Teaser Tuesday ~ The Queen's Mistake by Diane Haeger

TEASER TUESDAYS is hosted by ShouldBeReading and asks you to:
♠Grab your current read.
♠Let the book fall open to a random page.
♠Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
♠You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
♠Please avoid spoilers!


She greeted the king and his new wife with the most genuine smile Catherine had ever seen, and she shocked everyone when she, the woman who had worn England's crown less than three months ago, fell into a deep and reverent curtsy before the new queen. Anne lowered her head, which was covered in a traditional gabled hood, to her successor for what felt like an awkwardly long time.~page 317

Book Review: Arabella by Georgette Heyer; The Regency Romance Queen

Arabella by Georgette Heyer
Product ISBN: 9781402219467
Price: $13.99
BookDepository has this for $9.99 FREE SHIPPING
Sourcebooks Publication Date: August 2009
The Burton Review Rating:

Synopsis:

"One Little White Lie . . .
Armed with beauty, virtue and a benevolent godmother, the impetuous but impoverished Arabella Tallant embarked on her first London season with her mother's wish in mind: snare a rich husband. But when fate cast her in the path of arrogant, socially prominent Robert Beaumaris, who accused her of being another petty female after his wealth, the proud, headstrong ingenue made a most startling claim -- she was an heiress! Suddenly Arabella found herself the talk of the ton and pursued by every amorous fortune hunter in London. But would her deceitful charade destroy her one chance for true love . . . ? "

Georgette Heyer is a prolific writer of Regency fiction, writing both romances and mysteries with some historical novels also thrown in. Out of the few Regency style novels of Heyer's that I have read so far, Arabella is my absolute favorite. I was completely wrapped up in the story from the very beginning as I was sucked in by Heyer's seemingly unending witty and charming writing style. I feel like I read this book at the most opportune time for me where I needed a light-hearted but not silly and redundant romance. The story of Arabella was a charm in itself that I would be happy to re-read it in the future.

The main protagonist is Arabella who is the eldest daughter among a merchant family and is sent off to London to her godmother to be put out on the town for all the socialites to see. The goal is for Arabella to make a suitably wealthy marriage match which would in turn open doors for the rest of her siblings. Quite to the contrary, Arabella disturbs these chances when she meets the most eligible bachelor in town, Mr. Robert Beaumaris, the epitome of the male fashion in England. Not having a clue as to who he is or what his status is as the veritable nonpareil, the rookie Arabella is provoked into telling a silly white lie that she herself is a wealthy heiress.. and the Heyer madness begins!

Robert of course is intrigued by Arabella's innocent nature and is not fooled for a moment by her little charade, but indeed helps to spin it into web that is quickly out of control of Arabella's naive hands. Her aunt has no idea why so many bachelors have thus come to court Arabella, and it is quickly apparent that everyone in town believes Arabella to be the wealthy heiress that she is definitely not.

One of the endearing scenes features Arabella taking pity on a young chimney sweep who was being misused by old Grimsby. The moment Arabella meets the boy she cleans him up and foists him on Robert to give him a proper life, much to the chagrin of Robert's friend, Fleetwood:


'It ain't that I'm a coward!' protested his lordship. 'But we shall have all the fools in London staring after us! I can't think what's come over you, Robert! You're never going to keep this brat in Mount Street! If it leaks out, and it's bound to, I suppose you know everyone will think it's a by-blow of yours?'
'The possibility had crossed my mind,' agreed Mr Beaumaris. 'I am sure I ought not to let it weigh with me: Miss Tallant certainly would not.'
'Well, damn it, I think that prosy fool, Bridlington, was right for once in his life! You've gone stark, staring mad!'
'Very true, I have known it this half-hour and more.'
Lord Fleetwood looked at him in some concern. 'you know, Robert, if you're not careful you'll find yourself walking to the altar before you're much older!' he said.
'No, she has the poorest opinion of me,' replied Mr Beaumaris. 'I perceive that my next step must be to pursue the individual known to us as "ole Grimsby".'


