Customer Reviews

Arabella

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best Cinderella-type regency that I have EVER read. Heyer has a wonderful gift and a unique sense of humor that is unequalled.

Arabella is the eldest daughter of a poor vicar and his wife who has pinned all her hopes on her eldest, most beautiful offspring marrying a rich man in order to help the family. The mother engineers a season in London for Arabella and while she was on the way, Arabella meets the wealthy, handsome Mr. Robert Beaumaris. They clash, he is entranced, she is in love and Arabella's season is unlike any other you'll ever read.

Mongrel dogs, chimney sweeps and limping prostitutes, not to mention gin-drinking babies are but a taste of what you might encounter in this wonderful romantic tale of love winning against all the odds.

Prepare to laugh out loud and long many times throughout the book!

Arabella is one of my favourite Heyer books and part of its charm are the amusing conversations that Beaumaris has with the little dog Ulysses. The central idea that because Arabella isn't interested in Beaumaris, that piques his interest and makes him pursue her, works quite well except it's never entirely clear what it is about her that DOES attract him. Yes, she's pretty - although younger than his usual lady, but she is also innocent and unworldly and therefore makes mistakes that he appears (rather surprisingly) to find charming; she foists young orphans, mongrel dogs and penniless brothers on him (not usually guaranteed to snare your man) and she withholds the truth of her fortune from him - not knowing that he already knows it.

Beaumaris starts the book seeming jaded, bored - the typical rich Heyer hero (although untitled this time), but he seems to become more and more amiable as the book goes on, going against his better judgement in order to humour her in many areas (such as Jemmy the Climbing Boy that he takes in). His conversations with the dog are fantastic though - Heyer occasionally includes dogs in her books and she always gives a wonderfully affectionate and amusing portrait, such as Lufra in the book Frederica and Bouncer in The Reluctant Widow.

The book is a great fun read, with lots of interesting characters well-drawn. For me the only real disappointment is that we never really know quite why Beaumaris falls in love with Arabella, apart from her innocence and freshness, and also why he is so sure that she does really like him when she has given him so little encouragement.

Despite these negative comments, read it and enjoy it. It's well worth it!

I stumbled across this book in a pile of bargain books and bought it, not expecting too much from it. I was delighted to be proven wrong. Georgette Heyer is an absolute gem. The personalities are vivid, the details of Regency life impeccable and the story absolutely delightful. Anyone who enjoys her books might also enjoy a series of mysteries by Kate Ross, also set in the same period and with the same authentic voice.

While I have a paper version of this book that I greatly enjoy -- the story is charming and clever, with entertaining characters and relationships -- the Kindle version of the same book has obviously not gone through the kind of copyediting and quality control that was evident in the paper version. Formatting is rife with errors, with words combined into one, missing spaces between periods and new sentences, missing hyphens, mistaken words and the like. The entire first page of the 3rd chapter, where I have stopped out of sheer annoyance, is center-justified.

I am all for publishers making books more accessible (and making more money) by converting paper books to Kindle format. But when that effort is blatantly for the quick buck and the publisher can't be bothered to put in the work to produce a quality product, the only reasonable response is to ask for my money back.

My recommendation: don't get the Kindle version. Buy the hard copy. It's a great story and a good read, and at least the publisher bothered to read those proofs before sending it to print.

This was the first Heyer book I read. It was given to me by my aunt who suggested it to me as similar to Pride and Prejudice, one of my very favorites. It is the best type of charming, lighthearted, and entertaining novel one could ever want to read. Its endearing characters won't let you stop till you have read it to its end. Being a girl, I naturally focus on the male lead and this one is incredible. His appeal is so obvious and yet Heyer, even in her most devestating heros, stays cleanly away from degrading sexual banter. The humor in this book made me laugh out loud...Heyer has a talent for instilling in her characters a dry and ready wit that makes for the most entertaining dialogues. Arabella, the lead female is clever, coniving, sweet, endearing, and a bit of a rascle. Pleanty of fire and spice in all the right places. Really an excellent read, especially for ladies, young and old who long for romance yet don't want to fill their minds with trash.

