Pink Heart Reviews
Cotillion
Georgette Heyer
ISBN-10: 1400211252
ISBN-13: 9781402211256
Sourcebooks, October 2007, 482 pp
Regency Fiction
$7.99 (US) $8.99 (CND)
Reviewed by Brandy
November 2007
Kitty Charing, ward to the disagreeable Mr. Penicuik, has found herself in a bit of a quandary. She has been told by her ward that she must marry one of his great nephews to inherit his sizeable fortune, or be turned off penniless upon his death but the one nephew she wants to marry doesn’t make an appearance. Quite put out with the whole situation, she makes a deal with The Honourable Frederick Standen, or Freddy, one of said nephews who has no need of Kitty or her potential fortune, to have a sham betrothal and take her to London where she has a secret plan to get the attentions of Mr. Jack Westruther, a dashing rake who is also, albeit unwillingly, in the running for his uncle’s fortune.
But Jack has no intentions of being at his uncle’s beckoned call, he has his own plans of winning Miss Charing and his uncle’s fortune that involve her living quietly in the country until he is good and ready to go and get her. Meanwhile, Freddy, not at all dashing, but very caring and filled with Common Sense, has his hands full trying to keep Kitty out of trouble in the big city of London and discovering all sorts of shocking new things about himself. And all the while, Kitty is coming to realize that dashing is not all it’s cracked up to be and good old common sense goes a long way.
COTILLION is a brilliant, witty accounting of the troubles a nice sheltered girl can get into when visiting London for the first time. The novel is filled with wit and humor, so be prepared to smile a lot while reading it! The horror of poor Freddy when Kitty asks him to take her to visit all the many educational aspects of London is enough to have you laughing out loud. If you enjoy reading classics like Madame Bovary, Vanity Fair or any of Jane Austen’s novels, you will love reading Georgette Heyer’s COTILLION.