The most charming part about this story is Arabella's kind nature. She is sweet, kind to animals (and chimney sweepers), and absolutely hilarious when dealing with Robert Beaumaris. Her brother Bertram is a fine chap as well who also goes to London and gets himself into major gambling scrapes. Poor Bertram and Arabella each have their own potentially disastrous secrets and as expected, Beaumaris comes to the rescue in the end, but he lets them each suffer long enough to wreak havoc on their personal lives.

Heyer's writing is superb in this one, I breezed through this read with ease, and was so sad to be done with the story. The characterizations of Arabella's family, friends and the London scenes made me want to transport myself back in time, although I certainly would want to distance myself from some of the fortune hunters that we meet in Arabella's story. I would not hesitate to recommend this novel to Regency enthusiasts, Austen fans, romance readers and, of course, Heyer fans. I have many more Heyer reads to go, but I wonder if they could hold a candle to this one, I was laughing out loud during some of the adventures of Arabella. Her sympathy for others was a delight to behold, for both the reader and for Robert Beaumaris, although Robert was caught up in her sympathies more often than he intended. He was quite the knight in shining armor but not so much that we despised the characterization. This is easily one of my absolute favorite reads of 2009.

See my other Georgette Heyer related posts here.
This is how much I ADORED ARABELLA:

Mailbox Monday~Another Georgette Heyer

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week. And I am adding what I purchased, swapped, etc.





Not a big mailbox week for me, which is fine! Certainly the Quality could not be better, however.

From Sourcebooks to review, I recieved:

Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer

First issue date: 1932 Heinemann, London

US Publisher: Dutton, New York, 1966

2009 Reissue from Sourcebooks


I have been thrilled with all of Heyer's Regency reads, and even though I am so totally swamped I jumped on the chance to review this one as well for December. I am so glad that Sourcebooks has been reissuing Georgette Heyer's reads. I have decided to begin collecting them along with Jean Plaidy's reads.

Synopsis for Devils' Cub:

Devil's Cub is one of Georgette Heyer's most famous and memorable novels, featuring a dashing and wild young nobleman and the gently bred young lady in whom he finally meets his match…

Like father, like son…
Dominic Alistair, Marquis of Vidal and fiery son of the notorious Duke of Avon, has established a rakish reputation that rivals his father's, living a life of excess and indulgence. Banished to the Continent after wounding his opponent in a duel, Vidal schemes to abduct the silly aristocrat bent on seducing him into marriage and make her his mistress instead. In his rush, however, he seems to have taken the wrong woman…

A young lady of remarkable fortitude…
Determined to save her sister from ruin, virtuous Mary Challoner intercepts the Marquis's advances and throws herself into his path, hoping Vidal will release her upon realizing his error. But as the two become irrevocably entangled, Mary's reputation and future lie in the hands of a devilish rake, who finds her more fascinating every day…


Read an excerpt here

This reissue is available now for purchase on Amazon:

The Sunday Salon~ Winners, Pics, Updates, Important News!

Happy Sunday everyone! This week I published a review for India Edghill's newest book that comes out in a few weeks: Delilah. India has written a couple of previous biblical fiction reads that have gotten fabulous reviews; her newest was no different, and is one I highly recommend, and I would love for you to stop by my review. Biblical fiction is a new genre for me, and as a Catholic I wondered what my reaction would be to reading about certain biblical themes. I have enjoyed both of the books that I have read so far, and I also want to read India's previous works as well. The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy is one on my list to read as well, along with another titled Pilate's Wife which is by Antoinette May, and The Red Tent: A Novel by Anita Diamant.

I had another wonderful read this week with the reissue of Georgette Heyer's Arabella. I am so glad to have been introduced to Heyer; if Sourcebooks hadn't been reissuing her works it is very likely that I would have missed her altogether. I now have officially put Heyer up there on my list of favorite classic authors along Jean Plaidy (Victoria Holt) and Louisa May Alcott.

