Title: Regency Buck
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Market: Regency Romance
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Alastair-Audley
Book #3
Length: 402 pages
Pub. Date: June 1, 1999
Description (from Amazon):
An altogether unsatisfactory arrangement
After their father's death, Miss Judith Taverner and her
brother Peregrine travel to London to meet their guardian, Lord Worth,
expecting an elderly gentleman. To their surprise and utter disgust, their
guardian is not much older than they are, doesn't want the office of guardian
any more than they want him, and is determined to thwart all their interests
and return them to the country.
With altogether too many complications
But when Miss Taverner and Peregrine begin to move in the
highest social circles, Lord Worth cannot help but entangle himself with his
adventuresome wards...
My Review:
I came
across this book at the library. I was
looking for a historical fiction piece, and I liked the front cover. It was advertised to be in the same category
as Jane Austin (My mind went to Julie Klassen – Love her!). This is the first book by Georgette Heyer
that I have read.
I liked the
time period and Heyer’s descriptions of the scenery, clothing, and characters. The book flowed at a steady pace, but I think
I may have missed something because this is book three in the series. Judith is a bit of a free spirit who doesn’t
like to be told she can’t do something.
She doesn’t observe the social rules of the day by choice, and it shows
her immaturity. There is a good amount
of conflict between Judith and Lord Worth, her guardian, and there is a bit of
a mystery of who she should trust.
Should she trust her cousin or her guardian? With the recent death of her father, Judith
needs to think about which man has her best interest at heart. Being wealthy, both men (as well as many
others) would benefit from a union with Judith Taverner.
The male
characters are very different. Perry is
young and reckless. If he were alive
today, he would be a drinker and drug user, yet he wouldn’t be malicious. He is ignorant of how life works, and he
wants to experience everything it offers.
Lord Worth is a proud, wise man who doesn’t communicate. He withholds a lot of information, but he is
well connected and respected in society.
He is abrasive, controlling, and in today’s society, he’s a first-class jerk. The Taverner’s cousin, on the other hand, is
a good communicator. He is expressive
and seems to be a good friend, but we never quite know what is truly going on
in his head. He is not part of high
society. There were other male
characters, but these were the most prevalent ones.
There is
also a mystery to solve in this book because someone is trying to kill one of
the Taverners. The mystery and the
pursuit of Judith’s hand in marriage move this book along at a nice, steady
pace. This book brings out how important
it was to marry for money and status rather than for love.
Something
that took me a few pages to figure out is that Peregrine is Perry. I have never heard of the name Peregrine
prior to this book. Although this book
was republished in 1999 (first publication was in 1935), the author passed away
in 1974, so the book is several decades old.
There was a bit of a language barrier possibly for that reason. There were things I didn’t understand; the
humor was one thing. Another thing I
didn’t understand was the “taking of snuff.”
It seemed like they sniffed it up their noses. Really?
And women? Yuck!
The bottom
line is that this is a good book. I
enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t say that I loved it.
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