searching for my disciples
Argh, it's nearly a month since I finished my final Heyer, The Grand Sophy.
I am so glad all the hype totally paid off! An absolute delight of a book even though I had quite an interrupted read, by far the longest I've ever taken to finish a Heyer. But Sophy was such a scream and I loved how infuriated Charles was by her. And oh the ducklings and possibly one of the best declarations of love in all the Heyer novels. So very good and satisfying. I'm so glad I kept it for the last.
Mind you, one thing though. The anti-Semitism was bloody awful! I'd been noticing it over all the novels --- the scornful labels of 'Jews' as synonymous with vulture moneylenders --- but was excusing it with a nervous laugh of "haha, it's Heyer doing verisimilitude, it's not her fault, she's not being anti-Semitic, she's just writing people of a certain time and place ... haha haha." But this one just went full force and I pretty much did a Colon trying to climb into his own helmet sort of thing. *Pratchett reference, sorry*
Not only was this the first time we actually met one of these 'Jew' moneylenders but he was characterised as a complete villain and maybe even a cariacature, and the fact that Sophy pulled a gun on him made me go "oh hey now, hold on there, Heyer!" Urgh. It got me wondering whether it wasn't so much a case of Heyer writing people of a certain time and place as a case of Heyer herself being a person of a certain time and place. Ack. My Heyer has clay feet.
Makes me cast a basilisk eye over my own writing. How much of a person of a certain time and place am I? Urgh.
But that aside, awesome awesome awesome novel. I prolly should mention I did actually buy and start An Infamous Army. It proved my suspicion bang right --- waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy too much politics and militaristic shit for my liking --- and I did not care for our snooty too-glamourous-for-thou heroine one bit so it got tossed aside barely into the second or third chapter. Which makes me feel only a leetle guilty. *bites lip*
And maybe one day when I'm really desperate, I might take up the mysteries just in case they feature the same wicked sense of humour. I could always turn a blind eye to the plots, I suppose, and try to forget that she didn't come up with them herself. I do love the covers, though.
And while I'm talking books, apparently not even zombies and the relief of modern punctuation can alleviate the boredom of Austen for this heretic right here. *sigh* Still a damned awesome cover, just that image almost makes me glad I bought it. Hee.
I am so glad all the hype totally paid off! An absolute delight of a book even though I had quite an interrupted read, by far the longest I've ever taken to finish a Heyer. But Sophy was such a scream and I loved how infuriated Charles was by her. And oh the ducklings and possibly one of the best declarations of love in all the Heyer novels. So very good and satisfying. I'm so glad I kept it for the last.
Mind you, one thing though. The anti-Semitism was bloody awful! I'd been noticing it over all the novels --- the scornful labels of 'Jews' as synonymous with vulture moneylenders --- but was excusing it with a nervous laugh of "haha, it's Heyer doing verisimilitude, it's not her fault, she's not being anti-Semitic, she's just writing people of a certain time and place ... haha haha." But this one just went full force and I pretty much did a Colon trying to climb into his own helmet sort of thing. *Pratchett reference, sorry*
Not only was this the first time we actually met one of these 'Jew' moneylenders but he was characterised as a complete villain and maybe even a cariacature, and the fact that Sophy pulled a gun on him made me go "oh hey now, hold on there, Heyer!" Urgh. It got me wondering whether it wasn't so much a case of Heyer writing people of a certain time and place as a case of Heyer herself being a person of a certain time and place. Ack. My Heyer has clay feet.
Makes me cast a basilisk eye over my own writing. How much of a person of a certain time and place am I? Urgh.
But that aside, awesome awesome awesome novel. I prolly should mention I did actually buy and start An Infamous Army. It proved my suspicion bang right --- waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy too much politics and militaristic shit for my liking --- and I did not care for our snooty too-glamourous-for-thou heroine one bit so it got tossed aside barely into the second or third chapter. Which makes me feel only a leetle guilty. *bites lip*
And maybe one day when I'm really desperate, I might take up the mysteries just in case they feature the same wicked sense of humour. I could always turn a blind eye to the plots, I suppose, and try to forget that she didn't come up with them herself. I do love the covers, though.
And while I'm talking books, apparently not even zombies and the relief of modern punctuation can alleviate the boredom of Austen for this heretic right here. *sigh* Still a damned awesome cover, just that image almost makes me glad I bought it. Hee.
