Georgette Heyer Fans discussion
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Sylvester Group Read May 2019 Chapters 1-14
I have the Harlequin edition from the 1990s. This book is one of my Heyer faves--I like Phoebe a lot, her combination of smarts and innocence--and the secondary characters like her fierce-but-romantic nanny and, of course, Sylvester's mother. Have read it countless times. I was good this time and didn't steal a march on the read--saving it for when I get home tomorrow.
I don’t know how many times this will be for me, third time I think. I’m alternating between reading my Harlequin edition my dear mom bought me
, and listening to the audiobook
. So much fun!
Oh my goodness, so excited for this one! One of my all time favourites and it will be so much fun to share reading it with you all. I absolutely love next months choice too. Let the GH party begin!My edition: the cover of my copy is half ripped from excessive reading! It was my Mum's originally. I think she decided to hand it over to me when she saw how dog eared it had become before I left home at 20.
Susan in NC wrote: "I don’t know how many times this will be for me, third time I think. I’m alternating between reading my Harlequin edition my dear mom bought me , and listening to the a..."That is a truly beautiful cover! She is too pretty for Phoebe though.
Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "HiJust getting the threads reading, but I will admit to having already completed my reread - I needed a little pick-me-up!
I have no idea how many times I have read this title. Could be as many ..."
A very good likeness of Phoebe.
I am not sure if I will re-read this time - I've read it so many times! And it is becoming less of a favourite for me as I age. I have this copy -
, which is famous for having a number of amusing misprints, and the only mention of Heyer's most diverse novel: Spring Muslim.
Rosina wrote: "I am not sure if I will re-read this time - I've read it so many times! And it is becoming less of a favourite for me as I age. I have this copy - , which is famous for..."Rosina wrote: "I am not sure if I will re-read this time - I've read it so many times! And it is becoming less of a favourite for me as I age. I have this copy -
, which is famous for..."My copy has a number of typos as well - it is dismaying how far back they go!
I no longer have a copy but it looks like my new library has an audio version via Overdrive so I need to get signed up for a library card!! I have read the book many times and enjoy it, although it's not in my top 5. but this will be my first audio version of any Heyer, so I hope it works out!
This will be my third time reading, the first being ages ago, the second was with this group I believe. The book grew on me between the first and second readings, so here's to seeing if it improves this time as well.I will be reading it on my kindle, with this cover:
I like it! It matches how I feel about the main characters.
Rosina, that's a hilarious typo! Right up there with the all-time ridiculous one--the newspaper that published a story about the airplane involved in dropping the Bomb on Japan, the "Enola Homosexual."
I've read this book but I don't remember anything. Is it the one where the heroine thinks the hero has an "eeeeeevil" look? I have rated it 3 stars.I don't re-read often and I'm going to skip this one.
Enjoy, and see you with "The Unknown Ajax" :-)
Jemima wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "I don’t know how many times this will be for me, third time I think. I’m alternating between reading my Harlequin edition my dear mom bought me , an..."I guess you’re right - I’m so used to these reprint covers being attractive, but having absolutely no bearing on the plot or characters (heck, often not even the right era of clothing!), that I don’t even look that closely! ;)
Jackie wrote: "I no longer have a copy but it looks like my new library has an audio version via Overdrive so I need to get signed up for a library card!! I have read the book many times and enjoy it, although it..."I hope you enjoy it, Jackie - I’m doing mostly audiobook through scribd this time, I’ve not had this narrator
before but he seems to be doing a pretty good job.
I only read this once, a long time ago, so that says to me I wasn't over fond of it. I'm looking forward to reading it though.My edition is
. These came out in lots of six years ago and I bought all the ones I was missing.
I read this last time we did a group read 2 years ago. It's one of my top 10 Heyers, mostly for the first half of the novel. I don't know if I have time to do a group read this time.
This is one of my top favourites and most re-read.I will probably read the Kindle version.
I checked out the audio version with my brand new library card and, curses! it's abridged! so I will check out the ebook, too, and do both. maybe it will be interesting to see what they took out.
Jackie wrote: "I checked out the audio version with my brand new library card and, curses! it's abridged! so I will check out the ebook, too, and do both. maybe it will be interesting to see what they took out."Oh that is frustrating!
But so happy to hear that you got a new library card!!:D <3 Libraries!
Yes, Moloch, it's the one with the demonic eyebrows! Sorry to hear you don't like it.
Abigail wrote: "Yes, Moloch, it's the one with the demonic eyebrows! Sorry to hear you don't like it."Oh, I liked it, it was ok.
Moloch wrote: "Abigail wrote: "Yes, Moloch, it's the one with the demonic eyebrows! Sorry to hear you don't like it."Oh, I liked it, it was ok."
I usually find even a non-favorite Heyer has better writing and more entertainment value than pretty much any other book I might be contemplating spending time with - especially the audiobooks (not abridged, I’ve done that before, so frustrating!). With a good narrator, it’s a whole new book - I sometimes notice secondary characters and situations I skimmed past previously.
