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Pistols for Two
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Pistols for Two/Snowdrift August 2019 Group Read
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& speaking of Hazard, the Teach Me Tonight blog found an early version of Hazard on Trove https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/ar...Other than Carleton was Carlyon I don't rember there being a huge difference in the two versions.
To Have the Honour.Another good one. I laughed out loud at the end. Timothy is a real comic character and one we've met often in the novels.
Night at the Inn/The Duel.
Enjoyable. Some good comic moments in The Duel.
Hazard.
A fast paced piece of comedy. The bet scenes reminded me of one in a Barbara Cartland novel. Wonder if this is the plagiarism I heard of.
Pursuit.Quite a good story. It's hard to vary short stories to any degree but she makes a good job of it.
Runaway Match/Incident on the Bath Road.
Silly. No real substance to these two. The only two I really didn't care for.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this with the group. I'm giving the book 4 stars. I hadn't read it since Snowdrift was published so it was great to get into it again.A Husband For Fanny is definitely my favorite.
Pink DominoSweet story of instalove, which I do believe in (whether it lasts, of course, is another thing...), and I also chuckled at the brother/sister dynamic, complete with a wispy, vinaigrette-clutching, fade-away mama, constantly ducking her argumentative offspring!
It would’ve helped to have a bit more story so we could get to know Miss Sweet Face - she seems like a pretty nonentity, so I can’t decide if this instalove will indeed last!
A Husband for FannyMy favorite so far, I think - so sweet, funny - understandable misunderstanding, a very touching second chance at love for two more mature characters- delightful!
Pursuit, Runaway Match and Incident on the Bath RoadI've finished the three "newly discovered" stories in Snowdrift. Runaway Match improved on a second reading (the sword fight and twist at the end) and Incident on the Bath Road is a good title. But I thought there were better, similar stories in the original Pistols for Two collection.
Yes I thought the three added stories didn't really add anything to the collection.
Susan in NC wrote: "A Husband for FannyMy favorite so far, I think - so sweet, funny - understandable misunderstanding, a very touching second chance at love for two more mature characters- delightful!"
I loved this one too Susan.
A Clandestine AffairI love Lucy!
"
'Lucy, dear, could you be happy with a husband who let you rule the roost?'
'To own the truth,' replied Lucy mischievously, 'I have a strong notion that I couldn't be happy with any other!'
"
I forgot how much I liked this story. Second chance at love! IT does smack a bit of Black Sheep or Lady of Quality, with the grumpy, swarthy, stubborn hero.
To Have the Honour was fun and funny, Timothy was a comic character we’ve met often in Heyer, and I enjoyed it very much.A Night At the Inn
This was great fun - lovely watching the young folks fall in love - and uniquely, they are both somewhat “normal”, daughter of a vicar on her way to being a governess, and a young gentleman with a job, not a bored aristocrat! Add in the surprising twists at the end, the convincingly ominous atmosphere Heyer creates in the midst of a dark night in a creepy inn - well done and different!
Agreed, Susan--good point about the characters in A Night at the Inn being "normal."
Just started reading the Snowdrift collection...slowly, one or two at a time as breaks while I read Orwell's 1984. Loving the Orwell, but GH's stories read just before going to sleep mean pleasanter dreams and less disturbed sleep!Also noticed the new collection of more of her stories just downloaded on my kindle. A good thing if I need more before finishing Orwell!
SnowdriftLoved this story set just before Christmas as a blizzard impedes travels. It is about as close to a Christmas regency as Heyer gets.
I love how effectively Heyer uses the inherent isolation of travel during and just after a blizzard, that sense of being alone and removed from all normal constraints. Added to that is when traveling, strangers encountered are not judged on what you know of them or others have said, but your own perceptions plus what each chooses to reveal.
Sophy and Julian are perfect for each other, but for chance meeting and extended time traveling through a blizzard, they not only never would have met, even if they had, they never would have become deeply acquainted.
And I absolutely adored how the incongruously brassy-haired housekeeper snabbled the old skinflint into marriage!
Full MoonSuperficially too thin a story, even for me, as I thought about it after, I came to truly appreciate the incredible skill Heyer exhibits here in a tale about those who attempt to turn the tables on others, only to find themselves - happily - well and truly snared.
From our first meeting him, we know that Stavely is quirky, a bit eccentric, blessed with humor - "Arcadia, I presume." Such a humorous ironic statement to greet the innkeeper. Tom is everything a girl's male best friend from childhood, one who in truth is just like a brother, should be. Reminds me forcefully of Tom in Sylvester.
When we finally meet Annabella, we the reader are both surprised and not, just as is Stavely. Tom's portrayal led Stavely and the reader to think we would meet a willful, somewhat spoilt, rather immature and impracticle young lady full of romantic notions. Ah, how we fell neatly into Heyer's trap! Instead we meet an intelligent rather mature young woman who is making the best of a bad situation.
Having Stavely behave as moon mad is priceless!
And then Heyer turns the tables on all of us completely. After having succeeded too well in stymying their families' scheming, they find themselves falling in love and needing to reverse it all!
Hilarious. Brilliant. I see why so many say it is their favorite of the stories.
Theresa wrote: "Full MoonSuperficially too thin a story, even for me, as I thought about it after, I came to truly appreciate the incredible skill Heyer exhibits here in a tale about those who attempt to turn th..."
You make some very good points.
I did like this one. Such a lighthearted tale - I read it with a smile - and yes, the moon-madness was delightful! I did think the resolution a little weak and, like many of these stories, the attraction too instant between the H/h. Although this happens in some of her longer works too, obviously there’s more scope there to develop an attraction. Having said that, Heyer got around this problem cleverly in a few of them.
