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Georgette Heyer:A Critical Retrospective Group Read Jul-Sept 2019 Part 1
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Thanks, Carol!I have previously read A Proposal for Cicely, and am starting on the Rhino essay.
Critterbee❇ wrote: "Thanks, Carol!I have previously read A Proposal for Cicely, and am starting on the Rhino essay."
The Rhino essay is the one I particularly want to read!
A Proposal for Cicely, for me, has no likable characters and very little depth. As a loose outline, it could have been developed into a novel, with more story and character development to round it out. It was first published in 1922, when she was 20, and still growing her writing skills.
I'll mention that two of the short stories - Runaway Match & Pursuit- are in next month's read Snowdrift and Other Stories so if you haven't read those stories, proceed with caution!I've read a Proposal to Cicely before. Love the name Cicely Carruthers. Such a 1920s name. Other than that, the kindest thing you can say about this story is that GH was very young when she wrote it. & at her most class conscious.
Since we are just at the start of this read I will spoiler this exchange between Cicely & Richard(view spoiler)
I gave this slight story 2★ the time I read it & I still think that was fair.
If you want to read this story & don't have the Fahnestock-Thomas book, here is the link to the online versionhttps://janeaustensworld.wordpress.co...
The site has fixed up the awful formatting now. It was just about unreadable before!
Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "I'll mention that two of the short stories - Runaway Match & Pursuit- are in next month's read Snowdrift and Other Stories so if you haven't read those stories, proceed with caution..."True, so maybe I will leave any more discussion of those stories for that discussion.
As for Cicely Carruthers, in response to your (view spoiler)
As for The Horned Beast of Africa, the essay about Rhinos, I found it to be informative. It is an honest light analysis of encountering and living adjacent to an incredibly terrifying animal. I wonder if non-fiction writing was challenging to or less enjoyable for her, because of the somewhat dry theme of non-fiction writing at the time?At any rate, I found no fault with Heyer's writing style, it was honest and to the point. The essay did show her fear of the animals, which lessened a bit due to constant exposure. I did not enjoy reading about the destruction of the rhinos, in part because I was looking at it with my 21st century eyes. Also, my lack of experience being vulnerable to large animal attack. If my life were threatened regularly by the beasts, maybe I would feel differently? The only run-in I ever had was like Claud in the Unknown Ajax, with a wild boar. And that was not even seriously threatening, merely camping near one prowling about in Germany.
What an impression - beasts 6 feet /180 cm tall and 4,000 to 5,000 pounds/ maybe (2200kg?), running at 30+ mph/50+ kmh per hour! Imagine waking up to one in your village!
Rhinoceroses are so majestic, at least in pictures and when viewed from a safe distance at animal preserves and the North Carolina Zoo. The Zoo has recently seen the birth of a white rhino, and has 7 living in their viewable rhino habitat. The older rhinos stay at the off-viewing retirement village, and this year Stanley died at 49 years, a grand old age for a rhino!
*edited to correct rhino birth from 2 to 1 at the NC Zoo*
Critterbee❇ wrote: "As for The Horned Beast of Africa, the essay about Rhinos, I found it to be informative. It is an honest light analysis of encountering and living adjacent to an incredibly terrifying animal. I won..."I read this last night & I'm going to reread today. The writing is good & as far as the killing of magnificent animals go - I've just finished a book about NZ birds which makes pretty shameful reading. :(
I wonder if there are later criticisms (in this book) of the Rhino essay. I really found the writing style quite readable; how would it have compared to similar essays printed at that time?I also wonder why she did not include any novels based in Africa. Did she feel like she was not enough of an expert, only living there two years? It must have taken a lot of time and study for her to achieve the level of knowledge of English history and history of daily life that she showed in her novels. She did write a few that took place outside of England, mainly France, and often from the viewpoint of an English visitor. Her confidence in her knowledge really shows in her (non-contemporary) novels, and allows her to really have fun with story-telling and characterization.
