Georgette Heyer Fans discussion

What did you think?!?!

the best dog in any Heyer book, I think.

I haven’t quite finished (this time around), but I just adore Mr. Beaumaris’s conversations with Ulysses. Does so much to humanize him! And to show what a kindly person he is, how his servants love and do not fear him. The whole Poodle Byng episode is delicious!

I love the conversations too, Abigail! Ulysses sure found a great home.

I also liked the carriage passing of Beaumaris with Ulysses and his acquaintance with his pooch (can't remember their names), the snarling between the two dogs, and also just the general knowledge of what a "proper" dog would be to have in the carriage with you (which Ulysses was definitely not), yet Beaumaris took Ulysses out anyway. What a lucky doggie! :)

Finished! My review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

What a good critique Abigail!

Thank you, Andrea! I try to think through my reviews a bit.

I agree with Andrea - excellent review Abigail!

[Blushes]

I have to admit I am disappointed with Mr. Beaumaris for the way he deliberately strings Arabella along, just to watch her squirm. He admits as much to himself during her proposal: "A virtuous man would undoubtedly, at this juncture, disclose that there is not the smallest need for these measures. What very unamusing lives virtuous men must lead!"


It bothers me that he lets it go on so long, watching her become more and more distressed, for reasons that are fundamentally selfish. I don't remember being affected by this in previous readings, but now it stands out.


Bertram clearly needed to learn a cautionary lesson for his carelessness, although, as Beaumaris realizes, he should taken steps on his behalf more quickly. And Arabella should have been honest with him from the beginning, of course. But I can't like the way Beaumaris punishes her for it, for his own amusement.

Yes, me too - I can't believe what he puts her through, just for fun.

There's one thing that's never quite made sense to me - how on earth did Mr Beaumaris square his fake elopement with Lady Bridlington? Are we really supposed to believe he told her that he and Arabella were engaged, but please would she not tell Arabella she knows; and would she please have Arabella's bags packed because they were going to sneak off from the evening out, but again, not tell Arabella that she's done it?
Do we really think Lady B is capable of keeping all those secrets, especially the momentous news that she's caught the nation's top bachelor for her protegée? Or even understand the need for all the subterfuge?

Emr wrote: "I have to admit I am disappointed with Mr. Beaumaris for the way he deliberately strings Arabella along, just to watch her squirm. He admits as much to himself during her proposal: "A virtuous man ..."

I agree. This ruined the story and made me drop it down to 4 stars. Maybe more like 4 1/2 but still... Arabella was so uposet and worried. He was so confident she was in love with him and would marry him that he arranged her whole life for her. It wasn't very kind and a lot strange. Before that, I was starting to like him. He rescued Ulysses and then kept the dog on, not for Arabella's sakes, I think, but because he has a good heart. I think he would not have drowned the dog. He also wasn't going to let Bertram squirm for too long. It wasn't his fault Bertram fled before his letter reached the Red Lion. I felt the gambling brother plot was better left out. She uses that plot device more than once and it didn't really work here.

ONLY GH can write secondary characters that are as much fun as the primary characters. Uysses is my favorite but I also like Mr. Scunthorpe and Jemmy. At the end Leaky Peg or whatever he name is, is too funny and of course Arabella wants to rescue her. Beaumaris needs to lend some money to Prinny in exchange for a title. Then he can take a seat in Lords and Arabella can tell him what to speak about. Let's start with climbing boys... then homeless animals...

What I love about the main characters is that they're very well drawn. Arabella is young but not foolish. She's impetuous but she's also kind and compassionate. It makes her very human. For all Beaumaris' faults, he is a three-dimensional character. He's more than just another Corinthian or Nonesuch or Pink of the Ton.

Jenny wrote: "Yes, me too - I can't believe what he puts her through, just for fun.

There's one thing that's never quite made sense to me - how on earth did Mr Beaumaris square his fake elopement with Lady Brid..."

I love this story but I think there are a few weak spots and one of them is definitely how he convinced Lady B to pack her bags. I think we needed to be "shown" how he did that to believe it.

I don't like that he kept her so worried for so long. I don't remember if we know exactly how old he is but I felt like those were the actions of a young man. Not someone who has ever experienced much worry himself.

He and Arabella will be good companions for each other. I suspect she will be running the show more than he thinks she will be. I think within the month Arabella will have Leaky Peg moved in and learning to be a proper maid no matter what Mr. Beaumaris thinks!

LOL Amy! I also think Leaky Peg will move in and sponge off Beaumaris. Unlike Jemmy, I doubt she can be trained.

I don't think she'll move in, but I think he'll end up having to start some sort of shelter.

Not sure I agree that he was wrong to keep her worried, when you think of what she was doing, if he hadn't actually known the truth (which she thought he didn't) it would have been very bad.

I joined the group read a little late, but finished the book yesterday. I loved it. Every time I read a new GH novel, it becomes my new favorite.

In the threads on the earlier chapters, some people commented on similarities between this and Pride and Prejudice and Mr. Darcy. I agree, and also think there is some similarities with Northanger Abbey (the hero who loves the naiveté in the young heroine out in society for the first time).

Posting this here for those who want to know more about Almack's:
http://www.regencyhistory.net/2011/10...

Danielle, thanks for the link to Almack's.

Very interesting.

Also this:

http://www.regencyhistory.net/2015/01...

What an interesting site!

Great to see one of those coveted vouchers!

