Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
ARROW (RAND) (2004), Edition: New Ed, Paperback, 376 pages
Description
Georgette Heyer's sparkling romances have charmed and delighted millions of readers. Her characters brilliantly illuminate one of the most exciting and fascinating eras of English history-when drawing rooms sparkled with well-dressed nobility and romantic intrigues ruled the day. Heyer's heroines are smart and independent; her heroes are dashing noblemen who know how to handle a horse, fight a duel, or address a lady. And her sense of humor is legendary. When the incomparable Miss Milbourne spurns the impetuous Lord Sherington's marriage proposal (she laughs at him-laughs!) he vows to marry the next female he encounters, who happens to be the young, penniless Miss Hero Wantage, who has adored him all her life. Whisking her off to London, Sherry discovers there is no end to the scrapes his young, green bride can get into, and she discovers the excitement and glamorous social scene of the ton. Not until a deep misunderstanding erupts and Sherry almost loses his bride, does he plumb the depths of his own heart, and surprises himself with the love he finds there. 'Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen.' -Publishers Weekly Georgette Heyer (1902?1974) wrote over fifty novels, including Regency romances, mysteries, and historical fiction. She was known as the Queen of Regency romance, and was legendary for her research, historical accuracy, and her extraordinary plots and characterizations.… (more)
Media reviews
“Nonsense” is certainly one word to describe Georgette Heyer’s Friday’s Child, an amusing romp of a novel about the early months of a marriage between two excessively silly and immature people in Regency London. ... It is thoroughly unbelievable, but it works because it is also thoroughly
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funny, and because, beneath all the silliness and froth, it offers a surprisingly serious look at gender roles, marriage and growing up. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member ncgraham
Well, here I am again. Reading another Georgette Heyer novel. With yet another pink cover.
Don’t try this at home, boys.
Thankfully, the actual text of Friday’s Child is much more tasteful than the cover of my edition (although typos abound—I’ll need to buy a newer, pristine copy if I choose
At the outset of the story, Lord Anthony “Sherry” Sheringham is in a dire situation. He must either marry or wait until he is twenty-five years old before he may claim his inheritance. Not being the patient sort, and fancying himself in love, he goes to propose to childhood friend and renowned beauty Isabella Milborne (“The Incomparable”). She does not accept him, partially because of some of his more profligate behaviors, partially because she knows he does not love her. Miffed by her refusal and the fake pity afforded by his mother and uncle, he vows to marry the next woman he sees. This turns out to be another childhood friend, Hero Wantage, who has her own reasons for desiring this marriage: first, that if she doesn’t she must become a governess instead; second, that she has always adored Sherry.
The two instantly make there way to London, get married, and settle down. But things do not stay settled for long. Sherry cannot neglect his wife the way he planned to, for having been raised as a dependent relative by a country family, she has no idea of good ton, and so falls into a million scrapes out of which Sherry must rescue her. Meanwhile, he is falling further into the clutches of that notorious gamester, Sir Montagu Revesby. (Is that not the most dastardly name for a villain? I find myself thinking instantly of Vincent Price.) Finally, Sherry’s friends—Gil Ringwood, the honorable Ferdy Frankenham, and Lord George Wrotham—get fed up with his offhand treatment of Hero, and hatch a plan to convince her how very worthy she is of his love.
This is my third Heyer, and I confess that I’m beginning to see the design at work in her fiction. Friday’s Child particularly reminded me of the very first of her novels that I read, Cotillion. Both books feature heroines who have lived all their lives in the country and are brought to London to be introduced into the ton, attend masquerade balls, and be spirited away by their respective unlikely knights whenever they fall unwittingly into social error. But somehow Heyer manipulates the various circumstances and events in such a way that the drama of this story is distinct, memorable, and moving.
And of course, there is one very important way in which Hero and Sherry’s situation differs from Kitty and Freddie’s: they are joined not in a sham engagement, but in a marriage of convenience. I feel that of all the elements in the novel, this central idea is probably the most difficult for modern readers to understand. The notion of an unconsummated marriage is foreign to us. But after a while I just learned to accept it as something that very well might have happened at the time (and shucks, probably does in some places today, too), and I really enjoyed what Heyer did with the situation later on.
On top of all this, it must be admitted that our hero and heroine (or Heyero and Heyeroine, depending on your rank within the Sacred Order of the Society for Regency Fluency) are not what one would call immediately appealing. For all of her high spirits when it comes to certain matters, Hero can at times be too dewy-eyed for my tastes, and more than a bit of a pushover where Sherry is concerned. He, in turn, is dictatorial and insensitive. But they are real people, and both of them develop nicely, Sherry especially. Again, this is a book you need to exercise your patience with—I ended up liking it a great deal more than I thought I would.
To help matters are Sherry’s three friends, who more than make up for any charisma lacking in the leading couple. Gil especially is just the sort of friend any intelligent person wants to have—quiet, unassuming, but never afraid to tell you when you go wrong. George is hilarious in all of his Romantic glory, and Ferdy, of course, gets all the best lines.
All in all, a delightful read.
P.S. To begin with I should’ve said, “don’t try this outside your home.” Devilish business, being stared at on account of one’s reading material! Not quite the thing!
P.P.S. And by “don’t try this,” I mean, of course, “do.” Recommend the book. Fond of it, you know.
Don’t try this at home, boys.
