Regency Buck Group Read Jan 2018 Chapter 13-23

[Karlyne]

When I'm reading a more-or-less factual historical novel, I do like the quotes, especially when they're inserted casually into the dialogue. I agree that it can go too far and become more of a biography than a novel, but when the minor characters are also public characters, I like hearing from them in their own words.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Alathea wrote: "QNPoohBear wrote: "This is illuminating reading Heyer's books in order."

Isn't it? I hadn't realised that she'd written Regency Buck, An Infamous Army and then The Spanish Bride one after the other..."

Strictly speaking these three books weren't written one after the other http://www.abfar.org.uk/ref/?Author_n...

I got part way through Harry Smith's biography & yes - sadly GH did skate very close to plagiarism there. Hard not to, as Harry's very strong voice & personality shine through his writing. A most remarkable man. I only stopped reading as I don't really like reading online.

[Alathea]

Carol ☀ Walking in Sunshine wrote: "Strictly speaking these three books weren't written one after the other."

Sorry, I was going by a list of her romances rather than all her novels. If you take out the detectives and Royal Escape, it's Regency Buck - 1935, Talisman Ring - 1936, An Infamous Army - 1937 and The Spanish Bride - 1940. For some reason I'd assumed that she'd written AIA quite a bit later than RB - maybe because it seems very different in style, and the characters don't really seem to "flow" easily from one book to the next. (Whatever happened to Judith's "spirit"? She's definitely "dwindled into a wife".)

I downloaded Kincaid's books from Project Gutenberg ("Adventures in the Rifle Brigade" and "Random Shots from a Rifleman"). He comes across as a very engaging character. The other book I read which quotes a lot of the letters and memoirs of Peninsular War soldiers is Mark Urban's "Rifles: Six Years With Wellington's Legendary Sharpshooters".

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Come over to AIA spoilers thread, Alathea - I'll discuss Judith's character there! :)

[Critterbee❇]

I think she realized that she over did the dates, and the later books were indeed more subtle! Later books had casual references to past battles or to the death of a real person,

[MaryC]

Yes, gossip about events in the royal family. :) I think I mentioned these two tidbits a while back: in one novel (don't remember which) someone comments about the upcoming marriage of Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold, saying, that "a Saxe-Coburg hardly seems a suitable match for an heiress to the throne," and in another, set if not written a year or so later, there's a passing reference to the "marriages of the royal dukes." Tee he!

This poem may be of interest:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...

[Karlyne]

MaryC wrote: "Yes, gossip about events in the royal family. :) I think I mentioned these two tidbits a while back: in one novel (don't remember which) someone comments about the upcoming marriage of Princess Cha..."

Ye-ouch! That's a biting bit of poetry!