Acting on Impulse: Contemporary Short Stories

by Georgette Heyer, Jennifer Kloester (Contributor), Rachel Hyland (Contributor)

n the 1920s, Georgette Heyer wrote a number of contemporary short fiction pieces, published in various women's and literary magazines of the era. Now, for the first time ever, these stories are collected in this fully-authorised anthology, with commentary by Heyer's official biographer, Jennifer Kloester, and Reading Heyer's Rachel Hyland.

The stories include:

- “A Proposal to Cicely”
- “The Little Lady”
- "The Bulldog and the Beast”
- “Lincke’s Great Case”
- “Acting on Impulse”
- “The Chinese Shawl”
- "Whose Fault Was It?"
- "The Old Maid"

The collection also includes a bonus Georgian tragedy, “Love", and the search for "On Such a Night", a story long-missing from the Heyer canon.

Given their proper context within Georgette Heyer's burgeoning literary career, in many ways these stories serve as her "Juvenilia," and are not only of great scholarly and popular interest to those who study and enjoy Heyer's magical works, words, and worlds, but amply demonstrate the seeds of genius that have since made her one of the most enduring and admired authors of the 20th-century.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction

164 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 20, 2019

About the author

Georgette Heyer was a prolific historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth.

In 1925 she married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. Rougier later became a barrister and he often provided basic plot outlines for her thrillers. Beginning in 1932, Heyer released one romance novel and one thriller each year.

Heyer was an intensely private person who remained a best selling author 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. She wrote one novel using the pseudonym Stella Martin.

Her Georgian and Regencies romances were inspired by Jane Austen. While some critics thought her novels were too detailed, others considered the level of detail to be Heyer's greatest asset.

Heyer remains a popular and much-loved author, known for essentially establishing the historical romance genre and its subgenre Regency romance.

Reviews

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my holiday treat!

I am a Heyer completist. GH, especially in her early years, wrote short stories for magazines for some quick money - and to refine her craft. I'm glad the determined Jennifer Kloester was able to unearth so many of these treasures. Jenn wrote forwards for each story and Rachel Hyland wrote the afterwards.

I loved Jennifer Kloester's introduction & as an avid GH fan myself, I was deeply envious of her experience pouring through old records in libraries and online, in the hope of finding some GH gold! One of my favourite parts of the book & it had me excited to read the short stories. 5★

I read some reviews & many of the reviewers didn't like the forwards & afterwards for each story, so I only read them that way for A Proposal to Cicely. (only one of these short stories that I had read before) Even allowing for GH's extreme youth, during past reads I haven't liked this story - mainly because of my dislike of Cicely. Much to my surprise, I have always given this story 2.5★, but in spite of Rachel's explanations of Our Heroine's motives I just can't go higher than that. (Previous review available here )

The Little Lady Oh boy, I really hated this one. Confused & mawkish. I hate to do this to a Heyer short story & yes, I know GH was very young when she wrote this but 1★

Lincke’s Great Case
(Tried Lynx as a pronunciation, finally ended up with Link-kezz.)

Read twice & liked better on the second reading, but still found it a bit weak. & a very weak romance. GH just can't help herself! Jenn speculates that maybe GH's father helped with the writing. Certainly this story lacks Gh's usual sparkle. 2★

The Bulldog and the Beast Improbable but charming. This story was just intended to be a diversion, so in spite of all the improbabilities How did Mr Sykes keep escaping the appartment I really enjoyed this. If I was a reader of the time, I would definitely be looking for more of GH's works. 3.5★

Acting on Impulse I wasn't a fan of the kidnapping part of the plot, but was still charmed by this tale, because of the delightful hero & heroine. Love the name Kenneth - I think it is due for a comeback! 3.5★

Whose Fault Was It?
I'm glad I decided to read this short story a second time before giving an opinion, as I liked it much better the second time around, although although [ the cruelty of destroying something both valuable & valuable to George didn't give me much of a opinion of Diana! This plotline shows GH as well as Diana was very young. But the rest of the story was light & fun, with a good moral. 4★

The Chinese Shawl
Charmed by this one, even though it wasn't clear how Janet fit into Mary's life. 4.5★

The Old Maid
Fresh,bright & funny.

