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Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML: Georgette Heyer, bestselling Queen of Regency Romance, invites readers to an extraordinary Gothic tale of love, mystery, and intrigue. A surprising invitation Kate Malvern is rescued from penury by her aunt Minerva, who brings her to stay at Staplewood. But the household is strange and strained�Kate's uncle lives in his own private wing, and her handsome, moody cousin Torquil lives in another. A dark family secret As bizarre events unfold and Kate begins to question the reasons for her aunt's unexpected generosity, she has no one to confide in but her cousin Philip. Sympathetic though he may appear, will he tell her what she most needs to know... before it's too late? Praise for Cousin Kate: "Miss Heyer serves up a very different sort of tale in the same period setting, nothing less than a full-fledged Gothic. And a very expert job she does of it, too, complete with a remote and forbidding country house, screams in the night, dark hints of something best left unmentioned... nicely leavened with wit, romance, and wonderful period slang."�Publishers Weekly.… (more)
User reviews
Twenty-four years old and alone in the world, pretty Kate Malvern is cautiously delighted when her long-estranged aunt takes an interest in her. Lady Broome of Staplewood is an imposing woman, but so very kind to her dear niece... maybe too kind. Lady Broome takes immense pride in her husband's isolated country estate at Staplewood, where the Broome line has been preserved unbroken for centuries. Kate soon befriends her cousin Torquil, a pettish but remarkably handsome young man who is tired of living under his mother's thumb. But she has less warmth toward another relation, Philip Broome, who warns her of vague danger and urges her to leave Staplewood. But is he—next in line to inherit, should Torquil die—trustworthy?
Things wear a bit thin. This was published in 1968 near the end of Heyer's career and though it is fairly well executed, the strange mix of Gothic undertones with a patently Regency period setting is odd. I generally love Gothic-toned tales, but when Regency characters find themselves Gothic situations, they fall rather flat (or behave foolishly; see Northanger Abbey!). Things are neatly tied off at the end with rather more rapidity than seems decent, and some of the relationships aren't developed in a believable way.
But having said all this, I certainly enjoyed the read. It's Heyer, after all, and she keeps you reading. And now I want a Sarah Nidd in my life!
The "Cousin Kate" of the title is an orphaned, penniless young woman who's been invited to live with her aunt after losing her position as a governess. Her
The aunt was kind and solicitous, and her cousin Torquil a handsome but moody young man, but the expected introductions to London society never materialized with their hope of contracting a marriage for Kate, and instead they lived quietly in the country, with the poor health of her aunt's husband, Sir Timothy, as an excuse.
With the arrival of Sir Timothy's nephew Phillip, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems, and Kate is thrust into the middle of a mystery, not knowing whom to trust.
I've been wavering between 4 and 5 stars for this book. On the one hand, I have no complaints about it whatsoever. I love the gothic style, and this was a pretty much flawless example of a gothic romance. On the other hand, it's a flawless example of a gothic romance--that is, there was nothing to distinguish it from other gothic romances, nothing that made me say "oh, my god, this is such a good book." Realizing that my ratings have been becoming inflated of late, I'm sticking with the 4 stars. Which I've always intended to mean "a book I really enjoy, but that doesn't make me want to do a little dance."
I downloaded this book expecting another light Regency romance from Heyer, and was surprised (though not particularly disappointed) to discover the many gothic elements in this story: the penniless heroine, the large and gloomy house, the madman in the west wing, the sinister warnings. It doesn't quite manage to be a full-on Gothic, however, as it retains some of the humor characteristic to Heyer's work (Kate's handling of the hypochondriac housekeeper, temperamental chef, and stuck-up lady's maid in the midst of a crisis is amusing), and though the action does come to a violent and startling climax, Kate herself is never in much real danger. My main issue with this book is the insta-love nature of the romantic storyline -- too little page space is devoted to developing the relationship, so I never bought in to the two characters' attraction to each other. I did enjoy reading this book, but as it is atypical of the author's work, I would probably not recommend it as a starting point for reading Heyer, and would recommend it to fans of the author only with the caveat that it may not be quite what one might expect.
Although a great admirer of Heyer, I am forced to agree with those readers who opine that Cousin Kate is unsuccessful, both as a romance and as a thriller. The foreshadowing, such as it is, is far too obvious; and the romance too hurried. Philip Broome's conversion from contempt to adoration struck me as unconvincing, as did Cousin Torquil's madness. It's not that I had trouble believing that mental illness could be so tragically misunderstood and cruelly mistreated in the nineteenth century. What, after all, could have been more likely? But Heyer herself seems to advance some curious notions, such as Torquil's "spells" occurring near the full moon.
As always, I enjoyed Heyer's writing, whatever I may have thought of her narrative, so this was not an entire waste of time, although I would only recommend Cousin Kate to fellow Heyer enthusiasts.