Or was she not interested in her African surroundings? She wrote a lot while in Africa, but apparently very little about Africa. In fact, there are numerous references to India, but not a lot to the English in Africa. That is historically correct for the Regency and Georgian time period, and I am not sure whether she wrote about Africa in her contemporaries - I have only read Barren Corn. Was she hiding away from her location? Too taken with writing, oblivious to the outside world like Augustus Fawnhope?
I think I remember the mother of a semi-main character in one of the mysteries returning after being off in Africa - some intrepid, independent woman. Was it They Found Him Dead?
I just realized that Cicely is not in Snowdrift, and I must have read it from the online source instead of the short story collection. I can see the similarity to plays by Noel Coward, and it would show much better on the stage than it reads as a short story. The characters are over the top, and the right actors could make Cicely more charming than she comes across in the story. A bit more like Delysia from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
Critterbee❇ wrote: "I think I remember the mother of a semi-main character in one of the mysteries returning after being off in Africa - some intrepid, independent woman. Was it They Found Him Dead?"
I think so - it was the mother of "terrible Timothy" who was then the hero (Timothy) later in Duplicate Death
Jackie wrote: "...I think so - it was the mother of "terrible Timothy" who was then the hero (Timothy) later in Duplicate Death"Ah! Thanks, Jackie, it has been a minute since I read that one, though I did like it.
I'm home from vacation and have just read A Proposal for Cicely. I agree with you all that most of the characters are not very likeable. But Richard is fun. I think it shows that the young Heyer had read Oscar Wilde. Bill the bull terrier is later reprised in Death in the Stocks.
Diane wrote: "I'm home from vacation and have just read A Proposal for Cicely. I agree with you all that most of the characters are not very likeable. But Richard is fun. I think it shows that the young Heyer ha..."GH did indeed like bull terriers. They appear in a few of the mysteries.
I reread Runaway match last night. I haven't checked my previous review, but this time anyway I felt there was a good idea for a novella there that didn't really work as a short story.
I finished the two other 'non-fiction' essays, Books about the Brontes and How to be a Literary Critic - and I am impressed. Will hold off on discussing them until you read them.Just, they were not what I expected!
Pursuit.Again, I haven't checked my previous review, but this seems very similar to other works of GH. Not bad, but not good either.
I enjoyed both GH's articles. This is helped by me not being a Bronte fan Unlike GH, I loved Jane Eyre, but I've never been able to get through the other novels.The second one underlines my very firm belief that GH would have hated Goodreads! :D
Oh, the witty snark! I went in with my eyes open, not realizing it was about to slay pompous lit critics. I enjoyed it, partly because it is true. I am starting the reviews now.I was always confused by the enormous collection (meters of volumes!) of literary critiques at my uni library and even after. Why did people want to read the critiques of literary works rather than the original works? And then after reading the original work, why are people so interested in what others think of the same work? To find out how others feel to help them figure out how they feel?
I admire the Brontes so much, they are quite a romantic family. And I did like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, and now must go read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
Critterbee❇ wrote: "Oh, the witty snark! I went in with my eyes open, not realizing it was about to slay pompous lit critics. I enjoyed it, partly because it is true. I am starting the reviews now.I was always confu..."
I may try Anne Bronte again. But no, life is too short for Wuthering Heights!
I would love to add a quote from the Literary Critics article to the data base. I think I will!
I'm looking forward to the reviews section. More because it will help me understand how GH felt about the reviews she received.
Critterbee❇ wrote: "Ooh what quote?"The last paragraph - but there were other quotable parts as well. :)
I confess that the only Bronte book I have read is Jane Eyre and the last time at least 20 years ago. I tried Wuthering Heights and gave up. I liked the last 2 sentences of Heyer's essay about the sisters having fun seeing all the competing theories about them.
But I read Wuthering Heights in 9th grade, and the doom, gloom, raging passion and sulky bleakness of it just suited my 13 year old self to a tee!
I loved Jane Eyre and Villette as a child but as an adult reader just wanted to snarl, "Pulp fiction!" Just read The Professor, a juvenile effort but mercifully short. Anne is the only Bronte for me, I'm afraid!
