Georgette Heyer Fans discussion
Heyer in General
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Heyer Sequels Wishlist
Mary wrote: "So do I, Anne. You've probably read my gushing over Hugo on other threads. Right now I'm looking for an affordable audio of Ajax. Can anyone help?"Have you tried Audible ? they're part of Amazon.
Mary wrote: "So do I, Anne. You've probably read my gushing over Hugo on other threads. Right now I'm looking for an affordable audio of Ajax. Can anyone help?"I have yes! ;) I hadn't really heard of The Unknown Ajax before, but recently I have discovered that it is probably one of Heyer's best! I don't know about and affordable audio though ): Have you looked on eBay? They have really good deals sometimes.
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I've just re read the Black Sheep & my guess is GH didn't give Fanny & Oliver a sequel, because she didn't envisage them ending up together. After a London season, this beautiful heiress probably would have managed to secure a very eligible match.
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I've just gone back over this thread trying to place Fanny & Oliver in The Black Moth and of course it's Black Sheep! LOL
Ooops posted before my morning coffee! I'll edit my post!
I wonder if they might end up together , Fanny and Oliver, I mean Oliver was destined to do very well don't you think, even if it was Trade....
I think Fanny and Oliver would have eventually loved each other.
Barbara wrote: "I wonder if they might end up together , Fanny and Oliver, I mean Oliver was destined to do very well don't you think, even if it was Trade...."Always possible I guess - but Fanny looked on Oliver as a brother. I think Oliver would have loved Fanny for always, but I think Fanny would probably have married a wealthy aristocrat.
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@JennyMy sentiments about Oliver and Fanny exactly. I realized that 17 yr old fanny thought of Oliver as a brother at the time, but I thought there could be more between them in time.
Jenny wrote: "I think Fanny only looked on Oliver as a brother because she was so besotted with Stacy. I think we were meant to think of them eventually becoming an item, much as Emily in Bath Tangle was hinted ..."I realise now that I was actually confusing him with the nice young man connected to the wonderful Mrs Floore in Bath Tangle - Grayshott was his name? Sent back from India having done very well but got ill.
Thanks Jenny
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Thanks Jenny, I obviously need to go and do a re-read. Oh dear, what a chore....tee hee
I think Fanny and Oliver probably did get together.. I mean, I assume that was the intended takeaway. Also because Miles assures Abby that James would be fine with Fanny marrying Oliver.
I wouldn't know where to begin. With so many of my favorite characters I would just like to know that they remain in love and their relationship is still strong years later ... but as secondary characters in the background, because I'd hate to see a story where we would discover that they haven't really worked out their problems and which spoils the happy ending of the original book. Perhaps if she had written about the children in Frederica and The Grand Sophy and Sylvester, after they had grown-up, it would have worked.And yet when we see the Alistair and Taverner families again, in An Infamous Army I don't like how she handles the characters. Would she have done better with other beloved characters? So maybe it would have been a case of be careful what you wish for.
Teresa wrote: "And yet when we see the Alistair and Taverner families again, in An Infamous Army I don't like how she handles the characters. Would she have done better with other beloved characters? So maybe it would have been a case of be careful what you wish for. ..."I think that's a good point. Judging from her biography, Heyer wasn't very sentimental and I doubt if she really cared about her characters once she'd finished their book.
So, lots of scope for fan fiction?
I don't really like Heyer's mysteries , too dated and too riddled with a awful, awful class attitudes, but she did do a good sequel to the character of Terrible Timothy, a quite loveable though precocious schoolboy , who became a lawyer and an interesting character with an interesting wife in a later book. So sorry I forget the titles of both!
They Found Him Dead and Duplicate Death respectively, if I'm not mistaken. I'm sure about the latter because I recently reread it.
Teresa wrote: And yet when we see the Alistair and Taverner families again, in An Infamous Army I don't like how she handles the characters. It's been a long time since I read "An Infamous Army" but I remember being disappointed at how Judith was portrayed- dull & matronly.
@**Carol**I was disappointed with how Judith had turned out as well. Her personality had disappeared.
Andrea wrote, "I was disappointed with how Judith had turned out as well. Her personality had disappeared."I so agree with you! She reminded me about what my grandmother always used to say, that I should have a strong personality until I found a man who could dominate me, and then obey him. The comment had such a powerful influence on me that I never got married. I prefer my marriages to remain between the pages of a book!
Barbara wrote: "I don't really like Heyer's mysteries , too dated and too riddled with a awful, awful class attitudes, but she did do a good sequel to the character of Terrible Timothy, a quite loveable though ..."I do like her mysteries BECAUSE they are so true to the period. Actually, I discovered the mysteries before I found the others. The class attitudes were appropriate to the period; it does not mean we need to agree with them. Any fiction true to the period will mirror the attitudes of that time if it is any good.
