The Foundling - Dec 2014 Group Read - Chapters 1 to 12

[Amy]

Ready ... set ... go

Let's start the discussion with:

Is this your first read? Or how many times have you read this?

What format are you reading it in?

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

My library doesn't have this title. :(

Since I read it a couple of years ago, I'll lurk and follow the discussion.

[Abigail]

Reading in paperback (only my second copy, the first having long since worn out as with all my Heyers). From which you can gather: not my first read. I do like Gilly!

[Amy]

I listened to this as an audiobook a couple of months ago and will read it this time through.

[Jacquie]

I don't know how many times I have read this book,but haven't recently.

[Louise Sparrow]

I'm listening to the audiobook but I've read it a couple of times before a few years ago.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

I've probably read it at least 6 times previously all a very long time ago!

[Jackie]

I have it in hardback and have read it probably a dozen time, over the years.

[Amy]

This book gets off to such a slow start.

I've read it before but when he asks Harriet to marry him I always feel this sense of dread. I like her as a character! Even her small part so far has made her feel real to me.

[Jenny]

I've read it loads of times and I really like it.

[Jackie]

me, too - I used to think the beginning was too slow but now I like that it builds..and makes the payoff better.

[Elza]

I thought I had it as an e-book, but I don't. So I went to the library and got a good old hardback. I've read it more than once but it's been years, so I'm looking forward to remembering the subplots and secondary characters that I've forgotten.
I do find myself wanting to give Gilly a good shake and say, "Grow a pair and take charge!" But also, I realize that these are the people who raised him, and it is hard to turn around and tell them where to get off.
Favorite character I love to hate (so far) -- has to be Harriet's mother. "I did not quite like to see you hanging so upon Sale" -- one can only imagine how she would react to modern-day "get a room" PDAs.

[Jenny]

I think Harriet's mother is the only really objectionable character in the whole book. Belper & Romney are intensely irritating, but not hateful the way she is.

[Abigail]

I like that Gilly’s weakness is also his strength—his tremendous kindness toward others.

[Jackie]

Abigail wrote: "I like that Gilly’s weakness is also his strength—his tremendous kindness toward others."

yes, he is always kind and also has a strong sense of responsibility.

[HJ]

Well, I tried. I've been listening to the audiobook and reached Gilly's evening with Gideon and Matt. It is such a slow start, but that's OK: it establishes his character and circumstances very well. But as Matthew started telling him what was troubling him I began to remember more clearly what is ahead in the book, and I'm just not sufficiently interested in it to persevere.

Is it because the "heroine" is missing for so much of the book? Possibly. I don't much like or care about the people he encounters (I'm trying to avoid spoilers). Maybe I'd like it better if we saw more of Gideon, at least!

[Elza]

HJ wrote: "Well, I tried. I've been listening to the audiobook and reached Gilly's evening with Gideon and Matt. It is such a slow start, but that's OK: it establishes his character and circumstances very ..."

Good point. It is a very male-centric book, more so than many of Heyer's other romances. We don't know as much about Harriet as I would like.

[Louise Sparrow]

There's some very funny moments HJ, don't give up yet.

I agree that it would be good to see more of Harriet than we do though.

[HJ]

Louise Sparrow wrote: "There's some very funny moments HJ, don't give up yet.

I agree that it would be good to see more of Harriet than we do though."

I have read it before, Louise, a few times. But it's not one of those which I re-read often.

[Louise Sparrow]

So have I, but not for a while and I realised that I'd forgotten a lot of what I liked about it.

[Jackie]

turns out I can't reread since my book didn't make it to Nevada in my move. (I did donate a lot of hard covers) so I have to post from memory.

but it seems to me it gets steadily better starting from when ..... wait a minute

what is happening at the end of chapter 12, can someone let me know? don't want to say too much!

[Abigail]

Jackie wrote, “what is happening at the end of chapter 12, can someone let me know?”

Mr. Mimms, Nat Shifnal, and Mr. Liversedge have just put their heads together and decided that it would be a good idea to kidnap Gilly.