This week I updated my Jean Plaidy list by putting my collection online for all the world to see. I will continue to update that post with whatever new Plaidy/Holt/Carr books I buy and then link to the review. There are about 6 reviews linked to it now. The Plaidy list can be found here, and there is a new button up in the navigation bar for the post as well. I will also begin to compose a Georgette Heyer list as well.

IMPORTANT NEWS ALERT!!

Please subscribe to my NEWSLETTER!! Using the Google Friend Connect Follower gadget you can update your preferences there. There is also another Newsletter Gadget right below the Follower gadget on the left sidebar to update your email preferences. I will not spam you. I will not use the newsletter to announce posts or reviews. I will instead simply send out my Sunday Salon posts early to you and have special newsletter-only-giveaways. You must subscribe to the newsletter to be eligible. You will have to verify your email address from the physical email that it will automatically send you. (Check your spam account!) This is not the same as just following the blog!

With Christmas coming up, and my first Blogiversary around the corner as well, I will use the CURRENT newsletter subscribers only for the exclusive giveaways I host around that time. So get on that early bird Newsletter list and don't miss out, as you will have to be on that Newsletter list to know what is going on!! How lucky are you to be the FIRST TO KNOW!!!

I had a busy week last week with Halloween adventures so I didn't do a Sunday Salon post. Sheri missed me because she wanted to see a pic of the kiddos in costume. In honor of Sheri at A Novel Menagerie, this is for you:

I also promised to update my Salon post with mention of an Award I received. Susie from All Things Royal awarded me with The Super Scribbler award, which I received at one point before but forgot to mention it. Thank you Susie! All Things Royal is an awesome book blog but she has the honor of being a real life true descendant of those royals that I love to read about!
Here are the rules :

■ Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.

■ Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

■ Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.

■ Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor! (*I'm #1201!!)

■ Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

This one has been going around the blogosphere so I apologize if you have already gotten this one already, but I would like to pass this award to the following people/blogs, in no particular order:
Jenny Girl of Jenny Loves to Read
Lucy and Arleigh of Royal Intrigue
Kathleen of Celticlady's Ramblings
Laurel Ann of Austenprose
Erin at The Courtier's Book

These are great bloggers, you need to check them out if you haven't already.

Award Number 2 from Heather at The Maiden's Court, thank you again!


This Honest Scrap Award is for those bloggers who write from the heart. The rules are:

Pass it on to 7 deserving bloggers and write 10 honest things about yourself.

Ten Honest Things That Are Sure To Bore You (A.KA. Things you never really wanted to know):

1.I despise most of my extended family (on one side in particular) & am obviously not ashamed to admit it. Trust me, they deserve it and they could care less anyway.
2.On the other hand, I am truly blessed with a wonderful immediate family. (check out those adorable pics above! And I write this as my toddler is dribbling spittle on my foot from his toy flute.)
3.I love kitty kats but will probably never own one again, not after the last two tore apart my house with their claws and poo.
4.I really hate my job. I have officially sucked at math all my life, and now I am a bookkeeper.
5.I will always regret not finishing college. Not that I had the chance to.
6.I prefer things neat and organized but I hate housecleaning and do not do much of it.
7.I have a large collection of Porcelain dolls, Barbie Dolls, Precious Moments and other porcelain figurines, stamps, scissors, papers, and of course books...collectomaniac?
8.I can still name at least 85% of the 1986 New York Mets Roster. Don't get me started.
9.I now cannot name a single current New York Mets player.
10.I have crayon scribbles on my walls which really bother me. But if I fix them they will just reappear so I'll wait till he grows out of the scribble stage.

The bloggers I would like to pass this on to are: (Heather has already picked a bunch I would have picked so I have to really think on this one.)

Sheri of A Novel Menagerie
Kathleen of Celticlady's Ramblings
Laurel Ann of Austenprose
Erin at The Courtier's Book
Melisende of Women of History
Virginie of Virginie Says...
HappyHelen of TudorTastic

And all these awardees may do with as you like with these awards, I realize they are cumbersome to acknowledge at times. But you are all well-deserving of them, so enjoy the notoriety at your leisure!