Thankfully, the actual text of Friday’s Child is much more tasteful than the cover of my edition (although typos abound—I’ll need to buy a newer, pristine copy if I choose
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to reread). One could call it Heyer’s treatise on love, hero worship, infatuation, commitment, marriage, and how none of these words is really interchangeable with the other. But maybe that would be taking it too seriously. Mostly it’s just a glorious little romp.At the outset of the story, Lord Anthony “Sherry” Sheringham is in a dire situation. He must either marry or wait until he is twenty-five years old before he may claim his inheritance. Not being the patient sort, and fancying himself in love, he goes to propose to childhood friend and renowned beauty Isabella Milborne (“The Incomparable”). She does not accept him, partially because of some of his more profligate behaviors, partially because she knows he does not love her. Miffed by her refusal and the fake pity afforded by his mother and uncle, he vows to marry the next woman he sees. This turns out to be another childhood friend, Hero Wantage, who has her own reasons for desiring this marriage: first, that if she doesn’t she must become a governess instead; second, that she has always adored Sherry.
The two instantly make there way to London, get married, and settle down. But things do not stay settled for long. Sherry cannot neglect his wife the way he planned to, for having been raised as a dependent relative by a country family, she has no idea of good ton, and so falls into a million scrapes out of which Sherry must rescue her. Meanwhile, he is falling further into the clutches of that notorious gamester, Sir Montagu Revesby. (Is that not the most dastardly name for a villain? I find myself thinking instantly of Vincent Price.) Finally, Sherry’s friends—Gil Ringwood, the honorable Ferdy Frankenham, and Lord George Wrotham—get fed up with his offhand treatment of Hero, and hatch a plan to convince her how very worthy she is of his love.
This is my third Heyer, and I confess that I’m beginning to see the design at work in her fiction. Friday’s Child particularly reminded me of the very first of her novels that I read, Cotillion. Both books feature heroines who have lived all their lives in the country and are brought to London to be introduced into the ton, attend masquerade balls, and be spirited away by their respective unlikely knights whenever they fall unwittingly into social error. But somehow Heyer manipulates the various circumstances and events in such a way that the drama of this story is distinct, memorable, and moving.
And of course, there is one very important way in which Hero and Sherry’s situation differs from Kitty and Freddie’s: they are joined not in a sham engagement, but in a marriage of convenience. I feel that of all the elements in the novel, this central idea is probably the most difficult for modern readers to understand. The notion of an unconsummated marriage is foreign to us. But after a while I just learned to accept it as something that very well might have happened at the time (and shucks, probably does in some places today, too), and I really enjoyed what Heyer did with the situation later on.
On top of all this, it must be admitted that our hero and heroine (or Heyero and Heyeroine, depending on your rank within the Sacred Order of the Society for Regency Fluency) are not what one would call immediately appealing. For all of her high spirits when it comes to certain matters, Hero can at times be too dewy-eyed for my tastes, and more than a bit of a pushover where Sherry is concerned. He, in turn, is dictatorial and insensitive. But they are real people, and both of them develop nicely, Sherry especially. Again, this is a book you need to exercise your patience with—I ended up liking it a great deal more than I thought I would.
To help matters are Sherry’s three friends, who more than make up for any charisma lacking in the leading couple. Gil especially is just the sort of friend any intelligent person wants to have—quiet, unassuming, but never afraid to tell you when you go wrong. George is hilarious in all of his Romantic glory, and Ferdy, of course, gets all the best lines.
All in all, a delightful read.
P.S. To begin with I should’ve said, “don’t try this outside your home.” Devilish business, being stared at on account of one’s reading material! Not quite the thing!
P.P.S. And by “don’t try this,” I mean, of course, “do.” Recommend the book. Fond of it, you know.
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LibraryThing member atimco
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay. — Mother Goose
I did
Antony Verelst, the Viscount Sheringham, cannot touch a penny of his fortune until he either gets married or turns 25. After being rejected by the lovely Isabella Milborne (known as "The Incomparable"), Sherry declares that he will marry the next woman he sees. And that woman happens to be young Hero Wantage, the orphaned and penniless playmate of his childhood. They head off to London, procure the requisite special license, and are married with all propriety the day after Sherry's rejection by Isabella. Though Hero is quietly devoted to Sherry and has been since childhood, they agree that their marriage of convenience will not interfere with each other's lives.
But it does interfere with their lives, as Sherry soon learns. Hero is not "up to snuff" on the social niceties of a lady of fashion, and Sherry is always getting her out of some scrape or another. Though she never means to cause trouble, her charming innocence often leads her to trust people she shouldn't. And Sherry's own harum-scarum habits as a young blood and would-be gamester do not set Hero a good example. Over the course of the story, Sherry's friends Gil, Ferdy, and George begin to see the marriage for what it is, and sympathize greatly with Hero's unrequited love. When events conspire to separate the Viscount and his wife, their friends engage in a well-meaning little plot to open the Viscount's eyes to what he has in Hero.
Hero seems a strange name for our leading lady, but Heyer writes a scene in which she explains that it comes from Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing). It's one of the funnier scenes of the story, with the characters hurriedly disclaiming all knowledge of Shakespeare for fear of being thought that horrid thing, "bookish." It reminded me a little of P. G. Wodehouse's characters and their hilariously vague or derogatory allusions to great literature.
The characters are really wonderful and their interactions with each other are funny but not farcical. George Wrotham is one of my favorites, a dashing and romantic young lord who always has his hair artistically rumpled with one piece hanging over his perfect forehead. He is forever trying to call people out to fight duels, but he's so good with a pistol that no one will go out with him. He is a devoted admirer of The Incomparable, but his mortgaged estates do not recommend his suit. This allows for much angst as he dramatically claims at least three times in the story that he wants to blow his brains out over Isabella's coolness.
