Where I Find a New Author to Love

Venetia by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Romance is not my natural habitat. However, I enjoy Jane Austen, and all novels that make me think of Jane Austen (especially Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen Mystery series) and others who love Austen sometimes recommend Georgette Heyer. I took a chance, I thought, picking up a romance, but guess what--I really enjoyed the book.

The main character, Venetia, is a good Austen-type protagonist--an intelligent young woman of the Regency period, somewhat overlooked, perhaps, with a small social circle, but witty, independent-minded, and more self-aware than almost anyone around her. A pair of men are trying to win her, and she's patient with them, but wants neither. She might be a bit outside Jane Austen's comfort zone, as she is willing to face down the disapproval of everyone in her orbit to do things her way, even more modern than Elizabeth Bennet and less abashed than Marianne Dashwood, but she's in the same ballpark as all of her female main characters. I liked her.

Okay, there's nothing too surprising here. But the story is entertaining, there are characters to root for and against, and the language is fantastic. I think I'd enjoy this as a movie. Wonder if there is one...

Without irony, I liked this book and found it good fun. I've got a stack of others by this author and I'm looking forward to having good stuff to read for awhile.

Recommended for non-curmudgeons and lovers of Austen.

View all my reviews