The Giveaway for The Queen's Mistake by Diane Haeger is now over (which I have just started to read). If you missed the interview I had with Diane, see it here. I really loved having that opportunity to converse with her on Catherine Howard.


The Winners are:

Heatherzilla and Sheila! Congratulations! If they have already found this book elsewhere, then Michelle and Carol are next in line.

That concludes my recent round of giveaways, stay tuned for a giveaway of My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy coming 11/18/09.

JEAN PLAIDY HISTORICAL FICTION TITLES

Arleigh from Historical-fiction.com has supplied us with the following list of titles written by Jean Plaidy and some of her other pseudonyms. See her collection here, and you must visit the Royal-Intrigue website and blog for more all things Plaidy, reading challenges and fun information!

The books that I own are in red, the ones I have reviewed here will also be linked to the actual review and will be in bold red. I will continue to update this post with new reviews or acquisitions.

Norman Series
The Bastard King Vol. 1
The Lion of Justice Vol. 2
The Passionate Enemies Vol. 3

Plantagenet Series
The Plantagenet Prelude Vol. 1
The Revolt of the Eaglets Vol. 2
The Heart of the Lion Vol. 3
The Prince of Darkness Vol. 4
The Battle of the Queens Vol. 5
The Queen from Provence Vol. 6
Edward Longshanks (The Hammer of the Scots) Vol. 7
The Follies of the King Vol. 8
The Vow on the Heron Vol. 9
The Passage to Pontefract Vol. 10
The Star of Lancaster Vol. 11
Epitaph for Three Women Vol. 12
The Red Rose of Anjou Vol. 13
The Sun in Splendour Vol. 14

Tudor Series
Uneasy Lies the Head Vol. 1 (reprinted as To Hold the Crown)
Katharine the Virgin Widow Vol. 2 (included in Katherine of Aragon)
The Shadow of the Pomegranate Vol. 3 (included in Katherine of Aragon)
The King’s Secret Matter Vol. 4 (included in Katherine of Aragon)
Murder Most Royal Vol. 5
St. Thomas’s Eve Vol. 6
The Sixth Wife Vol. 7
The Thistle and the Rose Vol. 8
Mary, Queen of France Vol. 9
The Spanish Bridegroom Vol. 10 (reprint coming: For a Queen’s Love)
Gay Lord Robert Vol. 11 (reprint coming: A Favorite of the Queen)
Katherine of Aragon Vol. 2,3,4

Mary Stuart Series
The Royal Road to Fotheringhay Vol. 1
The Captive Queen of Scots Vol. 2

James I
The Murder in the Tower

Charles II Trilogy
The Wandering Prince Vol. 1 (included in The Loves of Charles II)
Health Unto His Majesty Vol. 2 (included in The Loves of Charles II)
Here Lies our Sovereign Lord Vol. 3 (included in The Loves of Charles II)
The Loves of Charles II Vol. 1,2,3

Stuart Saga
The Three Crowns Vol. 1 (included in Last of the Stuarts)
The Haunted Sisters Vol. 2 (included in Last of the Stuarts)
The Queen’s Favorites Vol. 3 (included in Last of the Stuarts)
Last of the Stuarts Vol. 1,2,3

Georgian Series
The Princess of Celle Vol. 1
Queen in Waiting Vol. 2
Caroline, the Queen Vol. 3
The Prince and the Quakeress Vol. 4
The Third George Vol. 5
Perdita´s Prince Vol. 6
Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill Vol. 7
Indiscretions of the Queen Vol. 8
The Regent’s Daughter Vol. 9
The Goddess of the Green Room Vol. 10
Victoria in the Wings Vol. 11

Queen Victoria Series
The Captive of Kensington Palace Vol. 1
The Queen and Lord M Vol. 2
The Queen’s Husband Vol. 3
The Widow of Windsor Vol. 4

Queens of England Series
Myself My Enemy Vol. 1 (also printed as Loyal in Love)
Queen of this Realm Vol. 2
Victoria Victorious Vol. 3
The Lady in the Tower Vol. 4
The Courts of Love Vol. 5
In the Shadow of the Crown Vol. 6
The Queen’s Secret Vol. 7
The Reluctant Queen Vol. 8
The Pleasures of Love Vol. 9 (also printed as The Merry Monarch’s Wife)
William’s Wife Vol. 10 (also printed as The Queen’s Devotion)
The Rose Without a Thorn Vol. 11