I also loved Gil Ringwood, Sherry's intelligent friend, and his cousin Ferdy Fakenham (who is not very intelligent but who certainly dresses in the height of fashion!). And of course Sherry himself is so much fun to watch, moving from a thoughtless, selfish immaturity to a more responsible mindset. Isabella Milborne is also quite well-written; I enjoyed all the rationale behind the coy actions of an incomparable beauty. Lady Saltash is another wonderful lady, and I loved her worldly-wise little comments on the developing story. I instantly pictured her as Barbara Leigh-Hunt, the actress who plays Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice and Lady Cumnor in the 1999 Wives and Daughters.
And who can forget Jason, Sherry's pickpocket of a tiger! I'm not perfectly sure of the definition, but I believe a "tiger" is a nobleman's assistant coachman or some such thing. Sherry met Jason when the latter tried to pick his pockets, and was impressed with the boy's gift with horses. Jason adores his master with an almost religious devotion. The only problem is that Jason can't quite curb his old habits of thievery. But Sherry's friends know that all they have to do is apply to Sherry to make Jason cough up all the stolen property. Too funny!
Heyer's delightful use of the slang of the times has me wanting to incorporate those words into my own vocabulary. It gives the characters such an authentic feel, to have them constantly saying that they shall "deal extremely" (get along well) and that this situation is "beyond anything" (quite shocking) and that so-and-so is "disguised" (drunk). I also love Heyer's attention to the details of what they are wearing. It's quite fascinating and her descriptions conjure up fantastic images of high fashion and breathtaking artistry. I'm not a costumer myself, but the costumers I know would love these descriptions!
So far my experiences with Heyer's books have both been audiobooks (the other I have heard is Cotillion, read by Phyllida Nash). I loved Eve Matheson's reading of this story. She does the various voices extremely well, and her accents are wonderful (Jason's slangy Cockney especially comes to mind). It constantly amazed me how Matheson is able to switch from Hero's soft, sweet voice to Sherry's louder, rougher tones, but she accomplishes this feat admirably in all the dialogue. You can tell that Matheson is fully alive to the wonderful sarcasm of certain narrative descriptions — but it's not all just a laugh. The more serious moments are sensitively handled, and I couldn't believe how much I cared for the characters by the time the story was over.
The only caution I would give to younger readers is that the book does contain a fair amount of mild swearing (all those young bloods don't say "darn," you know!) and there are a few instances in which mistresses, seduction, and "bits of muslin" are discussed.
I can't recommend this story enough, and I'm very thankful to my fellow LibraryThinger ChocolateMuse for suggesting this as my second Heyer book. I'm also very much indebted to my library for coming through with a long-shot interlibrary loan. This title certainly delivered! Now, if only someone would adapt this as a mini-series...
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay. — Mother Goose
I did
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not remember this nursery rhyme when I started Georgette Heyer's Friday's Child, but I'm happy to rediscover it. According to Wikipedia, this novel is generally considered to be one of Heyer's best Regency romances, and was her personal favorite. It is only the second book by Heyer that I have read, but I can see how high it sets the bar! I listened to this story on audiobook (read by Eve Matheson) and enjoyed every minute of it. It could have been twice as long and I would not have complained. Who could, with such a clever storyline and memorable characters?Antony Verelst, the Viscount Sheringham, cannot touch a penny of his fortune until he either gets married or turns 25. After being rejected by the lovely Isabella Milborne (known as "The Incomparable"), Sherry declares that he will marry the next woman he sees. And that woman happens to be young Hero Wantage, the orphaned and penniless playmate of his childhood. They head off to London, procure the requisite special license, and are married with all propriety the day after Sherry's rejection by Isabella. Though Hero is quietly devoted to Sherry and has been since childhood, they agree that their marriage of convenience will not interfere with each other's lives.
But it does interfere with their lives, as Sherry soon learns. Hero is not "up to snuff" on the social niceties of a lady of fashion, and Sherry is always getting her out of some scrape or another. Though she never means to cause trouble, her charming innocence often leads her to trust people she shouldn't. And Sherry's own harum-scarum habits as a young blood and would-be gamester do not set Hero a good example. Over the course of the story, Sherry's friends Gil, Ferdy, and George begin to see the marriage for what it is, and sympathize greatly with Hero's unrequited love. When events conspire to separate the Viscount and his wife, their friends engage in a well-meaning little plot to open the Viscount's eyes to what he has in Hero.
Hero seems a strange name for our leading lady, but Heyer writes a scene in which she explains that it comes from Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing). It's one of the funnier scenes of the story, with the characters hurriedly disclaiming all knowledge of Shakespeare for fear of being thought that horrid thing, "bookish." It reminded me a little of P. G. Wodehouse's characters and their hilariously vague or derogatory allusions to great literature.
The characters are really wonderful and their interactions with each other are funny but not farcical. George Wrotham is one of my favorites, a dashing and romantic young lord who always has his hair artistically rumpled with one piece hanging over his perfect forehead. He is forever trying to call people out to fight duels, but he's so good with a pistol that no one will go out with him. He is a devoted admirer of The Incomparable, but his mortgaged estates do not recommend his suit. This allows for much angst as he dramatically claims at least three times in the story that he wants to blow his brains out over Isabella's coolness.
I also loved Gil Ringwood, Sherry's intelligent friend, and his cousin Ferdy Fakenham (who is not very intelligent but who certainly dresses in the height of fashion!). And of course Sherry himself is so much fun to watch, moving from a thoughtless, selfish immaturity to a more responsible mindset. Isabella Milborne is also quite well-written; I enjoyed all the rationale behind the coy actions of an incomparable beauty. Lady Saltash is another wonderful lady, and I loved her worldly-wise little comments on the developing story. I instantly pictured her as Barbara Leigh-Hunt, the actress who plays Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice and Lady Cumnor in the 1999 Wives and Daughters.