Mary wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I don't really like Heyer's mysteries , too dated and too riddled with a awful, awful class attitudes, but she did do a good sequel to the character of Terrible Timothy, a quite ..."Hi, Mary! How are we going to tell ourselves apart? If you're new here, how about adding an initial or some stars to your name? Or if you've been here for a while and just haven't posted recently, just say so, and I'll be the one to add some distinguishing mark.
Mary said "I do like her mysteries BECAUSE they are so true to the period. Actually, I discovered the mysteries before I found the others. The class attitudes were appropriate to the period; it does not mean we need to agree with them. Any fiction true to the period will mirror the attitudes of that time if it is any good."Yes, I know that and I don't expect - or indeed want- - any author to be anachronistic in content or tone. I just observed that that particular aspect was why I didn't enjoy the mysteries as much.
Mary wrote: "Mary wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I don't really like Heyer's mysteries , too dated and too riddled with a awful, awful class attitudes, but she did do a good sequel to the character of Terrible Timot..."I've been here awhile but don't mind adding an initial to mine, but how do I do i? These just post automatically as "Mary." Sorry to sound stupid.
Mary wrote: I've been here awhile but don't mind adding an initial to mine, but how do I do i? These just post automatically as "Mary." Sorry to sound stupid. Not a case of being stupid at all - I've only just changed my display name because there was another Carol at another discussion group I visit & I still had to check how I did it! :D
On the top of the screen, on the right of your personal picture there is a little downward arrow. Click on that, then click on edit profile. The section you want to change is your display name. Change your name in that place only, then click on save profile settings right at the bottom. If you want to get fancy you can also change/add your personal picture before clicking save profile settings. The pic doesn't have to be one of you - I'm using one of one of the Tudors.
Hope this helps! :)
Maybe I'm the newer Mary on this site. I've been here just a little over two years. Anyway, I THINK I've just changed my site name to MaryC
I've been giving the matter a lot of thought, and decided that I would have enjoyed it very much if GH wrote a book in which Vincent Darracott falls in love and is semi-reformed (and by that I mean that he settles down and is faithful to one woman but doesn't lose his edge -- rather like the married Duke of Avon).I know there was some talk earlier in this thread about pairing him off with Tiffany Wield because they deserve each other, and agree that it would be fun to see them face off, but I think it would be very little trouble for him to put her firmly in her place. (Which would be both gratifying and amusing, but not take long enough to fill a whole novel.) So I'd like to see Vincent meet a more worthy opponent, a woman who could hold her own against him and present a challenge . . . until they both fall in love.
Teresa wrote: "I've been giving the matter a lot of thought, and decided that I would have enjoyed it very much if GH wrote a book in which Vincent Darracott falls in love and is semi-reformed (and by that I mean..."Yes I think I agree. Vincent would be awful to and for Tiffany Wield. I know she would too, but he would be so much better, more clever at it.
In many ways I quite like Vincent. he is not so bad that he must have Tiffany! I agree that would be a great book, seeing the partial reform of Vincent Darracott.
Janhavi wrote: "In many ways I quite like Vincent. he is not so bad that he must have Tiffany! I agree that would be a great book, seeing the partial reform of Vincent Darracott."Yes. Maybe Hugo could settle a small estate on him once he becomes Lord Darracott, so that he had a secure income of his own. I do feel that most of what ails him and makes him so bitter and touchy is that he hates feeling beholden to his parents and grandfather, and at their whim, and is so jealous of Claude because he is free. Of course Hugo wouldn't be able to break up the entailed Darracott lands, but he could afford to give Vincent something he purchased from his own money, and Vincent might be persuaded to accept it fro Hugo as head of the family. I think it could be the making of Vincent!
excellent idea, who is going to write it? (is it legal to use someone else's characters?)
HJ wrote: "Janhavi wrote: "In many ways I quite like Vincent. he is not so bad that he must have Tiffany! I agree that would be a great book, seeing the partial reform of Vincent Darracott."Yes. Maybe Hugo..."
I agree with your assessment of Vincent's character. Being constantly dependent on someone is damaging to him. I would have thought that maybe his mother(who seems really intelligent)might settle an income on him to do with as he pleases.
Jackie wrote: "excellent idea, who is going to write it? (is it legal to use someone else's characters?)"The author may have to have the permission of the estate. Sophie Hannah (sp) had permission from The Christie family for the Monogram Murders.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/bo...
I have the above on my to read list here, but am thinking about removing it, both because of poor reviews & because I think Christie wrote the book she wanted to be the finale.
I think GH is the only one who could have done it justice.
I agree, Teresa. Heyer's use of language is so characteristic (and one of the things I love most about her books), and something I suspect it would be very hard for another writer to reproduce.
Me too. I am very wary of sequels written by contemporary authors. Even that admirable author PD James did a poor job, IMHO, with Death Comes to Pemberley, her P & P sequel.
I think my first request for our dear GH would be for another chapter in The Nonesuch.It probably makes me a bad person but I want to see Tiffany's face when she finds out Ancilla and Waldo are married.
I'd also love a chapter of Waldo meeting Ancilla's family or her meeting his mother.