Ferdinand and Isabella Series
Castile for Isabella Vol. 1
Spain for the Sovereigns Vol. 2
Daughters of Spain Vol. 3
Isabella and Ferdinand Vol. 1,2,3

Lucrezia Borgia Series
Madonna of the Seven Hills Vol. 1
Light on Lucrezia Vol. 2
Lucrezia Borgia Vol. 1,2

de’Medici Series
Madame Serpent Vol. 1
The Italian Woman Vol. 2
Queen Jezebel Vol. 3
Catherine de’Medici Vol. 1,2,3

Henry of Navarre
Evergreen Gallant

French Revolution Series
Louis, the Well-Beloved Vol. 1
The Road to Compiegne Vol. 2
Flaunting Extravagant Queen Vol. 3

Spanish Inquisition Series
The Rise of the Spanish Inquisition Vol. 1
The Growth of Spanish Inquisition Vol. 2
The End of the Spanish Inquisition Vol. 3
The Spanish Inquisition Vol. 1,2,3

Other Titles
Together They Ride
Beyond the Blue Mountains
The Goldsmith’s Wife (also printed as King’s Mistress)
Daughter of Satan
Lilith
It Began in Vauxhall Gardens (also printed as Melisande)
Milady Charlotte
The Scarlet Cloak
Defenders of the Faith
Madame Du Barry
The Queen of Diamonds
The King’s Adventurer (also printed as This Was a Man)
A Triptych of Poisoners
Mary Queen of Scots: Fair Devil of Scotland
King’s Pleasure (also printed as Murder Most Royal)
The Unholy Woman (also printed as The Italian Woman)
Mary Queen of Scotland: The Triumphant Year (also printed as Royal Road to Fotheringhay)
The King’s Mistress (also printed as The Goldsmith’s Wife)
Melisande (also printed as It Began in Vauxhall Gardens)

Children’s Titles
Young Mary Queen of Scots
Young Elizabeth
Meg Roper; Daughter of Sir Thomas More

Jean Plaidy: Selected Works; an Omnibus (includes St. Thomas’s Eve, Royal Road to Fotheringhay, The Goldsmith’s Wife and Perdita’s Prince)

Victoria Holt
Mistress of Mellyn
Kirkland Revels
Bride of Pendorric
The Legend of the Seventh Virgin
Menfreya in the Morning (also published as Menfreya)
The King of the Castle
Queen’s Confession: A Biography of Marie Antoinette (also published as The Queen’s Confession)
The Shivering Sands
The Secret Woman
The Shadow of the Lynx
On the Night of the Seventh Moon
The Curse of the Kings
The House of a Thousand Lanterns
Pride of the Peacock
Lord of the Far Island
The Devil on Horseback
My Enemy the Queen (read and loved)
The Spring of the Tiger
The Mask of the Enchantress
The Judas Kiss
The Demon Lover
The Time of the Hunter’s Moon
The Landower Legacy
Judas Loss
The Road to Paradise Island
Secret for a Nightingale
The Silk Vendetta
The India Fan
The Captive
Snare of Serpents
Daughter of Deceit
Seven for a Secret
The Black Opal

Philippa Carr
The Miracle at St. Bruno’s
The Lion Triumphant
The Witch from the Sea
Saraband for Two Sisters
Lament for a Lost Lover
The Love Child
Song of the Siren
Will You Love Me in September
The Adulteress
The Drop of the Dice
Knave of Hearts (also published as Zipporah’s Daughter)
Voices in a Haunted Room
The Return of the Gypsy
Midsummer’s Eve
The Pool of St. Branok
The Changeling
The Black Swan
A Time for Silence
The Gossamer Cord
We’ll Meet Again
Daughters of England

HAPPY READING!

Friday Fill-In~ All about Me for Real!