Not deep, but who wants deep if you are in the dentist's waiting room or putting your feet up with a magazine & a quick cuppa? Helen seemed like a real person & is one of the oldest of GH's heroines.5★

Love
Well, I was the lone voice from the Georgette Heyer Fans Group, but I loved this one, in spite of finding the beginning a bit confusing.Believed to be GH's only romantic tragedy- something to treasure. 5★ & my favourite.

Rachel's essay about vanished GH short story On Such a Night. Good, determined detective work & Rachel's solution is plausible. 4★

I liked the forwards to the stories & loved finding out their publishing history. From memory, a couple of spoilers though. I found the afterwards became more & more negative as the book went on and a couple of them I wish I hadn't read.

https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took 5 years but I finally got my hands on a copy of Acting on Impulse!
This collection of 'contemporary' and early Heyer short stories mostly disappeared from the public memory for a reason. I mean, it is Heyer, so even at her worse it is delightful. But I don't think anyone would rate her juvenilia particularly remarkable if we didn't know what emerged from it.
What does turn this volume into something memorable is the commentary from Rachel Hyland and Jennifer Kloester.
I forget which author describes the experience of finding Heyer as a "solo journey" and the sudden surprise when you realize others also love her books. But it is true. And this book is a reminder of it. It is so fun to read Heyer superfans expound on what makes her such a great author...while also being willing to mention her weaknesses too. After the first comment about Heyer's snobbery, I was afraid this whole book might turn into more of a critique of her writing. However, fans are fans, and the love of her books shines through despite somewhat mediocre plots and dubious heroes!

Pre-Review

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's actually hard to star rate this. The short stories are very different and different ratings. I gave it four because I liked quite a few of the stories a lot but I also really enjoyed the thoughts of the two authors, who put this together, on each story. The piece at the end about the story that might have or might not have existed was interesting.
Whatever the rating, it was great to read something 'new' by Georgette Heyer.
A must for all fans.

[Critterbee❇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great find -'new' Heyer stories! I was all in as soon as I heard about this book.

The introduction by Jennifer Kloester is very lovely, and filled with love and respect for Georgette Heyer. Kloester shares her adventures in searching through hundreds of old magazines and microfilm / microfiche for previously unknown (to her and most everyone else) stories by Heyer. Kloester's anticipation and excitement really made me feel like I was in the research centers, sitting alongside and searching with her.

Each story has an introduction meant to help
"place the stories in their historical and cultural context and give a sense of Heyer's life at the time."

and an afterword that is there to

"offer readers a modern take on the stories' 1920s sensibilities and humorously highlight the many subtle and not-so-subtle differences between Heyer's time and ours."

Originally, I started by reading the story's introduction before the story itself, and quickly realized that I preferred to encounter the story first, without any possible spoilers from the introduction. Call me spoiler sensitive, I wanted to read the stories and think about them without preconceptions, to immerse myself in the stories before thinking about the moving parts behind them. So I settled on reading each story by itself, and letting that sit before even thinking about the introduction and afterword. That worked really well for me.

Stories:
A Proposal to Cicely
The Little Lady
The Bulldog and the Beast
Lincke’s Great Case
Acting on Impulse
The Chinese Shawl
Whose Fault Was It?
The Old Maid
Love
On Such a Night

A Proposal to Cicely
1920s England, countryside, clash of classes, with a naive young heroine.This one I had read before, and thought it well enough, and agree that it would have done well as a play. The characters were quickly and well drawn, but not very likable.

The Little Lady
Early 1920s England countryside, lovers quarreling, a mysterious little lady in the woods. Clearly written by a young Heyer, a sweet tale of lovers fallen, very wistful. This one could have been an interesting paranormal, but the story continues for too long, then tying everything up in an unlikely, hopeful happy ending for everyone. It is as if Georgette herself did not know what direction she was headed when she began the story (romance? paranormal? even mystery?), or hesitated at completing the story without ensuring that everyone turned out to be fine. As she (and everyone) had been affected deeply by the first World War, it might have been therapeutic to create a happiness on paper, one that was lacking in England at that time.

The Bulldog and the Beast
Sweet story with a lovely dog who knows what the solution to the problem is well ahead of the people involved. Enemies to Lovers trope, with a touch of Cinderella. There was not a lot of setup or background on why they disliked each other so very much.