Kate Malvern is twenty-four, an orphan, and has just been fired from her position as a governess. She moves in with her former nurse, Sarah and her family. Kate is determinded to find a new position but Sarah thinks that someone in Kate's family should take her in. She writes to Kate's aunt, whom Kate has never met. Minerva Broome shows up to invite Kate back to her estate, Staplewood, which Kate accepts.
At first Kate is thrilled, her aunt is generous and kind, her uncle, though ill is warm and welcoming. Torquil is her cousin, aged nineteen and though he has his moods and delicate constitution, Kate is fond of him.
But then some strange things happen. Kate hears screaming one night but can't investigate as she is locked in her room. Torquil becomes more difficult to handle and uncle's nephew, Philip insinuates that Kate should leave Staplewood. Kate is unsure what to do or where she would go as she has not heard from Sarah since she moved to Staplewood.
my review: I enjoyed this novel quite a bit; Kate is fearless and spunky, Torquil is creepy, and her aunt is mysterious. A perfect setting for a gothic novel. Of course I love this time period and British novels, so that helped. But I did have some trouble with the language. I thought I was almost fluent in British but I encountered many a word or phrase I was unfamiliar with; farrafiddles, skimble-skamble, jarvey,and nab the rust were a few of my favorites.
It did not detract from the story however. The beginning felt a little slow but it picked up and then went quite fast at the end.
I'm not sure I am a Heyer convert but I think I will read one of the books that was more strongly recommended by Aarti, The Talisman's Ring. Also, I'm not a fan of my library's copies as these are books from decades ago, but it seems that many of the Heyer books are now available as ebooks, so I will try that.
my rating 3.5/5
This novel is quite different from a lot of Georgette Heyer's other pieces. It's very dark first off, more of a gothic novel than any thing else with many spooky events and unsettling discoveries not to mention the impending sense of doom.
One of the things I like so much about Heyer's novels is her deep character studies and Cousin Kate is no different. In fact in this novel she takes it a step further and addresses the very real concerns about how mental illness was treated and the attitude towards it during the regency. Very spooky, no wonder the gothic genre even arose in the first place. No doubt it was from households like these.
Of course, you can't have a Georgette Heyer without the romance. Cousin Phillip is yet another cousin of the establishment that comes to visit at this awkward time and good thing too! He at first believes her to be after the family money but soon realizes something far more sinister is afoot, and Kate is the target of it. Really, I found the misunderstandings these two continually went through to be surprisingly endearing. Normally I can't stand for characters to make a muddle of things. But, with everything else going on around them I could hardly blame them.
Favorite Quote:
"Has it occurred to you, Kate, that she is placing you under an obligation?"
"Oh, yes, indeed it has, and it is crushing me!" she said earnestly. "If only there were some way of requiting her - not arranging flowers, or entertaining Sir Timothy, or bearing Torquil company, but a big thing! Something that was vital to her, or - or even something that entailed a sacrifice! But there isn't anything that I can discover."
There was a pause, during which he frowned down at his well-kept finger-nails. At length he said slowly: "If she were to demand it of you, would you be prepared to make a sacrifice of yourself?"
Young Kate is reduced to the role of a governess, but when even that falls through, poverty
As a plot, Cousin Kate is - bar its regency setting - vintage Gothic. The problem is one of tone, however. Heyer's many years of writing regency romances and some of her other writerly quirks are at odds with demands of the Gothic from almost the outset.
Kate herself, though beautiful enough for a gothic, is far, far too prosaic to be the protagonist for this kind of novel. The idea of her falling into a faint is preposterous and I never really feared for her safety or innocence. Similar issues plague the rest of the characters which - in the main - are _types_ that would populate a gothic novel, but the personalities are not.
This is compounded by Heyer's typically banter and dialogue-heavy writing. A true Gothic demands - a la Ann Radclifee - descriptions of crumbling masonry, dark woods, and gloomy secret rooms and halls. Whilst Heyer attempts to invest Staplewood with that aura, she is ultimately not successful as her descriptions are simply too realistic and lacking the atmosphere needed to sustain a Gothic.
Additionally, her dialogue, as ever, is packed with humour. This is a mixed blessing, as the book is not a short one; not a lot really happens; and Heyer is nothing if not funny. On the other hand, it's so out of place in a Gothic it's hard to know what you're reading at times, and Heyer's somewhat uncomfortable feelings about the working class and the associated stereotypes those feelings bring are on full display here.
In the end, Cousin Kate is indisputably the weakest Heyer I've read. For all that, it's still a Georgette Heyer novel so goes down pretty easy. With such a huge catalogue though, I would recommend all but the most devoted fans give this one a miss.