Join in the Friday Fill-In Fun~ They provide the basics and we fill-in the blanks with whatever we want! So that means I get to use famous dead people or fave characters.. except this time it was too hard with these prompts. So this one is all me =)

And...here we go!

1. Plans and schedules help keep me organized.

2. I'm happy when things go according to plan, I get confused when schedules get disrupted.

3. The last thing I drank was water after the coffee swig .

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is my family, they are the most valuable above all things .

5. I like black olives, onions and green peppers on my pizza.

6. Dear November, I shall always abhor you, as this is the month I lost my father .

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to coloring with the toddler, tomorrow my plans include wondering if my daughter is riding a horse successfully and Sunday, I want to not feel exhausted!


See my other Fill-In Riddles here (where you guess the famous person!)
~~
Today is the last day for entries for the book giveaway of The Queen's Mistake by Diane Haeger, which I have just started reading. I will also be composing my review of Georgette Heyer's romance, Arabella, this weekend which I finished in a flash it seems. It was wonderful!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Booking Through Thursday~It’s All About Me (sorta)

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb:

Which do you prefer: Biographies written about someone? Or Autobiographies written by the actual person (and/or ghost-writer)?

We had a BTT question once about biographies and memoirs, if we were interested in them in the first place, and I wrote that there were only specific ones I would be interested in.
So if I were indeed actually interested in them, I think it could go both ways as to who the author is of a biography. When written by someone else, you have the illusion of someone objective writing the other person's story, as opposed to an opinionated view written by that person being written about, and I would assume that the whole story to something controversial would not be given. Yet, if written by someone else, I would also assume that they would not be commissioned to write an "authorized" biography of someone that would paint them in a negative light. So, in reality, do we ever really get the whole story?

I have the late Patrick Swayze's autobiographical book to read soon, and I am glad it is written before his death and in his own words. Yet, since I haven't the read the book yet, I hope deep down that it doesn't make him sound silly or unintelligent. In this case, or in any case, what if the writing itself is so poor? What if the author expresses opinions that are so adverse to my own opinion, that would make me dislike this same person I otherwise would have admired? So we'll see, I haven't gone down the autobiography road in a long time, and Patrick Swayze's book will be the first for me. I hope that it is written well and that I finish the book still having the same sense of respect for him, if not more. I will always remember watching Dirty Dancing over and over and over, and absolutely loving that sense of adoration I hold for him as he was dancing with 'Baby' on that stage.

Wordless Wednesday~ Chatsworth House, part 5

Today, a Wordless Wednesday picture:
Inside Chatsworth (the house in my header photo!)
previous Chatsworth photos. Read history here.

Teaser Tuesday ~ Arabella by Georgette Heyer

TEASER TUESDAYS is hosted by ShouldBeReading and asks you to:
♠Grab your current read.
♠Let the book fall open to a random page.
♠Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
♠You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
♠Please avoid spoilers!
From Arabella by Georgette Heyer:

'No, no, how could you think I would grudge you anything, Bertram? But to have you in town, and to be obliged to pretend I am not your sister, and to deceive Papa and Mama-' She stopped, remembering her own situation. 'Oh, Bertram, how wicked we are!' ~page 179

{I am so loving this book, it is absolutely the epitome of pure delight!}

What's Coming Up?

These things have not occurred yet, but you can look forward to these. I will continue to update this page as needed. (*Or as remembered!)

Future Reviews to be expected, subject to change at a moment's notice. A book blogger's life is never cut and dry.

Previously mentioned:
Delilah by India Edghill Review is DONE!


November:
Arabella by Georgette Heyer
My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy (Review 11/16 & Guest Post 11/18)

My Jean Plaidy list, books to read, books I own, books I reviewed.

December/January
Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy by Abigail Reynolds
The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir
Dark Moon of Avalon by Anna Elliott
Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer (December)

January
Island of the Swans by Ciji Ware

The next Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table Event!! Featuring the brand new book,
O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell, in stores in February of 2010. Details being worked out, but for a taste of the fun of The HF Bloggers, check out this link.