Lincke’s Great Case
The first Heyer mystery! Reminded me a bit of two of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes short stories: The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans and the The Naval Treaty with the missing submarine plans and espionage among the foreign office. For me, this dragged a bit, and the story never grew in intensity. The romance was not very developed either, rather a case of insta-love tossed in, but unnecessary and quickly forgotten.

Acting on Impulse
This was an unusual one compared to Heyer's other work. The impulsive young man in question, Kenneth, sets his heart at marrying the girl he knows he cannot live without, Ursula, and instead of meeting resistance from her, dear old Dad refuses to even meet with her. Our hero then does the unthinkable and buys a remotely situated property, builds it into a fortress with miles of barbed wire, kidnaps his Father and holds him there until he wins permission to wed. So crazy, I really loved it!
After reading all of the stories, this one is my favourite, and I totally see why the collection was named for this story.

The Chinese Shawl
A rich, absent Aunt sends a gift of a magnificent shawl to down-on-her-luck, hard working Mary. Her roommate Janet, a romantic, sympathetic joy, urges Mary to go to this big shindig, one Mary used to attend when she was a lady of leisure. Mary really would like to go, but due to misfortunes with her family's fortune, has nothing nice enough to wear. 'Fairy Godmother' Janet saves the day by wrapping the shawl around Mary, turning it into a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind dress. And then the romance begins...
The only doubts I had about the story were that an unknown Lady at the theater would be willing to tell a stranger the equivalent of 'why yes, I am wearing a second-hand shawl.' Or is this an example of Bill's charm? I feel that if this scene took place in later Heyer works, we would have been able to sit in and watch the remarkable scene first-hand, or at least have a witty recital or the interaction from a person present.

I also liked that the young man in question went to the USA to make his fortune, which I think is a first for Heyer? Usually it is Australia or, in times of a more, erm, autocratic British Empire, India or the West Indies.
A nice short romance, with a bit of a twist and a strong dose of Cinderella at the ball.

Whose Fault Was It?
This was a short story of a newly married couple and their struggles settling down to life with each other. I didn't love the premise, mainly because it centered on two well-to-do people of leisure being so bored that they had to manufacture discord in their relationship. That is a broad view, and perhaps their behavior seems different to those who are able to devote their time not to earning their living, but rather to elevating pokemon-like collection habits and obsessing over dancing at clubs to the most important parts of their lives.
Hero and Heroine I found unlikable, and unable of inspiring empathy. NAME's mother played the wise elder to the couple, which is a stock character in many Heyer stories, and so nice to see here. Possible spoiler?The rift lasted so long, or perhaps that is a reflection of comparing the slower moving times, without instant contact through phones, texting, etc?

The Old Maid
This story of Helen, a modern woman, very Dorothy Parker like in some of her traits, swallowing herself entirely to project an image of 'the perfect(?) female' in order to win the heart of her long lost love. Her 'dear' friend urges her 'don't frighten him!' 'men don't like a woman to be as brilliant (sic) you are' and '...do be more feminine! Don't shock him'
Although I cannot understand changing yourself so completely in order to have a man propose marriage, it seems like this behavior is brought on partially due to Helen's feelings of being old at the 'ripe old age' of thirty-six, and partially because she does have strong feelings for, and is attracted physically to, Maurice.
In the end, unsurprisingly, Maurice is looking for the woman he remembers, bold, opinionated, strong and confident. The reveal of Helen's true personality is a bit anticlimactic and expected, but perhaps a nice story for the time it was published.

Love

Oh, so very tragic and melodramatic! This one has parts that remind me of beloved later works, but falls short in the end. Mary is in love with Lord Farquhar (yes, that is really the name of the 'hero,') but is worried more about her brother Henry, who has 'fallen under the power' of Farquhar's wife, Sophia. Mary throws her happiness, Farquhar's happiness, heck, EVERYONE's happiness, out the window in order to reclaim her brother for whatever reasons which I am never comprehend. Society's opinion? The story starts out with Mary, saintly Mary, remarking that the gentleman's clubs are afire with gossip - how she would know this, I am not certain, nor why she thinks this would be news to Farquhar. She then begs him to win his wife back in order for her brother Henry to be free from... from what? From being known as having been with a married woman? What harm did that really do a man in that time? The only harm would have been to Sophia, and possibly a little embarrassment for Lord F.
I did not like any of the characters, the writing was too emotional and irrational for me to love, and even the attempt at a affecting tragedy was lost on me - I was just annoyed. Well, no, I did recognize the hero's storytelling in the final scene as a glimpse of the future denouement of These Old Shades, where Avon captures the room's attention and has his revenge on Leonie's father - a lovely trick that is even lovelier for it being used so sparingly. Overall, I think this was my least favourite of the stories.