Pistols for TwoReally enjoyed this short story about two close friends caught up in calf love for the same girl, almost to point non plus! The whole stratagem Heyer employs to allow the youngsters to meet with honour, and come away unharmed, with friendship preserved, was inspired. It had the side benefit of curing their infatuation as well. I also caught the subtle reference to it being at the instigation of Miss Treen that her fiancé so timely intervened - Heyer once more showing her heroines, even if in the background, as being more than pretty faces.
A Clandestine AffairNot particularly successful as a short story I thought. Too much is rushed or just left out. Heyer does show the strength of the passions of these two, but it transitions far too quickly from hurt and anger to elopement.
But I adored the brother and sister!
Bath MissHilarious! This is a real charmer, and exactly what I expect in a Heyer story. It works well as a short story too! From the second Nan persuades Charles to stop at the mantua maker's shop, you know he doesn't stand a chance. Plus I love when Heyer throws the antics of a pet into the mix. Having Duke a puppy purchased at same time as 'that hat' was such fun!
Can't you just see 'that hat'?!? Heyer makes it as much a secondary character as Duke!
But my favorite moment might be the meeting with Charles' fiancée, Lady Almeria!
Pink DominoNot that successful a short story...too rushed I think. Much similarity to April Lady. But even if thin, it had a number of deft scenes that linger...Mrs. Welbourne reading the latest novel, Letty and her pink domino, the ever-vapourish mama.
Theresa wrote: "Bath MissHilarious! This is a real charmer, and exactly what I expect in a Heyer story. It works well as a short story too! From the second Nan persuades Charles to stop at the mantua maker's sho..."
This one was a lot of fun - typical Heyer touches, the Hat and Duke the puppy, added to the fun! And yes, I loved the scene with Lady Almeria, as well!
A Husband for FannyLoved, loved, loved this one! It is also just perfect as a short story! Such lovable characters! Definitely see Frederica here, and since it is my favorite Heyer, it should be no surprise this is my favorite of the stories, so far.
Every character is likable and sincere. Heyer's skill in portraying Harleston's attentions to Fanny and her mama was so adept that we as reader know where his true attentions lie, yet also do not think less of Mrs. Wingham for not seeing it.
I had a tear or two of happiness at the end!
To Have the HonourVery clever use of the elopement trope -- and an interfering younger sister!
Night at the Inn
Loved this one! So gothic! The whole Sweeney Todd-type storyline would have been familiar to Heyer, of course. Not because of the award-winning musical or even the earlier play, of course. Heyer would have known the basic story as it was a popular penny dreadful and melodrama story during the 19th Century. I'm sure she read versions of it doing research on the Regency.
The DuelMust confess I tumbled rather late to the identity of Dorothea's benefactor! Well done, Georgette!
Hazard
Oh, this one made me laugh! The whole scene in the morning at the coaching inn...too funny. I thought the way she staged the wager was quite well done, actually.
Oh, The Duel!I did like this one! Another bored hero, rescued by Audrey Hepburn (in my mind, I see Audrey Hepburn as Dorothea) I wonder why Georgette Heyer never extended it to a full length story. Probably would not be easy to do, but I could see it as a sweet meet cute, and then the story developing from there. Rotherfield could help save Dorothea's family from other scrapes, as she slowly falls in love with him.
Critterbee❇ wrote: "Oh, The Duel!I did like this one! Another bored hero, rescued by Audrey Hepburn (in my mind, I see Audrey Hepburn as Dorothea) I wonder why Georgette Heyer never extended it to a full length story..."
Yes, another bored hero, and another hero who isn't the entire sum of his reputation...
Like with Damerel in Venetia and so many others, our hero has a terrible reputation but when we meet him, we see the humor and kindness at heart. One of the things I love most about Heyer is the sympathy she shows to the expectations and handicaps so many men suffered in society. Sylvester explores that in great depth of course.
PursuitI liked the various twists to this elopement story, but I am definitely weary of the Gretna trope. Read too many of the stories in close proximity I think. The niceties of the misunderstandings and misadventures did not sing for me, although I did like Mary a lot!
Critterbee❇ wrote: "Oh, The Duel! ... I wonder why Georgette Heyer never extended it to a full length story..."On thinking about it, Heyer did make this into a full story. The Corinthian fits that basic scenario, with the added bonus of girl saving boy,.
Finished the stories this morning!Runaway Match
Once again, Heyer surprised me - I did not see the twist at the end! The whole argument about the kind of ladder needed for an elopement was just hilarious. Heyer humor at its best.
Incident on the Bath Road
While entertaining, not the best I thought. Certainly there are similarities to full length Heyer, such as The Corinthian, I thought Revely was too caricatured, too much suffering from ennui, to rank as one of her better entitled bored heroes.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection, finding the stories overall quite excellent. And it provided moments of perfect relief while reading much grimmer, more serious works this week. I think that's the way to read it, not all at a sitting.
I wasn't keen at all on these two stories but I have to agree about the ladder. Very funny.
I agree! I wish I had stretched out those last few stories, I read the last three or four in one sitting, and they blend together too much when you do that...
Susan, I deliberately took my time reading the last three stories, thinking I would appreciate them more that way. I still felt they were inferior to the stories in the original collection. As Theresa said, the misadventures and characters don't sing. I thought Runaway Match was the best of the three.I found an interesting article about Snowdrift when googling something else Heyer-related:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
Agreed. Thanks for the link!
You're welcome!
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Corinthian (other topics)The Corinthian (other topics)
Venetia (other topics)
Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle (other topics)
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This was cute and fun, made me chuckle- I was ready for the Misses Titterstones, still made me smile...I think Charles will be much happier (view spoiler)[with his Bath Miss instead of the temperamental and rude fiancée! (hide spoiler)] Perfect ending!