Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer
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Original Title: Cousin Kate
ISBN:
ISBN13:
Autor: Georgette Heyer
Rating: 4.4 of 5 stars (3765) counts
Original Format: Hardcover, 318 pages
Download Format: PDF, DJVU, iBook, MP3.
Published: 1968 / by The Bodley Head
Language:
Genre(s):
Romance- 278 users
Historical Fiction- 168 users
Historical >Regency- 122 users
Historical- 110 users
Romance >Historical Romance- 89 users
Fiction- 81 users
Historical Romance >Regency Romance- 40 users
Gothic- 40 users
Description:
Kate Malvern, rescued from penury by her aunt Minerva, finds the grand household at Staplewood
very unhomelike even family dinners are formal. When she begins to suspect the shocking
reason for Minervas generosity, there is no one to confide in.
About Author:
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Other Editions:
- Cousin Kate (Paperback)
- Cousin Kate (Kindle Edition)
- Cousin Kate (Paperback)
- Cousin Kate (Kindle Edition)
- Cousin Kate (Paperback)
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- Devil's Cub (Alastair, #2)
Books In The Series:
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Rewiews:
May 15, 2016
Tadiana Night Owl
Rated it: liked it
Shelves: regency, gothic, you-call-that-an-ending
In Cousin Kate, one of Georgette Heyer's later books (written in 1968, 46 years after her first book,
The Black Moth, was published), Georgette tried a Gothic spin on one of her historical romances,
with distinctly mixed results.
Kate Malvern, alone in the world at age 23, has just lost her governess job when the wrong guy
made a pass at her, can't get another job, and has no money and nowhere to go except her old
nanny's home, which isn't a good permanent solution for her. Sarah Nidd, her devote
In Cousin Kate, one of Georgette Heyer's later books (written in 1968, 46 years after her first book,
The Black Moth, was published), Georgette tried a Gothic spin on one of her historical romances,
with distinctly mixed results.
Kate Malvern, alone in the world at age 23, has just lost her governess job when the wrong guy
made a pass at her, can't get another job, and has no money and nowhere to go except her old
nanny's home, which isn't a good permanent solution for her. Sarah Nidd, her devoted and loving
nanny, secretly writes a letter to Kate's one relative that seems likely to be of help, Kate's aunt,
Lady Minerva Broome. Minerva, a very determined and managing sort of woman, swoops in to
carry the startled Kate off to Staplewood, Minerva's manor, where she lives with her elderly ailing
husband, Sir Timothy, and her also ailing son, 19 year old Torquil, who is drop-dead gorgeous but
also sulky, spoiled and strange.
At first all seems reasonably good: Sir Timothy is kind although distant, Torquil seems to enjoy
Kate's company, and Lady Broome is overwhelmingly generous with new clothing and presents for
Kate. Torquil's older cousin Philip soon shows up, and sparks fly between him and Kate even
though she resents him because of reasons.
But odd incidents keep occurring at Staplewood, Torquil's erratic behavior is becoming more of a
problem, and Lady Broome's generosity to Kate starts to feel suffocating ... especially since
people keep hinting that she has ulterior motives. And for some reason Kate's letters to Sarah
Nidd are never answered, and she starts to feel isolated and uncomfortable. Philip wants to be
there for Kate, but Kate isn't sure that that's the right solution.
The marriage between Heyer's lighthearted Regency romance sensibilities and darker Gothic
suspense never quite fell into place for me. Heyer takes on (view spoiler)[the problem of mental
illness (hide spoiler)] in this plot, and writes about it with sympathy, but I don't think she really
understood it well enough to do it justice, which is a problem when almost the entire plot is
focused on this one issue. Heyer takes the easy way out of this one in the end, and the very
ending is one of those odd, abrupt ones that occasionally pop up in her novels.
I thought that the romance, although it was a secondary plotline, was rather charming. Both of the
couple were appealing ... well, aside from Kate's penchant for second-guessing herself and
others, dithering around unnecessarily, and feeling like she owes more to Lady Broome than she
should. For a heroine who was otherwise fairly mature and strong-minded, this was frustrating
behavior. Other than this, Kate is excellent in a crisis and has a good sense of humor, and some
of the secondary characters, especially her old nurse Sarah Nidd and her father-in-law, old Mr.
Nidd, were original and delightful. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if it had been more
about the Nidds than the unfortunate Broome family.
May 2016 buddy read with the Georgette Heyer group.
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