On Such a Night
The Search for On Such a Night, is, as titled, the search for the above-named short story after a fleeting reference was found during research for this book. This followed Hyland's search for the story, which I enjoyed reading so much that I hesitate to spoil that pleasure for any other reader from the initial mention of it in Kloester's Heyer biography, to the discovery that it had been read aloud / broadcast on an Australian radio station in 1937, Hyland's pride in discovering new information about the story, how the stations would toss their vinyl archives into the river when their storage capacity was reached, to discovering the person who read the story on the radio and her personal life and romantic history (!) to her finally realizing that she needed to ask a librarian for help (well, duh!). Always remember to ask a librarian! And then discovering that it was not only read one night, for 15 minutes, but for months, for over 10 hours! And then later, that it was advertised as a 'romantic thriller' !!! Then the scathing letter about an interaction with an inconsiderate editor,
Hyland's joy in the hunt is evident, and was a lot of fun to read.

Overall, this was a nice collection, especially satisfying to find more 'new' Heyer reads.


*Thanks to the author for an advanced copy of the book.*

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting anthology of Heyer's contemporary short stories. The stories themselves are a mixed bag in quality, as GH was obviously working her way towards her own style.

What really makes this collection work is the introduction and afterword to each story. These editorial bits give the reader info on what GH was doing at the time she wrote the story, as well as offer theories on what might have prompted GH to write such a story. I actually enjoyed the editorial comments more than I enjoyed most of the stories.

Essential reading for die-hard Heyer fans.

BTW, my favorite story was the final one--The Old Maid. That story, coupled with all the commentary from Kloester and Hyland, made me glad I bought the book.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just for the Heyer completist. Short and inconsequent stories which are mostly interesting for seeing Heyer's development as a writer. I could have done without the commentaries on each story trying to tell me what to think.

[Marsha Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories are interesting, and some of them are even really good, because Georgette Heyer was always a great writer even if some of her early attempts are a bit clunky. But the 'commentary' is wonderful and what truly makes this collection worth reading!! I really loved the introductions about the time in which Heyer wrote the stories and the afterthoughts, giving the modern perspective on the 1920's ideas. The 'Search for On Such a Night' was a real hoot, literary detection at its bumbling finest.

I must say, I was also really touched by the story 'Love' which is a Georgian tragedy. I would have found it hard to believe it came from the pen of Heyer except that the hero was full of cutting wit like so many of her later ones.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every time I think I've read all the Georgette Heyer there is to read someone comes up with more - usually previously unpublished short stories. These are all very early, mostly contemporary stories, as the title says, and though early are still enjoyable with the recognizable Heyer stamp on them. They come with commentary before and after each story but you can skip that, as I did, and just enjoy.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two stories from this collection of early short fiction are outstanding and could pass as mature Heyer. These are "The Bulldog and the Beast" and the tragedy "Love". The others are interesting as samples from Heyer's early career, but only recommended to fans. That makes this book difficult to rate, but I'm giving it 4 stars as I'm glad I bought it. However I imagine that Heyer, who banned later publication of any of her novels which didn't measure up to her high standards, would not be impressed by seeing some of these short stories back in print.

I enjoyed Jennifer Kloester's introduction describing her quest to discover these unknown works, which involved searching through microfilms and more than 3000 physical magazines. But after reading a couple of the afterwords by Rachel Hyland, I decided to skip all these. And to avoid spoilers, I read the forewords by Kloester after each story.

If you are new to Georgette Heyer please don't start here. I suggest starting with "Arabella", "Frederica", or my favourite, the funny and unpredictable "Cotillion" which has grown on me with age.

