Update: Just finished listening to the audiobook narrated by Eve Matheson and LOVED IT!! She read so well and the tone of voices she chose for all the characters were simply perfect. The characters sounded exactly how I imagined them!! :) Friendly warning: spoilers & lots of silly schoolgirl blabbing throughout :P Picking a favourite Georgette Heyer novel often feels like trying to pick a favourite star in the sky. There are so many to choose from and they are all wonderful. I don't know how she was ever able to decide which story she liked best, but apparently Heyer's personal favourite was this one, Friday's Child. I don't doubt for a second that she must have had a tremendous amount of fun writing it, because it is one of the funniest, most hilarious and light-hearted books I have ever read. In addition, it was incredibly cute and I have lost count of all the utterly adorable moments between the hero and heroine. This is Regency romance at its best: a big screw-ball comedy of fun and hilarity, complete with shopping in London, fancy dinners, unexpected callers, evenings at Almack's, jealous lovers and Heyer's signature abrupt-but-funny-ending. Meet the characters! Anthony Vereslt, Viscount Sheringham - "Sherry": Young, impetuous and irresponsible, Sherry has lived all his life squandering money left and right and pleasing himself only. He shall come into his inheritance when he reaches 25, or if he marries before that date. The opening chapter of the book finds him proposing to his childhood friend Isabella, and being quite dramatically rejected. Beneath his wild ways though, the Viscount is truly a kind-hearted man who takes his friends's best interests at heart, and who would never consciously let harm come to those he loves. Expressions said most often: "Dash it Kitten! No! Not the thing at all!", "Oh God Kitten! You can't do that!", "Stop copying me Kitten!! Argh! Don't repeat what I said!", "I'll be damned if I have to go through another stuffy evening at Almack's!", "My wife did WHAT?!", "SHUT UP, annoying canary!!". Mr. Gilbert Ringwood - "Gil": Gil is the reliable, loyal friend that people turn to for help and a sympathetic ear. He's kind, helpful and just happy to hang out and help his friends. Gil is also single & free and not interested in marriage, and when Sherry and George keep having relationship problems, he's all "If you're having girl problems, I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but a b*tch ain't one!" woo! Expression said most often: "Shh. Quiet you guys. I'm thinking.", "Ok, wait, so...what happened?", "I know, I know, I'm thinking!", "Sherry, do you love your wife?", "Of course I'll help you!". The Honourable Ferdinand Fakenham - "Ferdy": Also super kind, nice and wanting to help his friends, only Ferdy is a bit more slow and not as helpful as George. :P He's not the most intelligent man, and often doesn't know what to do, but his intentions are always good, and he is a really good friend. Ferdy is also a Pink of the Ton, and always well-dressed and bowing impeccably. Expressions said most often: "But Sherry is my cousin!", "Dashed if I'm not going to help him; friend of mine!", "It's probably that fellow creeping up behind you again...", "Not the thing at all!", "I'll think about the name in a minute, but you know, that Greek thing?! Creeps up behind people?!". George, Lord Wrotham - "George": Best buds with Sherry, Gil and Ferdy, George is the romantic, passionate man who is always looking extremely handsome in his dishevelled state, with his brilliant brown eyes and black locks falling on his brow. He can usually be found pining away for the Incomparable Isabella, with whom he is madly in love, or trying to call someone out. Quick-tempered and very moody, George is nevertheless a most faithful friend who would readily bring back the moon for them if he could. Expressions said most often: "Isabella!! I MUST SEE ISABELLA!!", "Isabella was not there!", "DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT?!", "Isabella would never do this to me, right??", "What, Kitten, WHAT?! Tell me again, WHAT happened with Sherry??", "Dashed if I don't call him out!", "What's the point of living if Isabella is not there?". Miss Hero Wantage - "Kitten": One of my absolute favourite heroines!! Kitten is adorable, very young, and very sweet. She doesn't really know how to go on about in the fashionable world, and with only Sherry to rely upon, it's no wonder she makes mistakes! Kitten is desperately in love with Sherry and has been so all her life. He is her Idol, and she would never ever do anything she knew he wouldn't like, but unfortunately she keeps getting into one scrape after another. She