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Summary: Love and hate go hand in hand...
Review: This was my first Georgette Heyer book and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it! The way Ms. Heyer weaves humor and historical detail into her books is amazing and beautiful. I am so sad that most of her books are out of print, but you can believe that I will be faithfully searching every nook and cranny I can find to get my hands on more!Lord Mablethorpe is a man in love. Well... not exactly. He has proclaimed undying love to Miss Deborah Grantham, but it is painfully obvious that it is just a case of puppy love. However, this is not the story that gets to Mablethorpe's mother's ears. Lady Mablethorpe hears that a wench from the gaming table has ensnared her helpless son into marriage. As Lord Mablethorpe is of respectable lineiage and will come into a handsom fortune, Lady Mablethorpe will not let this come to pass. She has nothing better to do then to call on her nephew, Mr. Max Ravenscar, the richest man in London. Lady Mablethorpe begs him to save her son from the claws of the harpy, and so Mr. Ravenscare accepts. He intends to buy Deborah off at whatever price it takes. When he confronts Deb with the subject of her "ingagement" to Lord Mablethorpe, she is extremely offended. She never had any intention of marrying Lord Mablethorpe (of course she doesn't tell Ravenscar this) and she is not really a woman of the gaming houses. Oh, it's true that she does enjoy a bit of cards and she does run the E.O. table at her aunt's house, but this is because she and her aunt are in dire straits and desperately need money. As a matter of pride, Deb will not take the money from Ravenscar and declares that she will marry Mablethorpe (of course it is a lie) and she will bring him to utter ruin. Coming home in a fit of rage, Deb makes a resolution to act as the harpy that Ravenscar seems to think she is. She tranforms herself into a gaudy, chintzy, totally tasteless female and shocks everyone. The two thouroughly dislike each other, but... love and hate go hand in hand... Oh dear! It is such a shame that all of Georgette Heyer's books are not all in print. I was lucky enough to find _Faro's Daughter_ at my library, I storngly urge you to look for it too. This is what regency and romance is all about, my friends. This is it! The humor, the slang ("I don't give a button what you think!") the love, the language, all of it. Georgetts Heyer's style of writing should be the basis of every author's book. She does not treat her readers as children and spell everything out for them. Indeed, reading one of her books is an interactive experience. Her plots are unique, if not the origionals. Her characters come alive and basically speek to you. The emotions that I felt while reading _Faro's Daughter_ cannot actually be said out loud... all I can say is read it. You must, you simply must. Georgette Heyer books are must haves for any true romance fan.
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