[Maura Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unalloyed, unexpected delight, these nine early short stories (eight contemporaries and the "bonus" Georgian tragedy) make for fascinating, often very amusing reading. In addition, Jennifer Kloester's insightful introduction to each story really grounds it in the time and place in which it was written, and what was happening with Georgette Heyer at that time in her life, while Rachel Hyland's afterwords to each are often laugh-out-loud funny, discussing the peculiarities of the 1920s in general, and Heyer's romantic fiction in particular.

My favorite of the stories is "Whose Fault Was It?", which examines a marriage in its difficult early year, but other favorites include "The Old Maid", "A Proposal to Cicely", "Bulldog and the Beast" and "The Chinese Shawl." Georgette Heyer really is a consummate storyteller, and these works prove it beyond any doubt.

This book is absolutely a MUST-READ for all Heyer fans, and also for anyone interested in contemporary short fiction from the Golden Age of the medium.

[Eunice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only gave this two stars because of the absolutely snobbish, carping and generally unpleasant commentary before and after each story. The commentator was far too busy trying to make the reader see how very clever and erudite she was, and far, far above the dross of "women's magazine" stories. So one is left wondering why said commentator bothered at all. I soon got her measure and skipped all of her dull and boring, and "samey" mini essays and read only Ms Heyer's delightful stories. Which are, you know, no worse than the kind of thing that's published in "The People's Friend", "Yours", or "Women's Weekly" magazines. Grow up dear. Your inferiority complex is showing.

[Di Johnson-Dobbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heyer's stories are wonderful, the introduction is awful

I would recommend skipping the introductions and the bits after the stories that tear them apart. No idea who the person is who wrote them, but it's obvious she has a serious problem with envy. I was horrified to see the first one was so bitter, then skipped the rest.
Read Heyer's stories and decide for yourself if you like them.

[Margaret Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite entertaining early Heyer. Horrible commentary

These short stories make pleasant light reading. Heyer’s trademark humour and gentle satire make a showing.
The introductions and commentaries were irritating in their obtuseness and I gave up reading them after the first two stories. I would certainly never read anything by Ms Kloester

[Avril · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most enjoyable part of this book were the introductions and afterwords. These stories are very much juvenilia, although the juvenilia of a gifted writer. Heyer’s snobbery, which is forgivable in her historical novels, comes across appallingly in these contemporary stories. Only for completists.

[Lily Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a new fan of Georgette Heyer and I did not know much about her writing as a contemporary author, since I have only read her Regency novels and some of her other historical romances so far, but when I saw this collection released the other day, of course I had to buy it immediately, because I am not only a fan but am now obsessed with Heyer actually.

This is such a change from all of the novels I have read so far, but is also really excellent and I am so glad to have read it. Not only does it have nine short stories written in the 1920s, most of which are funny and sparky like Heyer's romances (except I didn't really enjoy the detective one), but there is also some fascinating "commentary" on the stories that gives a lot of information about the author herself, as well as looking at the stories in a very witty, often feminist, way. I really loved reading these expert opinions of Georgette Heyer, loved learning about her, and I especially loved that there are other books that explore both her life and her work by the same authors. I have already bought them all!

Whether you are a new Heyer fan like me or have been reading her for years, I think everyone will love reading these stories and the opinions surrounding them.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy the 8 stories in this book. No, they were not to the high standard that Heyer achieved in her heyday, but they hinted at the brilliance that was to come and at times reminded me of characters or storylines from the books I love and know so well. If Acting On Impulse had only consisted of the short stories, I would have given it 4 stars, which is another way of saying that the commentary did not really add anything positive to this book. Rather, I felt that it diminished the stories and generally detracted from them. There was some interest in the search made for On Such A Night - I particularly enjoyed reading Heyer’s letter which gave some insight into her, as a person - but the explanation dragged on way too long and went into all sorts of details that were really of no importance whatsoever.

In short, if you’re a Heyer fan and this book falls into your hands, I would recommend just reading the stories and doing nothing more than lightly glancing through the commentary.

[Susan Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the short stories, but Rachel Hyland doesn't seem to have enjoyed them nearly as much as I did. She nitpicks around the details and behavior of the protagonists and slams them - and then says the stories are still well written and worth the read. Really? They are well written and I enjoyed them. After all, what does she expect from a romance written in the 20s?
Her reviews and commentaries are after each story. If I read this again, I will skip her commentary.

[Chrisanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I prefer Pistols for Two. Most of these are contemporary stories and I like her "historical" stuff better.

Cicely was quite cute, though.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of nine short stories, eight contemporary and one historical, written when Georgette Heyer was in her early twenties. Some of the stories are more entertaining than others, The Bulldog and the Beast I thought particularly charming, and The Chinese Shawl is also very sweet. Whose Fault Was It? and The Old Maid are both quite amusing. Some of the others I found a bit weak, and the detective story, Lincke’s Great Case, I thought a little dull. There are rather tiresome introductions and afterwards in which the editors of this book grumble about the lack of feminist sensibility shown by the heroines of these stories, they seem to want the characters to be quite different to how they actually are. And there is one very odd mistake made when we are informed that the one million men from the Uk who died in WW1 made up 12 percent of the population. I am sorry, but the population of the UK just before WW1 was 43 million - I am not great at maths but even I know that 1 million is not 12 percent of 43 million. Anyway, I would say these stories are worth reading if you are a Heyer fan, but you might want to skip the introductions and afterwords.

[Jennifer]

Not as well written as her later works, these short stories were still fun to read. With the exception of Love, which I found depressing.

TBH, my gripe is the commentary from the editors. While sometimes it’s nice to hear the backstory of how they discovered these gems through painstaking research in archives, I didn’t care to hear the opinion on the stories themselves. I’m not interested in dissecting how the women are passive or how certain notions are terrible to modern sensibilities, nor in speculating about Georgette Heyer’s state of mind at the time, etc 🤷🏻‍♀️ for example, is it really all that disturbing to use your dads name for the male lead in a romance?

[RegencyGurl🐸 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Georgette Heyer’s novels and this was perfect if you are in the mood for a little bit of her work and not a in-depth story. I had read Snowdrift/Two Pistols before this and I think I like Acting on Impulse better. “Proposal to Cicely” was the best of the stories (it had that classic Heyer vibe with romance and some humor); “Love” was the worst because you weren’t happy when you finished it.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just discovered this, and enjoyed the short stories, some of which I had read in other collections. Spanning the length of Heyer's career, the quality is mixed but the commentary by Jennifer Kloester and Rachel Hyland is priceless. The Search for "On Such a Night" might have been tedious reading to some people, but as a researcher myself I found it fascinating as an example of the kind of stubborn persistence required for this kind of work.

[Alicia Marsland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting historical view if high-level author

Obviously, early writings are generally the best from an author. However, I enjoyed reading these short stories just for the fun of it, and.also learned a thing or two.

[Enson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five stars for the Heyer stories (all charming and very taking), one star for the commentary, which I almost entirely ignored, wisely. Enjoy this book for the selection of rare Heyer short stories. Many of them haven't been compiled before. Skip all the intros and commentary.

[Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Georgette Heyer and am glad I am finding these last stories. She is always funny and easy to read.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute stories with the signature Heyer blend of mystery and romance, but the book is about 60% commentary, 40% content

[bluerose]

This book is two different things: a collection of Georgette Heyer's fairly recently rediscovered short stories, and commentary on them by two other women. The very knowledgeable Jennifer Kloester, who has written wonderful books about the time period in which her novels are set and a biography of the lady herself, writes the introduction to each story. Rachel Hyland writes a short commentary following each story and the final essay.

My advice would be to skip Rachel Hyland's sections. And if you know me at all--and my refusal to read abridged versions of ANYTHING--you will realize what a strong statement my advising you to skip ANY part of a book is.

My favorite stories in the collection were: Bulldog and the Beast, Acting on Impulse, Whose Fault Was It?, Chinese Shawl, and The Old Maid.

[Mesembryanthemum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Georgette Heyer's early short stories rate an average of 3 stars (with a few 2.5s and two 4s). But whoever wrote the post-story summaries gets a 1.0. It's not clear which of the two editors/contributors wrote the text, even though they use the first person singular. What a tin-brained, oblivious reader! They ignored Heyer's subtle but important clues to the heroine's state of mind, then rushed to a mistaken assumption of sexism, emotional abuse and, in one extreme case, an Electra complex on the part of Heyer. I wish I had skipped the idiotic post-story text.

My thanks to the Minneapolis/Hennepin County Library for providing this ebook as a loan. I love my public library.