And who can forget Jason, Sherry's pickpocket of a tiger! I'm not perfectly sure of the definition, but I believe a "tiger" is a nobleman's assistant coachman or some such thing. Sherry met Jason when the latter tried to pick his pockets, and was impressed with the boy's gift with horses. Jason adores his master with an almost religious devotion. The only problem is that Jason can't quite curb his old habits of thievery. But Sherry's friends know that all they have to do is apply to Sherry to make Jason cough up all the stolen property. Too funny!
Heyer's delightful use of the slang of the times has me wanting to incorporate those words into my own vocabulary. It gives the characters such an authentic feel, to have them constantly saying that they shall "deal extremely" (get along well) and that this situation is "beyond anything" (quite shocking) and that so-and-so is "disguised" (drunk). I also love Heyer's attention to the details of what they are wearing. It's quite fascinating and her descriptions conjure up fantastic images of high fashion and breathtaking artistry. I'm not a costumer myself, but the costumers I know would love these descriptions!
So far my experiences with Heyer's books have both been audiobooks (the other I have heard is Cotillion, read by Phyllida Nash). I loved Eve Matheson's reading of this story. She does the various voices extremely well, and her accents are wonderful (Jason's slangy Cockney especially comes to mind). It constantly amazed me how Matheson is able to switch from Hero's soft, sweet voice to Sherry's louder, rougher tones, but she accomplishes this feat admirably in all the dialogue. You can tell that Matheson is fully alive to the wonderful sarcasm of certain narrative descriptions — but it's not all just a laugh. The more serious moments are sensitively handled, and I couldn't believe how much I cared for the characters by the time the story was over.
The only caution I would give to younger readers is that the book does contain a fair amount of mild swearing (all those young bloods don't say "darn," you know!) and there are a few instances in which mistresses, seduction, and "bits of muslin" are discussed.
I can't recommend this story enough, and I'm very thankful to my fellow LibraryThinger ChocolateMuse for suggesting this as my second Heyer book. I'm also very much indebted to my library for coming through with a long-shot interlibrary loan. This title certainly delivered! Now, if only someone would adapt this as a mini-series...
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LibraryThing member Cait86
[Friday's Child] is the story of a young couple, Lord Sherry and Hero, who marry for convenience sake. Sherry will not be given access to his fortune until he is 25, or married, whichever comes first. He proposes to Isabella Milborne, the most beautiful woman he knows, and is turned down.
Heyer's characters are wonderful; Sherry's friends - Gil, Ferdy, and George - are fantastically drawn and the life of the novel. The best scenes in the book are the ones that display the dynamic between these four men. Though they initially seem like an identical group of rakes, they are actually very different in personality, and their antics are hilarious. Though [Friday's Child] is set in the time of Jane Austen, and deals with the same type of "comedy of manners," the real difference comes in Heyer's ability to write about this masculine world. Austen is very female-focused, and while she wrote extensively about the private lives of women, her reader is not privy to the home lives of her male characters - we do not see Darcy and Bingely drinking port and discussing Elizabeth and Jane. Heyer's readers are, however, able to see and hear exactly what her male characters are thinking. We enter their breakfast rooms and gaming halls just as often as we enter Hero's and Isabella's drawing-rooms. I enjoyed seeing the other side of this society, and look forward to reading more of Heyer's works.
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Horrified, Sherry vows to marry the first woman he sees. Hero, who is not yet 17, has known and loved Sherry for many years - a fact of which he is oblivious. When Sherry encounters Hero after his ill-fated proposal, they run away to London, and are married. They vow to lead separate lives, and leave each other to their own devices; however, Hero's inexperience in society causes her to get into any number of scrapes. What follows is a comedic series of misunderstandings that will have you laughing out loud!Heyer's characters are wonderful; Sherry's friends - Gil, Ferdy, and George - are fantastically drawn and the life of the novel. The best scenes in the book are the ones that display the dynamic between these four men. Though they initially seem like an identical group of rakes, they are actually very different in personality, and their antics are hilarious. Though [Friday's Child] is set in the time of Jane Austen, and deals with the same type of "comedy of manners," the real difference comes in Heyer's ability to write about this masculine world. Austen is very female-focused, and while she wrote extensively about the private lives of women, her reader is not privy to the home lives of her male characters - we do not see Darcy and Bingely drinking port and discussing Elizabeth and Jane. Heyer's readers are, however, able to see and hear exactly what her male characters are thinking. We enter their breakfast rooms and gaming halls just as often as we enter Hero's and Isabella's drawing-rooms. I enjoyed seeing the other side of this society, and look forward to reading more of Heyer's works.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Marry in haste, repent in leisure is an old proverb that could well have been in Georgette Heyer’s mind as she thought up the plot to Friday’s Child. An angry rejected suitor swears to marry the first woman he sets his eyes upon, but perhaps fate has stepped in and given him his perfect match,
Hero, having been raised simply in the country does not know all the fine details of manoeuvring through polite society. With no one to guide her, she makes plenty of missteps along the way. Lord Anthony, instead of helping her, often either laughs at her follies or scolds her. Eventually she makes a mistake that he can’t excuse and she decides the best solution is to run away.
How these two young people overcome all obstacles, including their own rather silly and at times, selfish natures made for a very clever and intriguing story. These two had a lot of growing up to do, as they both tend to be impulsive and between them possess only about half a brain. They are however charming and very likeable and you can’t help but root for them.
As always with Georgette Heyer, her eye to detail is spot on whether she is describing the fashionable clothes, furnishings or food of the day. I truly think her best work is in the dialogue, she uses the popular phrasing from that time and some very clever and amusing tidbits are sprinkled throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed this light comedy of errors.