is not silly or dumb, simply ignorant and kind-hearted. She quickly becomes really good friends with Sherry's buddies, but lacking female companionship and guidance, doesn't not appear quite "up to snuff".Expressions most often said: "But Sherry said that -", "Oh really?? THANK YOU, Sherry!!", "But Sherry did it!", "Sherry, you said you would - ", "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do that!", "I will never do it again if you don't want me to, Sherry!", "This was all my fault!". The Incomparable Miss Isabella Milborne - "Bella": The spoiled Beauty who can't make up her mind who she means to marry because she enjoys having all the attention all the time. She's not wicked at heart, but she was a major eye-roller. She loves George but doesn't want to admit it to herself or to anyone, and consequently, theirs is a relationship of misunderstanding upon misunderstanding. Oh and obviously, Bella is suuuuuuper beautiful!Expressions said most often: "George, I do not wish to see you!", "Wait, that guy wants to marry me????!!", "Kitten is stealing all my beaux!", "I would NEVER marry HIM!", "Where is George??!".The Friday's Child crew is overall just brilliant. These guys are SO.MUCH.FUN!!So. After Sherry is spurned by Bella, he vows to marry to marry the next female he encounters (thus obviously demonstrating that he didn't really love Bella). It happens to be Miss Hero Wantage, the poor penniless orphan who lives with her mean cousins the Bagshots, and who plan on having her become a governess or marry the local curate. Sherry and Hero are childhood friends, and as kids, Hero was always the one doing Sherry's every bidding, and was even a little "bullied" by him. She is madly in love with him nevertheless and would do anything for him. Thus, when he impetuously proposes to marry her almost immediately, she is d-e-l-I-g-h-t-e-d and off they go in his curricle in direction of London. But wait a minute there, my darlings. Hero can't be seen driving with Sherry if they mean to keep their eloped marriage a secret until they are actually married, right? So Sherry, thinking it over, commands Hero to spend the journey on the floor of the vehicle with a rug covering her. And what's her reaction? She's never been accustomed to luxury, and she gets to hug Sherry's legs during the whole journey?! Aw, she's only to happy to comply! :) =) :D When Sherry finally deems they are safe enough, he tells her to stop giving him cramps in his legs, and then gets out a comb, brushes her hair and ties her bonnet!!! It's those little things like that throughout the book that really brought out a silly grin on my face (and in fact I'm smiling right now while writing this!) and made me want to just hug my copy of the book. They are SO CUTE!!!And then, as if that ^^ hadn't been cute enough, Sherry, while looking Hero over, makes a discovery. "You look just like a kitten!"Just spontaneous like that! "You look like a kitten!" AWWWWWWWW!!!!! <3 <3 "'I think it's your silly little nose,' said the Viscount flicking it with a careless forefinger. 'That, or the trick you have of staring at a fellow with your eyes wide open. I think I shall call you Kitten.'"Kitten!! He is going to call her Kitten!! Here is a book where the hero nicknames the heroine "kitten". If you don't think that is cute, I don't know what to tell you, but me, I find it most adorable!Arrived in London, the young couple set about arranging their marriage (and by that I mean a hilarious scene where Sherry consults his friends as to how to get a special license, what do to with Hero in the meantime, etc...), all the while attracting as little attention as possible. Then more cuteness happens when Sherry has to give Kitten his signet-ring as a marriage ring since he forgot to buy one, and Kitten being in ecstasy and hugging Sherry in public when he buys her a beautiful gown she really wanted, and then gives her beautiful diamond earrings as a wedding-present, which he attaches with silk for her since her ears aren't pierced. Thus begins life as a married couple for Sherry and Kitten. Being both young, rich and inexperienced, then spend money as if it grew on trees, getting a new house, furniture, horses, and plenty of new things for Kitten. Sherry doesn't want to give up his old mode of free-care-for-nothing-bachelor life, and so naturally Kitten is considerably neglected, and because she is so innocent and doesn't know how to behave like a fashionable lady of quality, she makes a lot of mistakes. Furthermore, Sherry doesn't guard his vocabulary or certain actions in front of his new wife, and Kitten, lacking feminine guidance, thinks it's ok to behave like Sherry because it's Sherry