Arabella

Today’s post is on “Arabella” by Georgette Heyer. It is 312 pages long and is published by Source Books. The cover is a print of a lovely oil painting of a pretty young woman dressed in the fashion of the Victorian era. The intended reader is someone who likes historical romance but really anyone who likes humor, clever dialogue and love stories will love this and the author. Ms. Heyer is known as the queen of historical novels and this one is not any different. There is nothing in this book to alarm anyone, there is no language, no sex, and talk about how bad things like lying and drinking are. No moralizing but natural consequences of doing those things. This book is told from third person close moving from character to character as the story goes on. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Impetuosity is Arabella’s only fault…
An enchanting debutante and the eldest daughter of an impoverished country parson, Arabella Tallant embarks on her first London season. Armed with beauty, virtue, and a benevolent godmother, Arabella is sure to be a success, as long as her notoriously impetuous temper does not interfere.
His arrogance proves too much for her to bear…
But when Robert Beaumaris, the most eligible Nonpareil of the day, accuses her of being yet another pretty female after his wealth, Arabella allows herself to be provoked- into a deceitful charade that might have unexpected consequences.

Review- This book is hilarious. This is a historical romance set in the Victorian era. Ms. Heyer did a great amount of research so she knows what she is talking about. If you have never had the delight of reading one of her novels then you need to go to your local library or book store and get one. I started with Arabella and I have not looked back since. Arabella is an innocent girl who does not care for the ways of wooing from the ton and that makes all the more fun for those of us who like regency novels. Mr. Beaumaris is funny because he believes that he has seen and done it all; until he meets her. Mr. Beaumaris makes a cake of himself and Arabella rises to the challenge. The dialogue is where this book just shines. Arabella and Mr. Beaumaris fence words from the beginning to almost the end and the happy ending is very good. The secondary characters are the ones who give the plot real movement in the ways of Lord Fleetwood being a gossip and Arabella’s brother getting into trouble. I did not doubt the Happy Ending but I was curious about how we were going to get there. Mr. Beaumaris redeems himself from being just a jaded elite to someone who wants to make someone else happy. He is my second favorite Heyer hero with the first being Mr. Carlton in A Lady of Quality which I will be rereading and reviewing soon.

I give this Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I proudly own this book.