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if only he could see it. Young poor-relation Hero, accepts his proposal as she has always had a crush on Lord Anthony and sees this as a perfect way to avoid being shipped off as a governess. Although her family comes to see the benefits of this alliance, and their friends rally around, Lord Anthony’s mother does not seem in any hurry to come around and, in fact, seems to be enjoying slandering her new daughter-in-law to all who will listen.Hero, having been raised simply in the country does not know all the fine details of manoeuvring through polite society. With no one to guide her, she makes plenty of missteps along the way. Lord Anthony, instead of helping her, often either laughs at her follies or scolds her. Eventually she makes a mistake that he can’t excuse and she decides the best solution is to run away.
How these two young people overcome all obstacles, including their own rather silly and at times, selfish natures made for a very clever and intriguing story. These two had a lot of growing up to do, as they both tend to be impulsive and between them possess only about half a brain. They are however charming and very likeable and you can’t help but root for them.
As always with Georgette Heyer, her eye to detail is spot on whether she is describing the fashionable clothes, furnishings or food of the day. I truly think her best work is in the dialogue, she uses the popular phrasing from that time and some very clever and amusing tidbits are sprinkled throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed this light comedy of errors.
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LibraryThing member OregonKimm
While sick with the Swine Flu recently, I had a good several days in bed that allowed me to read my first ever Georgette Heyer book: Friday’s Child. Can I just say this? OMG…how did I ever walk this planet and not know Georgette Heyer?!?!?! Seriously, I’ve been reading regency books since I
So…she sat there in the back of my head until I found that Sourcebooks began reprinting her titles! Oh, Joy! Oh, Joy! I took a step and bought Friday’s Child, intending to give her a shot. And can I say that I just loved it?!?! Seriously, the humor and wit that ran throughout the books was utterly delightful to me! I love reading regencies to relax. They are great “take me back in time” stories that I fall in a spell with each time I read one. Friday’s Child was no exception. Heyer was able to keep the plot rolling and rolling. Actually, I thought she could have ended the story several times before she did, but nonetheless…was happy to keep the characters with me til the end!
If you enjoy regencies…then I highly recommend Georgette Heyer if you’ve never tried her before.
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was in high school (hmm…that’s a long time ago folks). Not once have I ever seen her books out in a store. Then the funniest thing happened: About a year or so ago, I stumbled across a mention of her, which piqued my interest. I tried to find one of her books in the bookstore, to no avail. I then started hitting E-bay for the longest time…many, many old collections up for grabs if you are willing to bid high for them. Sorry to say, at the time I wasn’t that driven to do so. So…she sat there in the back of my head until I found that Sourcebooks began reprinting her titles! Oh, Joy! Oh, Joy! I took a step and bought Friday’s Child, intending to give her a shot. And can I say that I just loved it?!?! Seriously, the humor and wit that ran throughout the books was utterly delightful to me! I love reading regencies to relax. They are great “take me back in time” stories that I fall in a spell with each time I read one. Friday’s Child was no exception. Heyer was able to keep the plot rolling and rolling. Actually, I thought she could have ended the story several times before she did, but nonetheless…was happy to keep the characters with me til the end!
If you enjoy regencies…then I highly recommend Georgette Heyer if you’ve never tried her before.
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LibraryThing member foggidawn
When Lord Sherringham (Sherry, to his friends) proposes to and is rejected by an Incomparable, he goes out and marries the next woman he sees -- a girl he has known since childhood, and who has adored him for most of her life. Hero (dubbed "Kitten" by Sherry) has spent her girlhood as a poor
This is just as delightful as any Georgette Heyer I've read. I particularly liked seeing Sherry's character development -- unusual, in the hero of a Regency romance. If you haven't read any Georgette Heyer and are interested in giving her a try, this would be a pleasant place to start.
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relation, and is about to be packed off to be a governess when Sherry makes his proposal. Of course, it will only be a marriage of convenience -- Sherry must be married before he can have control of his inheritance. Sherry has no plans to change his way of life at all, despite being married. Of course, he means to give Kitten every luxury, since he's always been quite fond of her. When he finds himself rescuing his naive wife from scrape after scrape, usually because she was imitating some action of his, he starts to realize that marriage is a more serious proposition than he had at first suspected. The big question, though, is what will it take for Sherry to actually fall in love with his wife?This is just as delightful as any Georgette Heyer I've read. I particularly liked seeing Sherry's character development -- unusual, in the hero of a Regency romance. If you haven't read any Georgette Heyer and are interested in giving her a try, this would be a pleasant place to start.
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LibraryThing member DesertIslandia
Letter below reprinted in book "The Private World of Georgette Heyer" by Jane Aiken Hodge, 1984. (Can't make out all of note by Heyer's secretary at top of page; in part can see, "...astonishing letter!")
Lake Placid, September 6, 1963
Dear Mrs. Heyer,
On behalf of hundreds of political women
In 1948, a year before my arrest, I had read -- and revelled in --FRIDAY'S CHILD, and as I have a very retentive memory I was able to tell it to my cell-mates, practically verbatim. At first it was very difficult, because I had to translate as I went along and didn't want them to lose one of the quips and Ferdy-isms which are so much part of it. With time I acquired skill and in this way Hero (Kitten), Sherry, Gil, Isabella became our close and much-loved friends who were often asked to visit us and received a warm welcome and aroused hearty - but hushed - laughter. Truly, your characters managed to awaken smiles, even when hearts were heavy, stomach empty and the future dark indeed!
You probably don't know that life in a Rumanian political prison is particularly harsh. Political prisoners are strictly forbidden:
a) all communication with their families, lawyers, etc,
b) books, newspapers, magazines,
c) writing materials of any kind,
d) transistors, etc.
During the 12 years I spent in prison I didn't see a written page. My memory however, could not be sealed up and thanks to it and to you, my fellow-sufferers begged, again and again, to hear "What Kitten Did Next".