and Sherry is awesome and she loves him. When he gets mad, she thinks it's her fault for being so troublesome, and once his anger has abated, it's his turn to say it's all his fault, and then they make up and start being completely adorable again. Meanwhile, Sherry's friends are being priceless as they all try to help now Sherry, now Kitten, and their different approaches just make it all hilarious. Gil eventually even gives Kitten a canary she had wanted (and which drives Sherry nuts), and George solicits her advice on a love note he wants to write to Isabella. Little by little, Sherry becomes aware of all the male attention Kitten is getting, and while he is undeniably falling for her, he doesn't realize it even though his temper gets the better of him when he sees George casually kissing his Hero, and agrees to meet him in a duel (a grave mistake since George is deadly with the pistols!!). George, who has been greatly suffering the pangs of disappointed love because Isabella keeps on behaving like a blithering fool, is more than ready to comply and meet him out. A frantic and concerned Hero begs him not to, since he is sure to kill Sherry, and that scene ends up being just another one of many that really show you how united the characters all are, and how they all want what's best for one another, as well as just how hilarious the book really is, when during the meeting George delopes and Sherry aims for a tree, and they both wish the other wasn't so noble!! Hahaha!!By the way, just a note: I wouldn't call this book violent at all, but there was quite a lot of talking of tearing people limb from limb and frying their livers or some such things!! All usually due to Sherry and George's tempers! :P But for Sherry to realize just how important Kitten is in his life and how much he loves her, she will have to leave him, sweet disposition, loving attitude, shocking scrapes, tears of repentance, canary and all. ): After they have a big argument, poor heartbroken Kitten turns to his friends, and literally bursts in on them all one evening, arriving with her wedding-presents and her canary and crying her heart and it is just all SO SAD and you just want to cry along with her, and like Sherry's friends, feel an overwhelming urge to call him out for his tyranny and tell him to wake up already and start treasuring his poor little adorable kitten!(Isn't his just so Kitten? Hahaha!! <3<3)The last half of the book is full of misunderstandings, assumptions, exhausting chases, failed elopements and there is this hilarious scene about Ferdy trying to explain karma to his friends, and when I tell you it's hilarious, I mean it was so funny that I laughed until I had tears rolling down my cheeks, and my brothers threatening to throw me out of the room if I didn't stop. Yes, it was that funny.Georgette Heyer must have been so fun at parties!!! And it comes back again and Ferdy tries to tell an exasperated Sherry about it, but he claims that he doesn't know any Greeks nor has any wish to!(Ok I know Karma and Nemesis aren't exactly the same, but it comes back to the same idea :P)Sherry's quest brings him all the way to Bath, a place he swears he will never set foot in again, and he even has to go through a tea at the Pump Rooms, which is apparently even stuffier than an evening at Almack's, and he's all "Dammit this is so boring and I just want my Kitten, why can't I just snag her off and be gone?! Ah! And there is only this curst tea to drink!" and it's just sooo funny and it's one of those scenes where the reader is technically supposed to be worrying & all, hoping everything will be better, and it's not a time to laugh but it's funny nevertheless because Heyer makes everything funny, and just aaaahhhhh it's so enjoyable!!Finally, just before things get in a sure way of ending catastrophically, Mr. Ringwood, Lady Saltash, Mr. Tarleton and last but not least, Fate, join forces to bring back together the separated and misguided lovers, and the ending is both so heart-warming and funny that you just want to go back to the beginning and start reading it again (which is what I would have done if my TBR weren't so huge!). Yes, yes, yes Sherry, she is coming home with you, and will never leave your side again, and neither will you desert her, and there's a carriage waiting for you outside, so take your Cinderella to her well-deserved HEA and I am going to MISS YOU ALL INSANELY!!! I can't wait to do a re-read and laugh and cry with you guys all over again, it was so much fun meeting you!"'How could I dislike you? I have loved you all my life!''Kitten, Kitten!' he said, folding her in his arms again. 