ways, but humbly. And as for the hero character, Jack Westruther, who you might expect to be that – he isn’t; we hear of his rake lifestyle and it’s offputting. However, Freddie’s father makes a fascinating side-character with his sly wit and amusing turn of phrase; Lord Legerwood definitely adds a spice to the book and he’s now my hero of it, alongside his son.

The period detail of Heyer’s books is of course fantastic and this one is no different. What stands out for me in Cotillion is that Heyer is able to portray many different people, some of whom are simple or at least not particularly intelligent, with real veracity. Kitty’s young and bighearted and is utterly convincing; Freddie isn’t particularly intelligent but has a lot of common sense and worldly knowledge and he is convincing; Freddie’s sister whose husband is away and is flexing her flirting muscles is convincing – all the characters we come across in Cotillion are different from each other (and from other Heyer characters) but work. No mean feat!

I recommend this book very much, and it definitely improves with subsequent reading.