A Civil Contract [Paperback]

Georgette Heyer (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: HQN Books; Original edition (July 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373773978
• ISBN-13: 978-0373773978
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,131,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The realistic Heyer, September 12, 2009

By 

Yea Verily - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Civil Contract (Paperback)

As other reviewers have said, this is a departure from the standard Georgettes, in a couple of ways. First is the less sentimental view of romance, along with a marriage early in the book and a denoument that doesn't entirely follow the formula. Second and maybe more important is that the characters are more fully realized. Both spouses are treated with so much care that they become three-dimensional to an extent that protagonists in many of the other novels just don't reach. This novel doesn't give "Ahhh" romantic satisfaction in a way that most of Heyer's Regency novels do, but it provides something more lasting that might help your own marriage.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not my favourite heyer--- but starkly realistic, October 13, 2010

By 

rachel (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Civil Contract (Paperback)

A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer was a book I had wanted to read for quite awhile. I had heard it didn't fall in line with the traditional romance ---- especially not any romance of Heyer's ilk. What I found instead was a careful meeting of minds. A marriage of convenience, tradition and civility that blossomed not into passionate love rather into mutual understanding and respect. I must admit to being someone devoid of my usual Heyer-fulfillment at the end due to the fact that Jenny's long unrequited love for the dashing and solemn Adam was not reciprocated in the way she desired. Instead, it seemed as if she was settling for the only love from him she was likely to have. The story wrapped up neatly; but not with the same heart-stopping felicitation as other Heyer novels. This certainly made it more believable and certainly the dark undertone of the story spoke to Heyer's malleability and craft. That being said, I read Heyer for romanticism and while I got it in a small scooping, I wish I had been overcome with it at the end of the novel. A very well written book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps my favorite Georgette Heyer!, February 5, 2011

By 

gilly8 "gilly8" (Mars, the hotspot of the U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Civil Contract (Paperback)

I love Georgette Heyer's Regency books. For those who don't know... it is a genre she invented, and one that was then heavily copied by many others. She did real research: she read diaries, books, and letters from the Regency era. (The Regency era consisted of the very early 1800's. It was pre-Queen Victoria and the extremes of modesty she insisted on where not yet in force. It was an era of much looser behavior, more open mindedness, and freedom.)

Heyer has the slang and the speech patterns down perfectly, as well as the knowledge of the clothing they wore, the hairstyles, the way the rich lived, and how they gambled, raced horses, and had love affairs. She also wrote some books set even earlier in the late 1700's, which are not as good in my opinion but still better than 9 out of 10 "romance/adventures". Her mysteries were mainly set in what were for Heyer modern times: in the 1920's, '30's and I'm not too fond of them.)

There are a few books which are non-fiction and cover the Regency era well: An Elegant Madness: High Society in Regency England by Venetia Murray and Georgette Heyer's Regency Worldby Jennifer Kloester. Of the two I prefer "An Elegant Madness". There are also, of course, books about and by Lord Byron, who lived at that time, and Beau Brummell who changed forever the way men dressed!

Many compare Heyer to Jane Austen who lived at this time, and whose books are set in this era. Heyer has the same dry humor and wit. Her books are also, as others have pointed out, very "clean"...she wrote from the age of 15, in about 1922, until close to her death in 1974. So, HER Regency Romances are definitely not bodice rippers or soft porn. I'm not being prudish, just want to be clear on that. One of her books, "Bath Tangle" which sounds as if it could fall into that other category is actually about a romance in the British town of Bath...

This book (and I truly wish the editorial reviewers had not given so much of the plot away: if you haven't read it don't!) is very different from all her others. I DO NOT want to give away the plot so I won't go further, but I'll only say I've read and re-read all the Heyer Regency books and this over time, has become my favorite. Its more mature, in a way, the characters and the perfect timing between humor and sadness shows Heyer at her peak, I believe.

Take a chance on this one if you have not already and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!