'I wish I could say the same! But it wasn't until after I had married you that I grew to love you so! What a fellow I am! But I found out when you ran away from me how dearly I loved you!'" <3 <3 Awwwwwww!!!And by the way Kitten wants a dog now, in addition to her canary, since she enjoys dog-sitting Lady Saltash's dog. And also, Kitten would like to have a baby, but let's discuss that later without any third parties present, shall we? ;) Guys, I know my review is ridiculously long, silly, all over the place and probably doesn't make much sense, but just do yourself a huge favour and pick up Friday's Child if ever you are feeling down, because it will cheer you up like no other book could. This novel is all fun, cuteness, laughter, warmness, goodness and awesomeness. Definitely a top favourite!! :D"'No man who had lived with Kitten would look twice at the Beauty!'"*happy tears!*Buddy read with Becca--> I'll never thank you enough! :)
A delightful and funny romp through Regency era EnglandAfter years of hearing the praises of author Georgette Heyer, I could no longer resist the temptation and dove in head first on the recommendation of Heyer enthusiast Vic (Ms. Place) of Jane Austen's World, selecting the author's favorite book Friday's Child. Since Heyer published 56 books over 53 years, she had a few to choose from and I was confident that this neophyte would have one of the better novels to begin my indoctrination. I now see what all the fuss is about. Georgette Heyer is a treasure. Spendthrift Anthony Verelst, Viscount Sheringham doesn't give a fig about his finances until his creditors do. Selfish, impetuous and deeply in debt, he is unable to access his inheritance until he reaches 25 or marries and sets out to acquire a wife proposing to his neighbor and lifelong friend Isabella Milborne, an 'Incomparable', whose beauty and elegance are renown. She doesn't think much of the idea or of Lord Sheringham's dissipated lifestyle and rebuffs the offer. Indignant, he swears to marry the next girl he sees who happens to be seventeen year old Hero Wantage, the neighborhood orphan Cinderella living with cousins who want to farm her out to be a governess. By no means a scholar, Hero is miffed by the work plan just wanting to have a bit of fun and enjoy the charms of society in London. Seizing the opportunity, Hero accepts Sherry's proposal and they run away to London to be married. It is here we are introduced to the real heart of the story, Sherry's three male friends: his two cousins steady Gilbert (Gil) Ringwood and the foppish Hon. Ferdinand (Ferdy) Fakenham, and his hot headed friend George, Lord Wrotham who form sort of a bumbling bachelors club of Regency society dandies. Their influence drives the story as they help Hero (nicknamed Kitten) unschooled in the nuances of social etiquette and a bit lacking in common sense out of all sorts of scrapes that threaten her reputation and infuriate her husband who in turn is as equally clueless about his own responsibilities as a newly married man. Heyer gives us a delightful view of Regency era London with its social outlets for the rich: fashion, dancing, parties, gambling, romantic intrigues, and the gambit of other frivolous extravagances that entertain the high society 'ton' world. Her characters are each distinctive in personality and well drawn out. The three bachelor friends were especially enjoyable as their priceless dialogue humorously captures that uniquely British drawing room chatter of "I dare says" and "dash it alls" that at times from other authors seems trite, but in this case just lifted the colloquial credibility and ambience. Even though this novel was written over sixty years ago, it is surprisingly superior in style and creativity to many being produced today. Friday's Child reads like an expertly paced stage play, and I felt the influence of Heyer's contemporaries in playwrights Noel Coward and George Bernard Shaw in the satirical social commentary and humorous biting dialogues. There were a few holes in the plot such as Sherry's concerns over his uncle's abuse of the trusteeship of his estate not materializing or Hero's continual naïveté among others, but they were very minor and did not spoil my enjoyment. The gradual maturity and transition by both protagonists gave for a rewarding end. It is easy to see why so many Jane Austen fans adore Georgette Heyer as they share in the sisterhood of the 'Gentle Reprove Society' of comedic social satire. Friday's Child matched it's namesake from the old nursery rhyme as loving and giving, and critics marginalizing Heyer's works as mere romances take heed. Like Austen's novels, this is so much more than Chicklit. Laurel Ann, Austenprose
Do You like book Friday's Child (2004)?
