Georgette Heyer Fans discussion
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Friday's Child 2018 Read Chapters 1-12
This is not one of my favourites and we haven't long read it so I'm going to follow the discussion but not read it again this time.
I read this one with the group a couple years ago, but it is fun and funny and I look forward to starting it in a few days, after I finish Miss Buncle. I’ve got the Kindle version.
Oh lordy, it has been a bazillion years since I last read this (like sometime in the 1960s!). It will be oh so interesting to see what my geezer self thinks of it vs what I remember of my 20 year old self's reaction.
Chapter I - Okay I'm going to call it. Isabella Milbourne is the best incarnation of young, spoilt beauty in any of GH's books. She knows her worth is in her looks and birth, she knows she is dominating society and her and her mama know they are consciously on the catch for a husband during this brief period of time when she is the rage of town and is known as 'The Incomparable'. Thoroughly delicious.
Oh, I loved the opening scenes. I agree with Belinda, Miss Milbourne is very aware of what's what. Sherry, on the other hand, is clueless!
I picture her looking like Scarlett O'Hara but being a lot more shrewd.
Belinda wrote: "I picture her looking like Scarlett O'Hara but being a lot more shrewd."Scarlett O'Hara is far too bumptious for Isabella, surely! I see her as Grace Kelly - cool, poised, and being courted, if not by a Prince, by a Duke.
I like Isabella very much, she is magnificent. Sherry, in comparison, bounces around like a overgrown child. Does not show himself to advantage, certainly.
I have read it many times and I like it a great deal. I am reading a paperback that is falling to pieces and it's got a photo I dislike on it. Mostly, it's the cheesy grin of the gentleman, while the lady looks disapproving and is toting what I assume is a striped "bandbox".She looks too old, to me, and I do not see a "heart-shaped face".
Isabella is wonderful and, if spoiled, she is still very likable.
I forgot to say this is my, well I don't know how many times I have read it, just many times, This time I am reading the 2008 Sourcebooks edition
with a wilting, woeful lady on the cover.
This book is a favourite of mine - read many, many times.Will be starting today.
❇Critterbee wrote: "I forgot to say this is my, well I don't know how many times I have read it, just many times, This time I am reading the 2008 Sourcebooks edition
with a wilting..."she certainly is wilting, the poor thing!
my cover is the middle photo - too small to appreciate the cheesy grin on what I assume is Sherry. how do you post the pic without having to link to it?
https://janeaustensworld.files.wordpr...
I'm going to take part in this one. Hopefully I'll have the time. It's been a long time since I read it so looking forward to it.
I've got the same version as Critterbee, hard copy and kindle, so no excuses for me not reading it! :) I'm looking forward to reading this again for the third ( or fourth??) time. I'm guessing it's been at least five or more years since I read it last -- no comparison to Barb's bazillion years!!! I don't remember it being one of my favorites even though I gave it five stars (all Heyer romances get five stars from me whether they really deserve them or not!). In my little memory-loss-peabrain I get this one mixed up with Cotillion; I remember not loving one of those two books nearly as much as all my friends did.
Jackie wrote: "how do you post the pic without having to link to it? "Above the comment box, there is an option to 'add book/author.' Type in the title and browse through the 'other editions' option under the correct book to find the cover that you want to post. At the bottom of the pop up window is the option to choose to add a link or a cover.
This will only work if Goodreads has the picture in their records for the specific cover you would like to add. I did not see the picture that you linked, but linking the picture worked just fine in this instance.
*I use my chromebook for Goodreads, so I am not sure if this is possible on a phone or kindle app.*
Teresa wrote: "I'm going to take part in this one. Hopefully I'll have the time. It's been a long time since I read it so looking forward to it."Yay! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Hero, Isabella, Sherry, Gil, George, Ferdy and company!
Jane wrote: "...I get this one mixed up with Cotillion; ..."Jane, I have gotten the two confused as well! Hero and Kitty are both short, dark haired, young, a bit naive and beautiful.
