Charity Girl [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Georgette Heyer (Author), Daniel Philpott (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1997

When Fate saddles Viscount Desford with a homeless waif in the engaging shape of Cherry Steane, who else should he turn to but his childhood playmate, Henrietta Silverdale? Although they refused to oblige their parents by marrying, they have always been best friends. But as Desford pursues Cherry's grandfather and father around the seedy fringes of society, Henrietta is forced to wonder if he might have fallen in love at last...

Editorial Reviews

Review

Full of messes as well as larks, Charity Girl will have you alternately tutting like an old hen and giggling like a schoolgirl over all the crazy shenanigans. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

The late Georgette Heyer was a very private woman. Her historical novels have charmed and delighted millions of readers for decades, though she rarely reached out to the public to discuss her works or private life. It is known that she was born in Wimbledon in August 1902, and her first novel, The Black Moth, was published in 1921.

Heyer published 56 books over the next 53 years, until her death from lung cancer in 1974. Heyer's large volume of works included Regency romances, mysteries and historical fiction. Known also as the Queen of Regency romance, Heyer was legendary for her research, historical accuracy and her extraordinary plots and characterizations. Her last book, My Lord John, was published posthumously in 1975. She was married to George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer, and they had one son together, Richard. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754000419
• ISBN-13: 978-0754000419
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,431,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of over fifty books, Georgette Heyer is the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, making the Regency period her own. Her first novel, "The Black Moth," published in 1921, was written at the age of fifteen to amuse her convalescent brother; her last was My Lord John. Although most famous for her historical novels, she also wrote eleven detective stories. Georgette Heyer died in 1974 at the age of seventy-one.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Charity Girl, October 21, 2008

By 

TrishNYC (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Charity Girl (Paperback)

Viscount Ashley Desford meets Charity(aka Cherry) Steane at a gathering while visiting his aunt. The next day as he returns to his London home, he encounters her walking on a lonely road and seeing the peril that she could fall into, takes her to his best friend Henrietta(Hetta) Silverdale's house. So begins a comedy of errors and misunderstandings as Desford tries to find Cherry's grandfather and avoid scandal.

All the main characters were very likable and even the baddies give the reader a chuckle. One of the biggest problems with this book is that I believe that the novel may have benefited from being shorter because there were parts of it that I was not bored with but certainly not interested in. A prime example of this is when Desford sets off to find Cherry's grandfather. The long descriptions of the journey there and back were somewhat tedious and I was impatient to hear more about the main characters not about road travels, broken wheels and horses going lame. Another part of the story that was not as well handled was the romance between the two lovers(sorry I will not tell who these are, you will have to find that out yourself). Not enough time was spent developing that story line and the reader is left to fill in their back story. By the time they get together, you are happy for them but its hard to feel very invested because you are not given the opportunity.

It wasn't all that I thought it was going to be but it was not bad at all. Something tells me that this book is not Georgette Heyer at her best. All in all an entertaining read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amusing, January 29, 2003

By 

"turbofamily" (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charity Girl (Audio Cassette)

While I'm a fan of almost everything Heyer writes, this one was vastly amusing. It's filled with busy plot where the hero attempts to be just that: a hero to laud, all without compromising Charity or himself in the meantime. And of course, we cannot forget about prior romantic connections, the expected behavior of a gentleman, or the comedic lenghths at which the hero must travel to honor his word. The conflicts and characters all add up to great entertainment.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What to do with Charity?, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Charity Girl (Hardcover)

When Viscount Desford comes upon a young lady walking to London, he stops to ask her where she is going. Charity says she is running away to her Grandfather, so the Viscount vows to help her find her eccentric relative and ends up travelling all over England looking for them. The rather funny antics of Charity and the Viscounts difficult search make a funny story. The outcome is filled with fate, but it all ends well. It is all Georgette Heyer!