The one where Lord Sherington and Hero impulsively get married, despite having about the maturity level of a litter of golden retriever puppies.I hated Sherry's guts when we first met him, but I warmed to him quickly once it became clear that the plot was sure to give him the spanking he so richly deserved. Hero wasn't as selfish as Sherry was, just young and deeply, deeply dumb, and her lot was more difficult because the rules that applied to women were so much more complicated.It amuses me that Hero reforms an almost-rake by imitating him -- she has no intention of trying to make Sherry change his ways; she simply figures that gambling away thousands of pounds, then paying off her debts by going to a money-lender, must be perfectly all right, because Sherry does it. There was a point, as the climax approached, when the indirection of it all began to really bother me; not only was everyone lying, people that we'd been taught to admire were advising people to lie, and scolding them if they didn't. And this went in with the indirection required of Regency women -- repeatedly a woman would try, in the only way really permitted to her, to deliver a message (say, "I would really prefer if you didn't propose marriage to me," or "I'm secretly married already, so I would really really prefer you didn't propose") and someone else would mistake this -- approvingly! -- for well-bred female shyness. I can't tell you how much of a relief it was when someone put off an amorous suitor not with an attack of the vapors but with a hatpin!Gil, George, and Ferdy were hilarious.
—Res
Although I think I actually like Heyer's murder mysteries better, there is no denying how fun her regency romance novels are.Friday's Child centers around the slapdash and feckless Arthur Verelst, Viscount Sherington (aka "Sherry") and his impulsive marriage to childhood friend Hero Wantage. Hero has always adored Sherry, but knows she has no chance with him in the marriage mart due to his adoration of "The Beauty", Isabella Milborne. When Isabella turns down Sherry's proposal of marriage, he determines to marry the first woman he sees in order to gain control of his gynormous inheritance. Enter Hero, sitting atop a stone wall, feeling extremely sorry for her circumstances. Her cousin has decided that poor relation Hero must be put into service as a governess in far away Bath. Hero doesn't want to be a governess, but knows she must do whatever her relations tell her to do.Sherry scoops up Hero and takes her to London, where they marry in haste. Sherry isn't about to let marriage change his harum-scarum lifestyle, and Hero (renamed "Kitten" by Sherry) adores him too much to make a fuss about his often neglectful treatment of her. The silly young couple blast through Sherry's money, enjoy partying with Sherry's friends (Gil, George and Ferdy) and generally romp through Regency England without a care in the world. Kitten gets into one scrape after another, and slowly Sherry realizes that the young girl he married on the quick and without truely loving her is becoming more and more important in his life. It's only after Kitten's final, reckless scrape that the couple face their biggest crisis, and finally learn the meaning of a more mature, responsible love.Heyer did a fantastic job with this offering. It was fun, bubbly, silly and I loved, loved all the major characters. Sherry's best buds Gil, George and Ferdy were well characterized. It would have been great if Heyer had afforded them books of their own, especially Ferdy (perhaps she did and I just don't know it...) However, the last 2 pages were the icing on the cake, and sent me howling with laughter. Heyer has a way of wrapping up most of her regency romances with a brilliant send off. Who knew the term, "Nemesis", could be so funny??A definite gem in the Heyer canon, and heartedly recommended.
—Hannah
A proposal goes disastrously wrong for Lord Sheringham in the Regency tale of romance. Stars Elli Wantage and James Frain.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jq09
—Laura
