Georgette Heyer: The Corinthian

Penelope Creed will do anything to avoid marrying her repulsive cousin. Dressed in boy’s clothing, she’s fleeing from London when she’s discovered by Sir Richard Wyndham, himself on the verge of the most momentous decision of his life.

When Sir Richard encounters the lovely young fugitive, he knows he can’t allow her to travel to the countryside all alone, so he offers himself as her protector. As it happens, at that very moment Sir Richard could use an escape of his own…

I had read somewhere that this was reported to be Heyer’s funniest Regency romp.  While I haven’t given it a second read yet, I wasn’t laughing out loud quite as much as with Sylvester.

Nonetheless, the Corinthian was a funny, delightful and sweet romantic tale involving some very devilish villianry, gender bending dress up, and a Heyer favoured match of an older rake with a heart of gold and a young high flyer with spirit and a thirst for adventure.

Its a perfect book to start a younger reader on a journey of Regency romance…with enough plot twists to keep even the most mercurial teenager entertained.

Its also a relaxing escape for the older set, a chance for us matrons on the fringe of the ballroom to take another glimpse at the follies of youthful romance.

Heyer exquisite writing and knack for really understanding people make her characters and stories timeless.  The more I read her, the more I am convinced she should be a must read for young ladies with a penchant for romance….especially if they love Jane Austen.

I also think its a must read for aspiring romance writers as I see threads of her original romps in much of contemporary historical romance.

While the Corinthian was not my favorite of Heyer’s, I still think it was one of the better books I will read this year.

And that Heyer always has the ability to surprise me makes it worth reading her again and again.