I decided then, if I ever came out of prison and from behind the Iron Curtain, to write and thank you most gratefully for this "jewel of the past and present" and wish you to remember than although I am no longer there, your jewel is still helping those that carry on their weary load of prison years.
With warmest regards,
Sincerely,
(signed)
(Miss) Nora SAMUELLI
Lake Placid, September 6, 1963
Dear Mrs. Heyer,
On behalf of hundreds of political women
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prisoners in Rumania, I wish to express their thanks and mine for having helped us escape -- for a few hours at least -- from the weary drabness of our prison days and the evil that surrounded us.In 1948, a year before my arrest, I had read -- and revelled in --FRIDAY'S CHILD, and as I have a very retentive memory I was able to tell it to my cell-mates, practically verbatim. At first it was very difficult, because I had to translate as I went along and didn't want them to lose one of the quips and Ferdy-isms which are so much part of it. With time I acquired skill and in this way Hero (Kitten), Sherry, Gil, Isabella became our close and much-loved friends who were often asked to visit us and received a warm welcome and aroused hearty - but hushed - laughter. Truly, your characters managed to awaken smiles, even when hearts were heavy, stomach empty and the future dark indeed!
You probably don't know that life in a Rumanian political prison is particularly harsh. Political prisoners are strictly forbidden:
a) all communication with their families, lawyers, etc,
b) books, newspapers, magazines,
c) writing materials of any kind,
d) transistors, etc.
During the 12 years I spent in prison I didn't see a written page. My memory however, could not be sealed up and thanks to it and to you, my fellow-sufferers begged, again and again, to hear "What Kitten Did Next".
I decided then, if I ever came out of prison and from behind the Iron Curtain, to write and thank you most gratefully for this "jewel of the past and present" and wish you to remember than although I am no longer there, your jewel is still helping those that carry on their weary load of prison years.
With warmest regards,
Sincerely,
(signed)
(Miss) Nora SAMUELLI
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Eh. It's labeled a "romantic comedy" - not funny to me. It's sitcom-type humor - watching people make the wrong decisions, over and over. As a romance, it's mildly cute; Hero is so sweet I don't mind her being an idiot (unlike Heyer's usual idiots, who tend to be mean-minded). Sherry is no older,
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mentally and emotionally, than Hero - despite being 5 years older. I think the Trust was an _excellent_ idea, though Sherry did eventually develop some brains. Their completely unconsummated marriage is rather weird - neither one thinks of the other in that way at all. At least, not until the end of the story - there's hope, at that point. The determined misunderstandings at the end are somewhat annoying, and I'm pleased that Tarleton managed to cut through the mess (though that's not what he intended!). I enjoyed it, more or less, though it was rather long. Not sure if I'll bother to reread. Show Less
LibraryThing member jjmachshev
Reviewed for queuemyreview.com
Another re-release from Georgette Heyer that was first published in 1944, “Friday’s Child” seemed to answer a public outcry for more light-hearted regency fair. As Ms Heyer herself wrote about this novel, “I think myself I ought to be shot for writing such
This was written during a time of deprivation and war in London and Ms Heyer’s fans were looking for a way to escape from their tense situation. The humor and comedic banter in her novels provided them a way to retreat (at least mentally) to a happier place and enjoy the antics and bumble broths of her well-written characters.
Friday’s Child is the story of Sherry, Lord Sherington, and Kitten, Hero Wantage, who marry at what seems to be the drop of a hat. Sherry needs a wife to gain control of his inheritance. The orphaned Hero needs someone to help her or she’s about to be sent off by her cousins to work as a governess. Since Sherry’s first choice refuses him, when he happens along and sees Kitten so down-hearted, he coerces the story out of her and then decides if he must be married, might as well be to Kitten! As she is not yet ‘of age’, they elope to London.
Both characters are really not mature enough to manage themselves, much less marry; but as this will solve both their problems, onward they go. This is only the beginning of chapters of mayhem, scrapes, and misadventures. With each problem revealed and eventually solved, the reader watches these two grow up and learn to recognize and accept responsibility. They say the devil is in the details and so it is with Ms Heyer’s novel. Her detailed descriptions and dialogue evoke the regency period with all its attendant restrictions and limits. The secondary cast will leave you in stitches as each tries to help or hinder the couple as appropriate for their motives.
This is an enjoyable, G-rated novel as there are only a handful of passionate kisses towards the end of the novel; so this would be appropriate for any age reader. It would, I think, be difficult to read this book without a smile on your face. The antics of the happy couple and their supporters and detractors seem delightfully silly compared with most romance fare today. If you are in need of a few hours of escape, I heartily recommend “Friday’s Child” by Georgette Heyer.
Another re-release from Georgette Heyer that was first published in 1944, “Friday’s Child” seemed to answer a public outcry for more light-hearted regency fair. As Ms Heyer herself wrote about this novel, “I think myself I ought to be shot for writing such
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nonsense, but it's questionably good escapist literature and I think I should rather like it if I were sitting in an air-raid shelter, or recovering from flu. Its period detail is good; my husband says it's witty---and without going to these lengths, I will say that it is very good fun.” (From the book “The Private World of Georgette Heyer” by Jane Aiken Hodge; Random House, APR06)This was written during a time of deprivation and war in London and Ms Heyer’s fans were looking for a way to escape from their tense situation. The humor and comedic banter in her novels provided them a way to retreat (at least mentally) to a happier place and enjoy the antics and bumble broths of her well-written characters.
Friday’s Child is the story of Sherry, Lord Sherington, and Kitten, Hero Wantage, who marry at what seems to be the drop of a hat. Sherry needs a wife to gain control of his inheritance. The orphaned Hero needs someone to help her or she’s about to be sent off by her cousins to work as a governess. Since Sherry’s first choice refuses him, when he happens along and sees Kitten so down-hearted, he coerces the story out of her and then decides if he must be married, might as well be to Kitten! As she is not yet ‘of age’, they elope to London.