Mod
Um ... isn't that a rather strange question to ask in a reading group? ;-)
Jenny wrote: "Critterbee❇ wrote: "...after reading the original work, why are people so interested in what others think of the same work..."Um ... isn't that a rather strange question to ask in a reading group? ;-)
That is true, although I guess I feel like it is much more interesting to discuss how everyone felt about the books than to read about 'how I am meant to feel' about the works. More like a two way street here.
Also, people in this group are not pretentious or trying to tell others how to think about the group reads.
I don't own this book. Tried to get it but it was a bit pricey. However I'm going to dip in and out of the conversation because I find it fascinating what you've been discussing. Have to admit Anne Bronte is my fav too.
Teresa wrote: "I don't own this book. Tried to get it but it was a bit pricey. However I'm going to dip in and out of the conversation because I find it fascinating what you've been discussing. Have to admit Ann..."
Yes because it was self published in the States I think it will be pricey for the rest of us.
I forgot to mention before, but I'm a bit disappointed in Fahnestock-Thomas's tone. She seems a bit defensive about her love of Heyer.
I got that feeling, too!In the intro, Fahnestock-Thomas is a bit dismissive, and there is a touch of a 'well I picked up my first GH book as a joke' vibe. Also, the feeling that she wrote this book in spite of the fact that Heyer does not really deserve scholarly respect...(her words, not mine!)
Oh?! That wouldn't impress me at all! Surely if you write a book about someone it's because you admire them and want to spread the word!
It is a bit trying to read review after review!
Teresa wrote: "Oh?! That wouldn't impress me at all! Surely if you write a book about someone it's because you admire them and want to spread the word!"It was published in 2001 & if you read romances in public then you were ridiculed. It always amazed me how near strangers thought they had the right to criticize my tastes.
And of course the criticism is for something that is seen to be enjoyed by women - as Archivist Steve Ammidown and Sarah Wendell have said:women's writing and writing about women's writing has always been devalued.
It is the same for most entertainment enjoyed by women: movies, music, art... Anything that might be from a female perspective.
Romcoms are said to be enjoyed more by women then men, and also that they have little value. And how often have you heard a women defensively scorn Romcoms as if they were tasteless or embarrassing to enjoy them?
And even when we don't buy into the denigration, we feel we have to react to it! I just caught myself doing exactly that in reviewing a very good novel "written for women," Evvie Drake Starts Over. It's one I think many Heyer fans would enjoy, though its style is very different.
thank you, Abigail, I will look for it.
Abigail wrote: "And even when we don't buy into the denigration, we feel we have to react to it! I just caught myself doing exactly that in reviewing a very good novel "written for women," [book:Evvie Drake Starts..."By Linda Holmes! Thanks for the reco, Abigail, I have added it to my tbr.
Ha! I've probably said this before, but when visitors came to our home I think they thought the romances belonged to my mother & me. We read them - but Dad bought them!Towards the end of his life he was reading almost exclusively modern romances & rereading Georgette Heyer.
I just reread "A Proposal for Cicely" in "Acting on Impulse" in the new short-story collection curated by Jennifer Kloester. Kloester has an introduction and afterword to this (and every story in the collection.) Kloester puts the story in perspective of the time and of Heyer's witing career. She discusses the importance of class in the story and in Heyer's work. Very interesting addition to the story.
I'm looking forward to reading this one Diane.
Teresa - me too. I am going to try to read them slowly and savor them rather than gulp them down in one day
Georgette Heyer Fans
Books mentioned in this topic
Evvie Drake Starts Over (other topics)The Professor (other topics)
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (other topics)
Snowdrift and Other Stories (other topics)
Snowdrift and Other Stories (other topics)
The title was getting a bit long so I will say what the parts are here.
I am dividing the read into 3 (unequal) parts
Part 1 is Acknowledgements - Her Short Published Pieces.
No need to use spoiler tags in this read unless discussing another author's work.
Enjoy!