There are some other similarities that may be spoilers for both books, so I will not list them here.
❇Critterbee wrote: "Jane wrote: "...I get this one mixed up with Cotillion; ..."Jane, I have gotten the two confused as well! Hero and Kitty are both short, dark haired, young, a bit naive and beautiful."
Adding to the confusion is the fact that Hero is nicknamed 'Kitten' and spends a goodly part of 'Friday's Child' being called that, rather than Hero, in conversations.
Barb in Maryland wrote: "Adding to the confusion is the fact that Hero is nicknamed 'Kitten' and spends a goodly part of 'Friday's Child' being called that, rather than Hero, in conversations..."That's right, Kitten and Kitty!
I’m just in chapter two, but Bella and Hero have already reminded Sherry of him boxing their ears or slapping them when they were younger, and he’s shocked!But his scene with his mother and uncle were hilarious...enjoyed it last read, enjoying it again, but I’m reminded, as another member has pointed out, that Sherry is selfish and immature, but also can be a bit of a brute....
I've just started it and I'm already laughing out loud. Long time since I read it so it'll be like a new one for me. I started off with an old Pan Paperback edition but the print is very small so I've switched to kindle. Handy to have the paperback to flick over and back to if I need to check back on something.
Sophronia!!!!!!!! Good God what was the woman who named her thinking. Teresa doesn't seem so bad after all even though I've always disliked it.
That would’ve been tough to learn to spell, I think!
❇Critterbee wrote: "Barb in Maryland wrote: "Adding to the confusion is the fact that Hero is nicknamed 'Kitten' and spends a goodly part of 'Friday's Child' being called that, rather than Hero, in conversations..."..."
oh, Kitty (for Katherine, was it?) and Kitten - I never realized how similar they are. but Freddy is very different from Sherry!
and thanks for the info, Critterbee
I used to own a copy with this cover, I really like her outfit
Sophronia, Eudora, Valeria. You can always tell the baddies by their clunky names
I'm on chapter seven. To me Sherry and Hero are like two children playing house. They haven't a clue between them but oh my, some of Sherry's utterances make me laugh.
Belinda wrote: "Sophronia, Eudora, Valeria. You can always tell the baddies by their clunky names"I used to be a huge fan of the Victorian mysteries of Anne Perry, and I remember a character named Zenobia - yowza!
Teresa wrote: "I'm on chapter seven. To me Sherry and Hero are like two children playing house. They haven't a clue between them but oh my, some of Sherry's utterances make me laugh."That’s exactly what I was thinking! Thank goodness for Gil and Ferdy having some sense of style or propriety, and of course, the common sense of Mr. Stoke! Otherwise, I’m afraid they’d be living in a barn of a hose with no servants, two chairs and a wine cellar...
I remember thinking when I last read this that Gil and Ferdy will be pretty good husbands after this adventure, being dragged along to play house with Sherry and Hero. It’s like they’re getting to practice playing husband, and their shock at much of Sherry’s behavior gives me hope.
Susan in NC wrote: "I used to be a huge fan of the Victorian mysteries of Anne Perry, and I remember a character named Zenobia - yowza!"Susan
I love the name, as she was a famous and powerful queen of Syria.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenobia
However, it would take a strong and confident woman to carry the name. Certainly not the name for a schoolroom chit.
And when ever I see the name Eudora I automatically attach the surname Welty. (Famous 20th C writer from the US South, one of my faves, especially for 'The Robber Bridegroom')
Lol! Very true, Barb, Zenobia couldn’t be a wimp...Eudora is always Welty to me too!Thanks for the info! ;)
Susan in NC wrote: "Belinda wrote: "Sophronia, Eudora, Valeria. You can always tell the baddies by their clunky names"I used to be a huge fan of the Victorian mysteries of Anne Perry, and I remember a character name..."
Ha! Thats a bit close to xenophobia
Susan in NC wrote: "Teresa wrote: "I'm on chapter seven. To me Sherry and Hero are like two children playing house. They haven't a clue between them but oh my, some of Sherry's utterances make me laugh."That’s exact..."