Spot on Susan. I haven't started yet. Have a book to finish and I'm doing taxi service at the moment. My daughter is in South Pacific in the theatre in the city so I'm driving quite a bit. Not much time for anything else.
Teresa wrote: "Spot on Susan. I haven't started yet. Have a book to finish and I'm doing taxi service at the moment. My daughter is in South Pacific in the theatre in the city so I'm driving quite a bit. Not much..."God love you - you’re a good mum! Well, we’ll be here when you’re free to join us!
I don't have time to do the re-read, but I thought I would bring another of those hideous Ace paperback covers to your attention.This is the cover for my first copy of Sylvester
OMG! it is Doris Day with an upside-down flower pot on her head!!
Poor Phoebe, to be so misrepresented...
Barb in Maryland wrote: "I don't have time to do the re-read, but I thought I would bring another of those hideous Ace paperback covers to your attention.This is the cover for my first copy of Sylvester
[bookcover:Sylvest..."
That is horrible, but your flower pot is nicer than trash bin, my first thought...
LOL, Barb, you got it in one! I used to have that edition and now have an embarrassing pink book from Harlequin.
Barb, that cover is hysterical! And, Rosina, your book's typo was equally funny!This will be my fourth or fifth reading of Sylvester. I found April Lady to not quite be the five-star book I had previously thought it to be (partly due to the horrible audible narrator -- like nails on a chalkboard, but also rather unintentionally funny!), so THEREFORE, ....... I already skipped ahead and listened to the unabridged audio of Sylvester somewhere in the first part of April. And Sylvester definitely made up for April Lady's failures, it was just what I needed! Nicholas Rowe was the narrator and I found him to be quite good, but not as great as some other narrators. He tended to drop the volume of his voice sometimes and it was sometimes hard to differentiate who was speaking dialogue (I would have to click over to my whispersync/immersion kindle version to reread a passage or two). I also felt like he didn't always quite "get" or "feel" Heyer like some of the other narrators do. I also bought the abridged audible version narrated by Richard Armitage and that is what I will be listening to for this group read. Why, oh why, can't Armitage do full, unabridged recordings???!!! I'd pay top dollar for those!!
On a side note, since I've started listening to all these audio versions of Heyer's books I have come to realize I've been mispronouncing her name all these years!! I always thought it was "High-er" but evidently it is "Hay-er". Ooops!!! Aren't I just the country bumpkin!!
OK, while the abridged audio version I'm listening to seemed OK at first, I have the print version now, too, and I'm appalled by all that's left out.the very second scene where The Duke goes to visit his mother jumps right to him saying he has decided to get married, completely leaving out the part where he gets annoyed with his mother's companion Miss Penistone and I think that is too important a part to leave out. (view spoiler)
Jackie wrote: "OK, while the abridged audio version I'm listening to seemed OK at first, I have the print version now, too, and I'm appalled by all that's left out.the very second scene where The Duke goes to vi..."
Ugh! Why do celebrities (and Audible) keep putting out these half-baked, watered down versions of books??! I think I have two print copies of Sylvester on my shelves; maybe I'll take a marker to one of them and highlight all the parts they've cut out on this abridged audio just to visually see how awful it really is. (Or maybe I won't!
Now that I think about it, it sounds like a tedious project! 😊 )
I have always thought Ianthe was pronounced "Eye- Anth" but the narrator pronounces it "Eye -Anth - EE"
Jackie wrote: "I have always thought Ianthe was pronounced "Eye- Anth" but the narrator pronounces it "Eye -Anth - EE""I've always pronounced it the second way.
Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Jackie wrote: "I have always thought Ianthe was pronounced "Eye- Anth" but the narrator pronounces it "Eye -Anth - EE""I've always pronounced it the second way."
My cousin pronounces it Ee-anth-EE, but I also worked with a girl back in the 60's who pronounced her name Eye-anth-EE. It's a bit like Xanthe where you sound that last e as eee, and the X sounds more like a Z - Z-anth-EE.
Barb in Maryland wrote: "I don't have time to do the re-read, but I thought I would bring another of those hideous Ace paperback covers to your attention.This is the cover for my first copy of Sylvester
[bookcover:Sylvest..."
Thank you for sharing, Barb. Yes, it's hideous.
I have the pink Harlequin, one of the first ones I found when I started looking (for books by Heyer). I liked Sylvester a lot and I'd like to reread it, not sure I'll get to it this month, but I'll try.
My sone has an ‘Eye-anth-ee’ in his 11 year old class. She’s such a cutie and beautifully talented at piano. Love her old fashioned name. I know a Xanthe further up the school too. I wanted to call one of my sons ‘Sylvester’ but my hubby wouldn’t consider it. Instead I indulge myself with naming my standard poodles. The girl is Arabella and the boy is Beaumaris.