[QNPoohBear]

I read it once before. I'm reading the hardcover edition. I like that Gilly's family is so normal. His uncle is old-fashioned but he means well. Gideon is even good friends with Gilly. It's a refreshing change from all the greedy, grasping relatives GH usually writes about. I do feel sorry for Gilly being shut up and sheltered like that. (though it's highly unlikely a 7 months child would have survived at that time) I can understand his feelings wanting to break free. I love how Gideon encourages him to try an experiment.

Matt is in a pickle for sure. Gilly thought it would be easy but he's so innocent, he knows nothing about villains such as Swithian.

What's Tom's role in this story? At first I thought he was going to be a girl in disguise but obviously not.

Belinda is such an air-head. I feel sorry for her because she's easy prey but I remember her very well and I found her vastly irritating.

At the end of Chapter 12, Gilly decides to take ditzy Belinda to her friend in Hitchin. The villain has figured out Gilly's true identity and is going to attempt to extort money from Gilly's heir by having Gideon bump off Gilly. Of course Gideon would never do that, would he?

[Jenny]

He's actually wanting Gideon to pay him to bump Gilly off!

I do find Belinda irritating; we should be sorry for her and more patient because she's obviously so short on mental capacity as to have what we'd now call a learning disability or mental handicap - but her dazzling beauty makes that hard to believe in.

[HJ]

"Belinda is such an air-head. I feel sorry for her because she's easy prey but I remember her very well and I found her vastly irritating" -- and right there is why I do not like this book. I'm not much fonder of Tom, who irritates me even more.

[Jackie]

I guess both Belinda and Tom are supposed to be irritating (but in an amusing way) so that Gilly has to deal with the problems they create. forcing him to be the adult!

[Jenny]

That's a good point, Jackie. I think Belinda's irritatingness (is that a word?)and limited intelligence are also strong indicators to the reader that she is not Gilly's love interest.
She has to be old enough for the gossips to think she is his mistress, but not capable of looking after herself, hence the brainlessness. I think this dilemma is solved much more interestingly in Sprig Muslin though.

[Jay-me (Janet)]

Jenny wrote: "That's a good point, Jackie. I think Belinda's irritatingness (is that a word?)..."


It is now ;)


I have read this last week, it was only vaguely familiar but it will be many years since I read this book as it is not one of my battered and much re-read paperback copies. I have been on the lookout for second hand copies of all the ones that are not already in my collection, and have finally resorted to buying kindle copies - they never seem to be included in any of the sales, but some of the prices recently have dropped for a short time, and have been similar to the amounts I paid for the last paperback copies. Since there are no bookshops really close to me the difference is the amount I would have spent travelling to the nearest shops.

[Mary]

I have gotten bargain prices for most of the Heyer books I have on Kindle. That is because I signed up on ereaderiq.com and listed Georgette Heyer as an author to watch. Thus when there is a price drop on any of hers, I get an e-mail. If it is not cheap enough, I don't buy it, but have gotten lots over time this way. You can also list the books individually but that is more time consuming.

[QNPoohBear]

Jackie wrote: "I guess both Belinda and Tom are supposed to be irritating (but in an amusing way) so that Gilly has to deal with the problems they create. forcing him to be the adult!"

That's a good point. Gilly has been treated like a child his whole life and every time he tries to think for himself, he gets shot down. With Tom and Belinda in his care, he's forced to make his own decisions and not rely on anyone else for help. They also help him realize the advantages to his position.

[Teffanie]

I only read it once, but I'm planning to re-read it! I own two copies in paperback but I really haven't yet touched the second one (from sourcebooks) which I've bought just a few months ago. I like Gilly-- he is adorable, and very believable hero. Although it somewhat falls short in romance, (which is a pity, because Harriet is very likeable as well) this book still has its charms (except Belinda, for the same reason which, I believe, most of you have) and I enjoyed it for the most part. Yes, indeed, I will read The Foundling again after all.