Don't be fooled; these stories are not merely romances. Georgette Heyer is a great writer; she takes what might be construed as hackneyed material and makes it sing. I own a tattered paperback of Arabella and I think it may well be my favorite; I know that when I need a laugh and a cry and to be absorbed by witty sparring that leads to a happy ending, I reach for this book time after time. The draw is not only the charming romance between the main characters, but her fastidious eye for detail and ear for dialogue. I hope that these books never go out of print for long.

Make a date with the beautiful yet quick-tempered Arabella

and her smooth yet arrogant suitor, Mr Beaumaris. The book

is pure, unadulterated Regency romance, where Cinderella finds

her Prince despite incorrect pretensions. Arabella is funny and

adorable, while Mr Beaumaris can make any girl swoon. The book

would have read as an inane romance had it not been for the

hilarious witticism of Georgette Heyer and her sharp characterization,

which can make even the most cynical of all readers smile! I

recommend it at least once, especially when your troubles

seem to overwhelm you. And I do guarantee a fun time.

I must agree with the reviewer who called Arabella the best Cinderella story ever. This was the first Heyer I ever read, the first romance I ever read, many years ago, and it got me hooked. While I normally prefer Heyer's older heroines, Arabella is so completely engaging you cannot help but adore her. She is not only young, she is beautiful, another oddity for Heyer's heroine's, but Arabella has had a steady upbringing and is unconcerned with her looks and well aware that character counts for much more. Be that as it may, she has no trouble enjoying the frivolous wonder of a London season, and does let her pride and temper land her in the uncomfortable position of being thought an heiress when she most assuredly is not. Our hero, Beaumaris, is an absolute dreamboat, but of course slightly jaded, and is delighted with Arabella's lively innocence. He doesn't fall in love, however, until he sees the depth of character beneath her surface beauty and charm, and the lengths to which he will go to win Arabella's love at that point are both amusing and endearing. This is an altogether delightfully satisfying romance that I can guarantee will go on your keeper shelf and be enjoyed over and over for years to come.

What do you call a Regency Era-based romance novel about a woman's white lie going too far? Brilliant. At least when Georgette Heyer writes it. Her intelligent writing, tangible descriptions, and witty dialogue all contribute to the success of what most people say makes this "the best Cinderella story yet to date". Occasional flips through a dictionary are needed as this author likes to use difficult words in her sentences that most people don't ever use in their whole lifetime. But don't let a few references to a big red book scare you away from this must-read.

The whole message of this story is great. Loving someone not because of their status but because of their genuine character is truly beautiful. And the surprises towards the end make you smile!

My discovery of the gracefully articulate Georgette Heyer provided me with remarkable reading material and additional insight into the Era that I find so fascinating. To be comparable to Jane Austen is certainly an honor and Heyer has surely achieved that in my opinion. Now that I have taken the journey into the world of Heyer, I am looking forward to reading some of her other books over the summer.

If this book sounds appealing to you, you owe it to yourself to read it. You won't regret it!

Georgette Heyer at her best! If you want to read a good Regancy story filled with perfect characterizations, dialogue, humor, charm and wit, with no anachronisms or modern-day mentalities, look no further than 'Arabella'. You will laugh all through the book and fall in love with the two main characters, the adorable Arabella and the mischevious, yet big hearted Mr. Beaumaris.

There are so many things I loved in this book that it's hard to mention it all, but what makes this book specially good and sets it way higher than any modern 'romance' stories is the way in which the hero, Mr Beaumaris, falls in love with Arabella. I loved the fact that he doesn't fall for her beauty, nor for her innocence, nor for her intelligence (though Arabella certainly has all of that and more), but for her strength of character and her big hearted generosity towards those who are scorned by society. Arabella is one of the very few heroines out there who not only cares for the poor and the weak, but is willing to go to any lengths to help them, however much people try to convince her that it would make her a laughingstock among the 'ton'.

Mr. Beaumaris is quite simply a dream. Heroes that are confident, rich and handsome are plenty, but how many of them have his sense of humor and his willingness to please Arabella by doing things as demeaning to somebody of his status as adopting a stray dog? His conversations with 'Ulysses' were simply priceless, well worth the price of the book alone. Highly reccommended!