Lani's Blog

Cotillion by Georgette Heyer A Review

Nothing too serious today. Just a book review. I've discovered romance novels. I mean I've always known about them, but I thought romances too mushy, too messy and too same for me. Wrong. I have found Georgette Heyer. She writes so breezily, its easy to dismiss her. Someday when I have more time, I will do a better review of her work. For now, this my review of Cotillion.





Cotillion has all the requirements for a regency romance: an orphan at the mercy of her guardian, a dashing hero, a governess, London, elopements, fortunes and weird relatives. The thing is Gorgette Heyer turns everything on its ear. The best friend is the hero. The heroine is a bit blurry till the end. And the "hero" is villainish.





And it's not a romance per se. Some reviewers have called it a "romp" ; a new word for me. Dictionary.com defines it as quick or effortless pace: The work was easy, and he went through it in a romp and so it is. It's a screw ball comedy. It's a rom-com movie. In fact, it's not quite that either because the romance doesn't happen between the heroine and best friend/hero until the last page. All the secondary characters are the ones falling in love, eloping and romancing.





  If I were casting as a movie, Mr. Standen would be Adam Sandler, a guy who plays the best friend but the romantic lead? Kitty would be Carrey Mulligan who was in Pride and Prejudice as Kitty Bennet and recently in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Jack the "selfish hero" would be Hugh Grant who can do hero or villain for anyone who has seen a rom-com or Bridget Jones Diary.





This was such a fun book I hated that it had to end. Enjoy.