Cotillion by Georgette Heyer – Book Review

Category: Books and Music

Cotillion is probably the first of many Georgette Heyer books I will write about so I should probably tell you a little bit about her. She is an amazing woman who wrote Regency novels in the 1900s.

 

She also wrote twelve detective stories but her historical fiction books, set in Jane Austen’s time period, are the most accurate in writing style and understanding of culture that I have ever seen (and believe me, I’ve seen a lot).

 

Cotillion is about Miss Kitty Charing who has become the heir to a vast amount of money on one stifling condition: that she marries one of her guardian’s great nephews.

 

This stipulation is unnerving: the choices are anything but ideal. The eligible bachelors are Lord Foster Dolphinton, not very smart but under the influences of a controlling mother, Reverend Hugh Biddenden a holier-than-thou man of the church, Freddy Standen a wealthy, well meaning man (even if he’s not the brightest of the bunch), and Jack Westruther, a well-known rake.

 

With such choices as these, Kitty’s only option is to fake an engagement. When she coerces Freddy into offering for her, she doesn’t have any idea what an engagement is like, but she is about to find out.

 

The writing is enchanting and the language is not for the faint of heart. It may be shorter than an Austen novel yet it needs your undivided attention. It’s the kind of book you read on a lazy day when you pretend there is nothing to do. It cannot be read little bits at a time. But, anyone who is a regency or romance fan will find it a very great story.

 

About the Author

Becka Olsen is a 15-year old student and a book lover to the max. She loves Regency Romances and anything by J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan and Brandon Mull as well as Jane Austen, Shakespeare, and other classic authors. Becka brings a unique perspective for our young adult readers as well as parents looking to find a book for their children.