Barbara wrote: "Me too. I am very wary of sequels written by contemporary authors. Even that admirable author PD James did a poor job, IMHO, with Death Comes to Pemberley, her P & P sequel."I liked the first couple of Flashman novels - but Flashman was only a minor character in Tom Brown's School Days - which I've never read.
Barbara wrote: "Me too. I am very wary of sequels written by contemporary authors. Even that admirable author PD James did a poor job, IMHO, with Death Comes to Pemberley, her P & P sequel."I agree.
But I think we're only funning, aren't we, and not seriously suggesting that someone should actually write a Heyer continuation. Maybe some fanfic...
I have always thought that a good book leaves you wanting more - but I'm not interested in fanfic at all.I have read sequels written by other authors and novels based on various classics and they have been a mixed bunch - good, bad and total rubbish. I actually wrote a short blog post of my thoughts on sequels to Pride & Prejudice.
& every time I see this thread somehow I read the title as Heyer Squeals Wishlist
Barbara wrote: "Me too. I am very wary of sequels written by contemporary authors. Even that admirable author PD James did a poor job, IMHO, with Death Comes to Pemberley, her P & P sequel."I read the first couple of chapters and put it down forever. I might not have hated it if it had been on its own and not an Austen continuation, but since it was...
"Heyer Squeals Wishlist", Jay-me, cracked me up. I just can't imagine her squealing!
It may be that she's somewhere in the hereafter squealing (and not in a good way) about our ideas for sequels. If she is, then perhaps you're reading the thread title the right way after all.Having suggested one of those ideas, I hope not.
I haven't had much pleasure reading sequels to favorite books or series written by other hands. I tried to read a couple of sequels to Jane Austen's books, written by Joan Aiken, and was disappointed. Also Leon Garfield wrote the "missing" chapters for Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens. I had great hopes for these because I like both authors. Garfield in particular, because his own books have a Dickensian flavor. I don't think they tried to imitate Austen's or Dickens's style, which I suppose was good because it might have come across as parody, but I wish what they produced had been in a style that was closer than it was, and they each missed the author's voice entirely, I thought, which I consider much worse.
So I wouldn't really want anyone writing and publishing Heyer sequels (and I sincerely doubt her heirs would allow it). I'm just daydreaming about what I would have liked had she lived to do it herself.
Teresa wrote: "It may be that she's somewhere in the hereafter squealing (and not in a good way) about our ideas for sequels. If she is, then perhaps you're reading the thread title the right way after all.Hav..."
I have very much enjoyed the Carrie Bebris books in the spirit of Jane Austen. Did not like the P.D. James book, however. In a way, it is probably easier to channel Jane Austen than Heyer. If trying to do Heyer, you would have to be able to replicate the slang, and I doubt that anyone could do that well.
If trying to do Heyer, you would have to be able to replicate the slang, and I doubt that anyone could do that well.That is very true. Heyer also used a third-person omniscient viewpoint, which seems to have fallen out of favor nowadays -- particularly in the romance field.
Teresa wrote: "It may be that she's somewhere in the hereafter squealing (and not in a good way) about our ideas for sequels. If she is, then perhaps you're reading the thread title the right way after all.Hav..."
Yep, if she'd lived another 50 years, and kept writing at her own high level, well, then, I'd be happy!
Mary wrote: If trying to do Heyer, you would have to be able to replicate the slang, and I doubt that anyone could do that well.Actually, you can find a lot of the slang (and the definitions, when it's not entirely clear in the context of the novel) in the 1811 DICTIONARY OF THE VULGAR TONGUE. A DICTIONARY OF BUCKISH SLANG, UNIVERSITY WIT, AND PICKPOCKET ELOQUENCE. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5402 As you can see, even the title of the dictionary is a delight, and I recommend it to readers of Heyer just for the fun of it.
But I was somewhat taken aback when I first came across it to realize how vulgar (in the sense of common or lower class) many of GH's aristocratic characters can be when they speak. ( And not just the men.) But the book also translates some of the more obscure thieves cant.
Teresa wrote, "I was somewhat taken aback when I read it to realize how vulgar…I've read that it was somewhat of a fashion for fashionable young men to mingle with lower-class company and adopt their forms of speech; but I'm not sure how much the slang terms were lower-class, per se, as that they were forms of popular (transitory) expression--like when in the 1990s everybody used the word "phat" for a few years--not classical educated English. Phat came out of a particular subculture, but wasn't considered offensively vulgar, merely of the moment.
Georgette Heyer Fans
Books mentioned in this topic
Black Sheep (other topics)The Foundling (other topics)
They Found Him Dead (other topics)
Duplicate Death (other topics)
The Unknown Ajax (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jude Morgan (other topics)Barbara Metzger (other topics)
Sheri Cobb South (other topics)
Regina Scott (other topics)
Carola Dunn (other topics)
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LOL! I don't know if they are a good match but it would be fun to watch the sparks fly!!