Either Georgette Heyer’s books don’t work well as radio plays, or Friday’s Child is not very good. Or, I suppose, both. But really, while I was listening to this marriage-of-convenience / lifelong-friend-with-hidden-love romance, all I could think was, “Good grief, they’re all idiots.” Maybe The Unknown Ajax would be similarly frustrating out loud, but I think I won’t risk an audio adaptation of Heyer’s books again.
Okay, actually, I had two other reactions. One was to twitch every time someone called the main female character “kitten”—talk about your diminutive nicknames. And the other was to wonder if I was supposed to think that they were having sex. Really, given their portrayals, either way the mind boggles.
FC has never been one of my favorites, so I doubt I would like the audio adaption either. It seems very dated now. I like the audio adaption of UA which is in my top five of Heyer novels. Of the handful of Heyer audio books that I’ve heard, the Toll Booth is the best though I also like False Colors.
I think FC is one of those Golden Age books–that is, the golden age for reading it is Horry’s age, roughly late teens. I thought it was hot stuff when I was eighteen.
There are elements in it that normally I would like, but perhaps the added realism of audio isn’t kind to them.
The question of which kind of book makes the best audiobook is a vexing one. I haven’t been that good at predicting them, and I can’t even always tell why they fail.
One clear category, though, is books in which you would normally skim over some sections. In audio, you’re forced to endure every tedious second of those bits. Dorothy Gilman’s “Mrs. Pollifax” series is a good example of something I can enjoy as quick fluff on paper, but can’t abide as audio. I imagine David Weber would probably send me screaming into the night…
I abandoned Friday’s Child less than halfway through when I tried reading it earlier this year. It’s an irritating book because neither main character has any semblance of intelligence. But they’re both so obliviously well-meaning so you can’t hate them like you would a good villain. They’re just frustrating and boring and undeserving of the happy ending that you know is coming to them. The Unknown Ajax was the first Heyer book I read, and I think my expectations were unnaturally inflated. The only works I’ve liked since are The Grand Sophy and Frederica, with Venetia being a borderline read. Any recommendations for Regency romances?
Well, you can look at Jo Walton’s ranking of Heyer’s novels here.
Other than that:
Two recently-written romances set in the Regency period:
Mary Balogh, A Summer to Remember
Julia Quinn, Romancing Mister Bridgerton
A Regency-with-magic series: Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, Sorcery and Cecelia series
And two Regency-with-noir (and a dash of alternate history) novels: Madeleine E. Robins, Point of Honour and Petty Treason
I was wondering if anybody knows how I would be able to get hold of the Georgette Heyer audio books, and if so where? thank you!