What sets this one apart from her other Regency novels is
Try reading this, taking into account modern days attitude to madness and psychiatry. This is in the time before Fluoxetine and Olanzapine. Where people were diagnosed as simply "mad" and locked away. The nature of their illness was often hidden away from neighbours and the public, with the burden of looking after them left to family or trusted retainers. The illness itself was not understood and rightly feared. Sometimes inbreeding contributed to the problem.
Depression, schizophrenia, manic depression, at times Torquil shows signs of all three. This, of course, lends itself to a Gothic style novel, much in the style of Emily Bronte, but the real tragedy lies in the fact that society and the medical profession of the era did not know how to handle these cases. Instead, people had to walk on eggshells, trying to cope with the situation, the only recourse being sedatives.
Balanced by this is the "madness" that Torquil's mother exhibits. Her obsession and determination to get her own way all in the name of protecting the legacy.
There is still a lot that needs to be done with mental health, but at least we have progressed beyond the stage depicted here.
Given that Georgette Heyer's least popular books are those where she explores serious subjects rather than just romances, I'd be interested to know her reasons for writing this one.
The
There's a small mystery lurking in the background which slowly gains greater importance as the story developed.
I still can't decide if the period slang is a plus or a minus. It lends authenticity and character, but can also leave the reader confused on occasion as to what the characters actually mean.
Heyer does not spend much time distinguishing Kate and Philip. They are the hero and heroine of the story, and that's that. She spends a great deal of time on Torquil, and therein lies my big disappointment. [book: Cousin Kate] begins like a light hearted romp, and ends like a light hearted romp, but in the middle everyone gives long monologues about how Torquil is mad, mad I tell you and the great tragedy of it all. In fact, the happy ending comes mere pages after two violent deaths, yet the victims' relatives are apparently far too pleased with the impending marriage of Philip and Kate to mourn. It's a disjointed book, and one that owes rather too much to the overwrought gothic novels of the nineteenth century. I'm also annoyed in the presentation of Torquil's madness--I read him like Colin from [book: The Secret Garden], as an under-socialized, high-strung and insensitive spoiled brat. He doesn't have trouble distinguishing reality or anything, but everyone around him takes it for granted that he needs to be institutionalized. Even the eventual deaths don't seem like proof of madness to me. I was puzzled. Didn't they have a slightly better understanding of mental illness when this was written, in the twentieth century? Torquil wasn't mad--just badly raised.
Kate’s former and still faithful nurse, Mrs. Nidd, writes to an aunt of Kate’s, a Lady
As the situation becomes creepier, Sir Timothy’s nephew arrives, the 29-year-old and handsome-in-a-rugged-way Philip Broome. Philip is the second heir to Sir Timothy after Torquil, and Lady Broome decidedly hates him. But Kate and Philip apparently fall into instalove, and by instalove I mean Fastest On Record.
But someone at the estate is dangerous - who is it, and who will survive in the end?
Discussion: The Instalove is a bit ridiculous and the “gothicness” of the plot wasn’t all that gothic, at least by today’s standards. The book was published in 1968, late in Heyer’s career. near the end of Heyer's career, and just doesn’t have the same appeal as her earlier books.
That said, humour does still creep in here and there. I smiled at the way
Kate is a likeable character, and is my favourite in the book, but unlike many other Heyer novels, none the characters are larger than life like, for example, they are in “Frederica” and “Black Sheep”.
I tend to find Heyer novels hit or miss, while this one lies somewhere in between. Good, but not great.
Kate Malvern is an impoverished young woman who is between posts. Her old nurse goes behind her back and writes to her aunt of her circumstances and when her Aunt Minerva invites her to spend some time at Staplewood, Kate thinks this is the answer to her prayers. Unfortunately, before too long, Kate starts to question what is actually going on at this estate, her Aunt is a domineering, possessive woman who seems to be encouraging a relationship to develop between Kate and her son, Torquil. Torquil, in turn, is an excitable, uncontrollable young man given to extreme mood swings. After a number of odd and slightly dangerous incidents Kate realizes that she must leave. To complicate matters further Kate has fallen in love with Torquil’s other cousin, Philip. Can these two young people find happiness in such dark surroundings?
Cousin Kate was published in 1968 when Gothic romances were quite the thing. I believe the author wanted to show that she could hold her own against the likes of Victoria Holt, Phyllis Whitney and Mary Stewart. While I thought the romance between Kate and Philip was developed too quickly, and the ending was rather depressing, it is still always a treat to read a Georgette Heyer book.
This is an unexpected and uncomfortable foray into Gothic suspense, in which characters agonise over whether one of their relatives is
Kate, at least, never loses sight that this person is still a person who deserves compassion. But the early 1800s was an era where there wasn’t much of understanding of, nor effective means of supporting people with, mental health issues. As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that this is is not a situation which can be resolved happily.
I liked Kate and I enjoyed her very Heyer-ish romance. I would have liked the suspense if Staplewood had been home to different secrets.