Both characters are really not mature enough to manage themselves, much less marry; but as this will solve both their problems, onward they go. This is only the beginning of chapters of mayhem, scrapes, and misadventures. With each problem revealed and eventually solved, the reader watches these two grow up and learn to recognize and accept responsibility. They say the devil is in the details and so it is with Ms Heyer’s novel. Her detailed descriptions and dialogue evoke the regency period with all its attendant restrictions and limits. The secondary cast will leave you in stitches as each tries to help or hinder the couple as appropriate for their motives.
This is an enjoyable, G-rated novel as there are only a handful of passionate kisses towards the end of the novel; so this would be appropriate for any age reader. It would, I think, be difficult to read this book without a smile on your face. The antics of the happy couple and their supporters and detractors seem delightfully silly compared with most romance fare today. If you are in need of a few hours of escape, I heartily recommend “Friday’s Child” by Georgette Heyer.
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LibraryThing member breadcrumbreads
If there's one thing I like about Georgette Heyer it is a plathora of heroes and heroines - each so unlike the others with a character and personality all their own. It is thus with Friday's Child with so unlikely a starring pair. Lord Sheringham (Sherry to his friends) and Hero (Kitten to Sherry
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and his friends) are a young pair that marry only because the one needs his inheritance in hand as quickly as possible, and the other because there is no once she has ever admired and loved as she has dear Sherry. But with two mere children setting up house chaos and misunderstandings are bound to happen. Hero, completely uninitiated in the ways of the London ton has only a careless Sherry to guide her in most matters. However, it takes the young lord a long while to discover that his little wife takes everything he says as gospel truth and that he must mind his tongue. She is forever unwittingly getting into scrapes, and we see Sherry grow up within the pages of the book as he fishes her out of pools of trouble. But things come to a climax when he scold Hero severly for something gone wrong, and she realises that she is ruining his life and so runs away. She is hopelessly in love with him and would rather he forget about her and marry the first woman he had ever proposed to...Isabel......the instigator of the subplot that runs through the novel. Sherry's friend, George, is a penniless baron deeply in love with the Incomparable, Isabella. Their affair is held up as a foil to and intertwine with that of Sherry's and Hero's. Misunderstanding arise between the two couples but a final reconilliation is reached - of course! I love this book for its fascinating characters. Sherry is one of my favourite Heyer heroes (he is perhaps the only one that readers watch grow in the story) and his best friends Freddy and Gil are simply a riot in all their earnest endeavours to reconcile Sherry with Hero. Show Less
LibraryThing member ejj1955
Mild spoilers:
This particular romance concerns young Lord Sherringham, known as Sherry, who proposes to Isabella, known as the Incomparable, and is refused. Irritated by this and determined to marry so he can come into his substantial inheritance, Sherry vows to marry the first woman he sees. Hero
Hero, dubbed Kitten by her new husband, becomes a favorite of his group of friends and embarks on life in Society with a vengeance, buying clothes and furnishings, seeing the sights, going to parties, and having a brief but expensive flirtation with gambling. Sherry realizes his young bride has had no preparation for the life she's now leading, and he often finds himself pulling her out of scrapes, warning her away from undesirable companions, and explaining, with exasperation, why she should not have listened to words he himself carelessly uttered in her presence.
When he castigates her for another shocking escapade (she was planning a public carriage race against another lady) and threatens to send her to his unsympathetic mother for training, Hero runs to his friends for help, and they obligingly hide her with the grandmother of one of them in Bath. Sherry's friends realize that Sherry cares for her more than he himself has realized and figure that missing her will give him a chance to know his own heart.
Further adventures ensue and another star-crossed set of lovers must work out their misunderstandings before all comes right in the end . . . of course.
This particular romance concerns young Lord Sherringham, known as Sherry, who proposes to Isabella, known as the Incomparable, and is refused. Irritated by this and determined to marry so he can come into his substantial inheritance, Sherry vows to marry the first woman he sees. Hero
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Wantage, an orphan girl living with an aunt and cousins nearby, chances to be that woman--or girl; she's just shy of her sixteenth birthday, but about to be sent away to become a governess. Sherry sees her weeping, tells her of his own problem, and declares on the spot that he'll marry her. She, having adored him her whole life, agrees, and the two drive off to London and are married by special license.Hero, dubbed Kitten by her new husband, becomes a favorite of his group of friends and embarks on life in Society with a vengeance, buying clothes and furnishings, seeing the sights, going to parties, and having a brief but expensive flirtation with gambling. Sherry realizes his young bride has had no preparation for the life she's now leading, and he often finds himself pulling her out of scrapes, warning her away from undesirable companions, and explaining, with exasperation, why she should not have listened to words he himself carelessly uttered in her presence.
When he castigates her for another shocking escapade (she was planning a public carriage race against another lady) and threatens to send her to his unsympathetic mother for training, Hero runs to his friends for help, and they obligingly hide her with the grandmother of one of them in Bath. Sherry's friends realize that Sherry cares for her more than he himself has realized and figure that missing her will give him a chance to know his own heart.
Further adventures ensue and another star-crossed set of lovers must work out their misunderstandings before all comes right in the end . . . of course.
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LibraryThing member shojo_a
'Friday's Child' may be my favorite Heyer. It was just so airy and amusing and comical, and like Cotillion, I really came to love the characters so much that I didn't want to leave them at the end. I loved Sherry's good natured selfishness and Kitten's impulsive curiosity and George's hot-blooded
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romanticism (If the book were set now, he would totally be Emo!) and Ferdy and Gil! Show Less
LibraryThing member CarriePalmer
Georgette Heyer's sweetest romance. I laugh and cry every time I read this story and cheer with Hero as she wins Anthony's heart.