I loved how Mr Beaumaris felt right at home with Bella's family. He'll be a perfect son-in-law. Not only does he enjoy conversing with the vicar over the older scholar's favorite tomes (which bores the rest of the flock), but the Nonpareil is perfectly comfortable playing cards with the rest of the bunch in their village home. It's just too adorable to think about.
I'm from a large family and this part of the story really warms my heart. He's a real family man after all!
I don't really reproach him for continuing the ruse that Bella herself started. He was really curious to see when she would finally confide in him. It shows something of the depth of Bella's attachment to him that she was so reluctant to confess. And I give Heyer credit again - having them start out on an elopement plan made for livelier fiction.
Maybe Mr Beaumaris enticed Lady Bridlington into silence by dangling the promise of allowing her to break the news in town the next day. It's just possible she could have contrived to remain mum for a few hours, knowing she could bask in glory erelong.
And yes - this must be the best dog part in any of her books! Everything pertaining to Ulysses sparkled with humor and humanity.
I grinned throughout much of this book. Heyer continues to amaze me.

I know there are many, many good points in this book (and I agree with all you list, Trudy), but I've realised that I just don't like the books where the heroine gets into difficulties. There's this one, and the one with Horry and Earl of Rule (The Convenient Marriage); both of them getting into difficulties because of their brothers. I don't re-read them nearly as often as I do most of her books, and this is why: the "big misunderstanding" with the hero. It's a trope I don't like.

Regency Buck is another where the hero and heroine are at odds with each other and the hero is secretive, although I can find more good reasons for the hero in that one.

I've just re-read Arabella for the first time since my last post (I've re-read many of Heyer's other books more frequently in the meantime) and was intending to post something about it -- but it's much the same as I already wrote in February 2015!

Arabella is a likeable character, but I don't like Mr Beaumaris, don't like the way he embarrasses her for his own amusement. She ought to marry someone like Waldo in The Nonesuch - someone interested in good works like she is.

I think that Arabella's adoption of scruffy dogs and unwashed children will lead him a merry dance. I think he is a more compassionate person after he falls in love.

Trudy wrote: "I loved how Mr Beaumaris felt right at home with Bella's family. He'll be a perfect son-in-law. Not only does he enjoy conversing with the vicar over the older scholar's favorite tomes (which bores..."
I agree with your take on "Arabella." It's my favorite Heyer so far. I do get what some of you are saying about him tricking her, but women were often treated a bit like children, and while it rankles, i just deal with it. All in all, they're my favorite couple.

And we have to remember that she’s a green girl while he’s an experienced man of the world, so it’s not surprising that he should be a few steps ahead of her for much of the book. I like how she teaches him genuine feeling and breaks through his world-weary boredom.

Abigail wrote: "And we have to remember that she’s a green girl while he’s an experienced man of the world, so it’s not surprising that he should be a few steps ahead of her for much of the book. I like how she te..."

I haven't got much patience with heyer's bored heroes. A rich man with plenty of leisure who is allegedly intelligent should have the wit to keep himself amused. he's no business being bored. nor using his boredom as an excuse to make a young girl uncomforable.

I take your point, Louise, and pretty much agree. They aren’t my favorites either, though Ulysses goes some way toward rehabilitating Beaumaris for me. Hugo Darracott, now—there’s a hero to like!

It’s interesting to me that for all her research, GH doesn’t tend to have heroes who involve themselves in politics, for instance. But public affairs aside, the constrictions on what was considered appropriate activity for the haut ton were pretty stultifying. There are minor characters who have special interests (Lord Petersham and his snuff and tea, e.g.), but they are largely portrayed as eccentrics. If I were a male aristocrat during the Regency and not in the military, Parliament, agricultural reform, or the natural sciences (or something of that nature), I would have been crushingly bored! All those parties, all the dress-up, the gambling, the horses—it would get on my nerves before long, too.

I also have a certain degree of discomfort with Heyer’s more ingenue-type heroines; those books get into territory my feminist self is a bit squeamish about. But I do like Arabella’s moral core.

Abigail wrote: "I take your point, Louise, and pretty much agree. They aren’t my favorites either, though Ulysses goes some way toward rehabilitating Beaumaris for me. Hugo Darracott, now—there’s a hero to like!

..."
there are other things he could do though. He's supposed to share the intellectual interests of Arabella's father,so why doesn't that keep him occupied? reading books, etc. Why doesn't he write a book or something? Or interest himself in philanthropic work, like Waldo in The Nonesuch. Or travel, like Sir Hugh and sarah in The Talisman Ring. Or collect something, like sir Tristram does. Boredom always baffles me. with so many books to read in the world, i don't understand how anyone can be bored.

Louise wrote: "...using his boredom as an excuse to make a young girl uncomfortable. "

I think it's worse than that - he knows he's endangering her chances of picking up a husband in London, but reckons she can just go back to Yorkshire and 'marry some red-faced squire'. He simply doesn't think of all the repercussions of his actions, nor of how vital it is to Arabella and her whole family that she should (to put it frankly) be offered on the most advantageous market.

And by the end, when she's agreed to marry him to help Bertrand, she's not just 'uncomfortable' but worried sick, and it's still all just a joke to him.

Jenny wrote: "Louise wrote: "...using his boredom as an excuse to make a young girl uncomfortable. "

I think it's worse than that - he knows he's endangering her chances of picking up a husband in London, but r..."

You are right, it is worse. he must know, being the man of the world he is, that money matters a lot when it comes to marriage, and that he is putting Arabella in an impossibly awkward situation, but he doesn't care.

Louise wrote: " . . . he must know . . . that he is putting Arabella in an impossibly awkward situation, but he doesn't care."

Maybe he has already found and chosen a husband for her--himself?

MaryC wrote: "Louise wrote: " . . . he must know . . . that he is putting Arabella in an impossibly awkward situation, but he doesn't care."

Maybe he has already found and chosen a husband for her--himself?"

Not at that stage, because he was thinking she could go back to Yorkshire and marry 'some red-faced Squire'.