I'll be re-reading Sylvester in ebook -this one in fact:
. I have the same cover in trade paperback too. I also own this Harlequin paperback:
and I think that was the copy I read last year when I rediscovered it. Loved it! And was quite surprised by how much I'd forgotten. Why so many copies? Well, there was a time when finding copies of Georgette Heyer's books was not easy. I clung to the few I had in paperback, no matter how yellowed or disintegrated they have become. Then they started being issued in those beautiful trade paperback editions. I just bought them as they came out. Now of course, I've purchased my faves in ebook. I even have a few in audiobook although I'm not a fan of listening to books unless I'm driving long distances. Since I live and work in NYC, that doesn't happen so often.
I've only read Sylvester: Or the Wicked Uncle a couple of times - way back in my youth, and then again last year. I'm looking forward to revisiting! it's going to be a week or so before I can though. I'm in the middle of a library book that needs to be returned soon.
Jemima, you made me laugh! Your son will probably thank his father one day! I'm trying to think which Heyer character name would be the worst to give a child, but my brain is just too slow tonight.Cute dog names! I named one of my cats after a Dickens character, but the other dog and cat have no claims to fame.
Jackie wrote: "OK, while the abridged audio version I'm listening to seemed OK at first, I have the print version now, too, and I'm appalled by all that's left out.the very second scene where The Duke goes to vi..."
That is an excellent point about the scene with Miss Pennistone, Jackie. I've been struck on this reading with how well Heyer draws the complex layers of Sylvester's character. He can be enormously likable--as in our first glimpse of Sylvester deciding not to waylay his truant nephew--but then there is that other, much colder side!
Jemima wrote: "Susan I agree. Poor Drusilla. One of my favorite characters too. There were a few other spectacular ones. My first male white poodle was ‘Camille’ after the French Cousin in Cotillion. Everyone inc..."Hah, I do the same with names, associate them with similar words (I took a class in college called “Words, Words, Words” for one hour credit, but it was immensely popular because a very talented English professor made it so entertaining- he was teaching the roots of words and expanded our vocabularies, but we learned so much more!)
Hi we are getting a bit off topic here.:)Would anyone like me to start a thread for Heyer names?
Sometimes it's hard not to go off topic when you're discussing a book. One thing leads to another and it's like standing in front of someone and having a conversation. I understand though the need to keep things tidy.
Teresa wrote: "Sometimes it's hard not to go off topic when you're discussing a book. One thing leads to another and it's like standing in front of someone and having a conversation. I understand though the need ..."I know! :) But if other members want to use this thread in the coming months, if it is too far off topic it is a lot to wade through. :)
Happy to start Sylvester; I think this will be my 3rd read. My paperback has the same cover as the first photo posted by Theresa. I like to think of this as Phoebe leaning against the barn wall at the inn, wondering about the changes in Sylvester.
I've been going back and forth today listening and comparing the two audio versions. As much as I looooved Richard Armitage as Mr. Thornton in North and South, I honestly don't think he's really any better than the other narrator, Nicholas Rowe. They both have pros and cons in the way they do secondary characters. But I'm finding that even though Armitage's voice might be just a teeny tiny bit swoonier, it just doesn't make up for having to listen to an abridged version. I mean, one version is 11 hours long and the other is 5 hours long. That's some serious cutting!! Maybe for another book it would be okay, but I really don't want to miss any of Georgette Heyer's brilliance!
the abridged audio I am listening to is Richard Armitage and I like him, if only they hadn't cut out so much.I am surprised he does Tom Orde with a thick accent, wouldn't the son of the local squire have been taught The Queen's English instead of the local one?
Jane wrote: "I've been going back and forth today listening and comparing the two audio versions. As much as I looooved Richard Armitage as Mr. Thornton in North and South, I honestly don't think he's really an..."Exactly! I think Rowe does a very good job (and totally agree about swoony Armitage in North and South!)
Jackie wrote: "the abridged audio I am listening to is Richard Armitage and I like him, if only they hadn't cut out so much.I am surprised he does Tom Orde with a thick accent, wouldn't the son of the local squ..."
Good point - I know Heyer tells us the Squire plans to send Tom to Town at some future point to acquire some bronze, so he might still have a bit of a rustic accent (as Rowe does Tom), but I wouldn’t think he'd have a heavy accent...
Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Hi we are getting a bit off topic here.:)Would anyone like me to start a thread for Heyer names?"
Yes please - and names used in other Regency books (I have a bee in my bonnet about some of the names used by other authors which are not authentic for the time period)
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Georgette Heyer Fans
Books mentioned in this topic
Devil's Cub (other topics)Sylvester (other topics)
Sylvester, or The Wicked Uncle (other topics)
Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle (other topics)
Sylvester: or The Wicked Uncle (other topics)
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Just getting the threads reading, but I will admit to having already completed my reread - I needed a little pick-me-up!
I have no idea how many times I have read this title. Could be as many as 50, the last time being 2014.
This time I've read this cover.
So... how many times have you read this title? Or is it anyone's first time?
& what format are you using?
Remember - no open spoilers. Please use spoiler tags or post in the spoiler thread. We don't want to spoil a first read for anyone!