Gil and Ferdy seem quite shy. Its good for them to hang out with Kitten. Perhaps the fact they have been in 'all boy' schools does them a disfavour when mixing with the opposite sex. They treat them like creatures from outer space!
Belinda wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Belinda wrote: "Sophronia, Eudora, Valeria. You can always tell the baddies by their clunky names"I used to be a huge fan of the Victorian mysteries of Anne Perry, and I remem..."
Omg, you’re right, that would be unfortunate for a girl named Zenobia, but if you were her parent, at least you’d know she had very literate friends if they picked up on that!
Belinda wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Teresa wrote: "I'm on chapter seven. To me Sherry and Hero are like two children playing house. They haven't a clue between them but oh my, some of Sherry's utterances make me l..."True- in Leicestershire, on the “honeymoon” Heyer even writes they’d all become quite comfortable with each other and treated Kitten like a younger sister!
Hi susan - they do seem to 'box her ears' all the time. Never having had brothers myself I'm not to sure about that. Mind you sisters do (as children) get pretty full on with each other - not quite wrestling around the floor but I'm sure there were a few belts of each other.
Belinda wrote: "Hi susan - they do seem to 'box her ears' all the time. Never having had brothers myself I'm not to sure about that. Mind you sisters do (as children) get pretty full on with each other - not quite..."I've never had my ears boxed but I imagine it would really hurt. It must have seemed less of an assault to GH???
Belinda wrote: "Hi susan - they do seem to 'box her ears' all the time. Never having had brothers myself I'm not to sure about that. Mind you sisters do (as children) get pretty full on with each other - not quite..."Hey, Belinda - I had one brother and three sisters, we’d argue but the age spread was enough where it was mostly sniping at each other, my parents wouldn’t allow hitting! My oldest sister could be rather mean with the teasing...
Carol, I agree, I’m not quite sure what boxing of ears consists of, but it sounds painful!
Wasn't that how Beethoven became deaf?
sob, sob & sniff, sniff. This is the very last of the GH books that I have not read. Nothing more to look forward to.Sherry seems a bit of a careless, doltish, insensitive young man. One thing that I do like is how he treats his manipulative uncle and mother. It drives me crazy in GH novels how way is given to these vaporish, hypochondriac mothers.
I’m looking forward to Sherry’s transformation, but not where his mother and uncle are concerned.
Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "sob, sob & sniff, sniff. This is the very last of the GH books that I have not read. Nothing more to look forward to..."That is an unpleasant place to be in, but think of the re-reading!
I'm half way through and even though I've laughed out loud I think all in all it's a bit of a silly novel. George is ridiculous. I'd love to 'box his ears' for him. Thought the duel was nonsensical but I'm certainly enjoying it so far.
Might pass on April's read. I'm still just in the early reading of March's read. I'm not a fast reader, have others I'm reading as well in addition to family.
Yes Elizabeth it isn't easy to fit everything in. I had to pass on March's read. Just couldn't find the time.
This was my first Heyer and my copy is the Pan version. I have read it so many times, as I usually pull it out at least once a year. In many ways it is not a romance, more a coming of age story.
I'm late to the party, but I'm in between books, so I thought I'd give it a quick re-read. My previous thoughts are somewhat confirmed in that Sherry and Hero are not my favorite hero/heroine, but I just met Ferdy and Gil again, and I do adore them! I agree, Carolm, that this is more a coming of age story than a "romance". I'd love to meet Ferdy, especially, in real life. I could just follow him around, laughing hysterically.
Oh, my good gracious me! The Wedding! The Wedding Dinner! How much fun did Heyer have writing all that dialogue? As much fun as I have reading it, I wonder?And it's all so very vivid that I can see it as an amazing film, a truly perfect one.
I thought Ferdy was great too. He was so funny and away with the fairies at times.
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This is one of my favorites! I am looking forward to hearing how everyone feels about the book.
Is this anyone's first read? How many times have you read it? What format are you reading?