LibraryThing member LadyWesley
Cute story with delightful characters. One of the very best Heyers.
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Rejected by the incomparable beauty Miss Milbourne, and stung by the criticisms of his mama, young Lord Sheringham vows to marry the next woman he sees, making good on his promise when he encounters his naive and penniless neighbor, Miss Hero Wantage, on the road to London. This impetuous action
An engaging read, Friday's Child has been compared unfavorably to Heyer's earlier novel, The Convenient Marriage, which also features the story of a very young heroine and her unexpected marriage. While I agree that the characters of Sherry and "Kitten" - the one so immature, the other so passive - leave something to be desired, I cannot help but feel that to compare them to Rule and Horry (of The Convenient Marriage) is to miss the point. This is a tale of growing up and realizing where one's heart lies, and it is hard to imagine how Heyer could have told her story if Sherry had been as sophisticated and knowing as Lord Rule.
That said, I am in agreement that The Convenient Marriage is the more enjoyable novel, and Rule the more desirable hero. I imagine this says quite as much about my own requirements in a romance as it does about Heyer's work...
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leads to any number of amusing escapades, for neither had the least notion of what it means to be married...An engaging read, Friday's Child has been compared unfavorably to Heyer's earlier novel, The Convenient Marriage, which also features the story of a very young heroine and her unexpected marriage. While I agree that the characters of Sherry and "Kitten" - the one so immature, the other so passive - leave something to be desired, I cannot help but feel that to compare them to Rule and Horry (of The Convenient Marriage) is to miss the point. This is a tale of growing up and realizing where one's heart lies, and it is hard to imagine how Heyer could have told her story if Sherry had been as sophisticated and knowing as Lord Rule.
That said, I am in agreement that The Convenient Marriage is the more enjoyable novel, and Rule the more desirable hero. I imagine this says quite as much about my own requirements in a romance as it does about Heyer's work...
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LibraryThing member Iralell
Charming regency romance. If you're a fan of this category, you'll love Georgette Heyer. Atypical characters who'll stick with you. Friday's Child evoked the era better than any other regency romance I've ever read.
LibraryThing member jmaloney17
Another pleasant Heyer novel. This one has a naive girl marrying a Viscount that she has known since she was a young child for the convenience of both. She admired and loved him her whole life. He just liked her as a friend. She gets into all kinds of scrapes. He gets her out of them. It is very
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light hearted. Show Less
LibraryThing member riverwillow
This has to be my favourite Heyer novel. Lord Sherringham, Sherry to his close friends, following his rejection by Miss Milborne vows to marry the first woman he encounters - Hero Wantage, a young girl destined for a career as a governess, who has loved Sherry since childhood. The marry, on the
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understanding that this is a marriage of convenience, and then Hero, or Kitty as she is now nicknamed, in her innocence leads Sherry a merry merry dance as she falls in with the wrong people. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but there are some hilarious moments involving a duel, a misguided elopement (including a pug), and a great moment where Miss Milborne shows her true colours and watch out for the tiger! Fantastic. Show Less
LibraryThing member teckelvik
I absolutely love this book. The dialogue is so wonderful, setting each character clearly, and the characters are so well drawn and act completely naturally, and without being interchangeable. Interestingly, none of the main characters is particularly bright or responsible, which would ordinarily
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turn me against them, but they are all good hearted and well-intentioned, and as they get in deeper and deeper over their heads, they get to be more and more fun. Hero, in particular, qualifies as too stupid to live, but somehow manages not to be totally annoying. I suspect that I would slap her repeatedly if I did know her, but she does seem to get at least a bit of a clue towards the end, and that helps. In the meantime, she is part of a wonderful set of people who play off each other beautifully, and hilariously, in this really very funny and sweet book. Show Less
LibraryThing member phoebesmum
A reread as a result of a bout of illness that left me able to do very little other than revisit old favourites. Spoilt, thoughtless Sherry, on being rejected by the woman of his choice, determines to marry the next woman he sees. The next woman he sees is 16-year-old Hero, who has been in love
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with him from childhood. Sherry finds that it's he, rather than Hero, who has a lot of growing up to do. Show Less
LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Lord Sherringham is determined to gain access to his Trust, and in order to do so he must marry. After the Beauty he avowed to love turns him down, he proposes to his old childhood playmate, the penniless orphan Hero. Hero has worshiped him all her life, so of course she agrees to marry him. But
tbc
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the newly-weds find that life is not as simple as they'd supposed: Hero is but 16, with no knowledge of society or much of propriety, and Sherry is continually having to explain the (rather nonsensical, arbitrary, or hypocritical) rules by which she must abide.tbc
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LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
Sherry, a rather reckless young man, does something in haste which was not necessarily wise. Delightful characters, fast-moving plot, very well-written and enjoyable.
LibraryThing member gabarito
I really enjoyed this one, very lighthearted and funny. Ferdy was clearly a prototype version of Freddy from Cotillion.
LibraryThing member shojo_a
'Friday's Child' may be my favorite Heyer. It was just so airy and amusing and comical, and like Cotillion, I really came to love the characters so much that I didn't want to leave them at the end. I loved Sherry's good natured selfishness and Kitten's impulsive curiosity and George's hot-blooded
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romanticism (If the book were set now, he would totally be Emo!) and Ferdy and Gil! Show Less
LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
Endearing story of young marriage and maturing relationship. One of Heyer's better novels.
Subjects
Original publication date
1944
Physical description
376 p.; 5.12 inches
ISBN
0099468042 / 9780099468042