Customer Reviews

Frederica

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Georgette Heyer is able to pack more [physcial] tension into a story, which includes no more than a single kiss between lovers, than most of today's writers with all their well written, X-rated love scenes. She also creates some unique and extraordinary characters, and portrays them with depth and feeling. Her storylines are just as unusual as the characters she peoples them with. "Frederica" is no exception, and has become one of my favorite books by Ms. Heyer.

Frederica Merrivale travels to London with her beautiful younger sister Charis, her three younger brothers Harry, Jessamy and Felix, their way too overgrown and exuberant puppy Lufra, and their man-hating Aunt Scrabster. The Merrivale's parents are dead, and although Harry is the heir of Graynard, the Merrivale property, Frederica is the eldest sibling and the one who has assumed responsibility for running the estate and raising the family. At 24, she is bright, witty, and very attractive, although her loveliness pales beside Charis' angelic beauty. Their mother settled 5,000 pounds on each daughter for a dowry, and Frederica wants to give Charis a season in London to meet and mingle with the ton. She knows that her sister is so beautiful and unaffected that she is sure to make an outstanding match.

Frederica asks a very distant and unknown cousin, the Marquis of Alverstoke, to sponsor her sister's "coming-out" into society. Alverstoke is handsome, rich and spoiled. He has had many lovers, but has never had a close emotional relationship with a woman, including his sisters who constantly plague him with requests for money and favors. These women, wealthy in their own right, are unbearably overbearing and provide much comic relief. At first Alverstoke is flabbergasted by Frederica's request, and believes that she is just another female who wants something from him. Slowly and against his will, Alverstoke is charmed by the Merrivale family, and amazed at Frederica's total lack of selfishness and her efforts to raise her younger siblings. He finds a way to sponsor both Frederica and Charis and to give his sisters a "set down" at the same time.

Both young women are besieged by suitors after they are presented to London society. Alverstoke spends more time with all of them, especially with Frederica, as she struggles to manage the boys, her sister, her own love life, the estate in the country, and the family's future. Ms. Heyer uses her delightful humor often, especially in the dialogue between Frederica and Alverstoke, and in the scenes involving the younger brothers and their dog. All the characters are very well developed and they demonstrate growth and change throughout the novel. The Merrivale family members are quite endearing. Some exciting adventures accompany this delightful love story, set in Regency England. This is a novel you do not want to miss. Excellent!
JANA

I really feel this book rates 6 stars.

Georgette Heyer researched her books in great detail and they are quite simply in a class of their own. Many people feel she invented the Regency Romance. The dialogue used is often from original sources, this book actually contains one of her very few historical mistakes, Soho in Birmingham not Soho in London is where the foundry was located. There are misunderstandings but ones that seem to occur quite naturally. In this book Felix Fredrica's schoolboy brother with a scientific bent questions practically everything and is quite central to the story. The character descriptions and dialog are excellent and all in all it is one of my favourite Georette Heyers.

From the dust cover of the Bodley Head edition...

Written in Georgette Heyer's lightest vein, this is the story of the adventures in Regency London of the Merriville family: Frederica, riding the whirlwind and directing the storm; Harry, rusticated from Oxford and embarking with enthusiasm on the more perilous amusements pursued by young gentlemen of ton; the divine Charis, too tender-hearted to discourage the advances of her numerous suitors; Jessamy, destined for the Church and wavering, in adolescent style, between excessive virtue and a natural exuberance of spirits; and Felix, a schoolboy with a passion for scientific experiment. In Frederica, Georgette Heyer created one of her most engaging heroines; and in the Marquis of Alverstoke - a bored cynic who becomes involved in all the imbroglios of a lively family -a hero whose sense of humour makes him an excellent foil for Frederica.

I've been a fan of Georgette Heyer's wonderful Regency Romances for 25 years. I've started reading her books when I was 13 and my library of Heyer books is one of my most cherished possessions. Her sparkling dialogue and wonderfully created characters come alive in every page of the book. Frederica has my all time favorite Heyer heroes - The Marquis of Alverstoke is a bored and pampered aristocrat who when he meets Frederica and falls in love with her, finds his humanity and a heart beneath his cold exterior. What's wonderful about this book how warmly Frederica's family is portrayed. This book is full of wonderful romance, humor, and heartwarming joy! If you read this you will become Hooked on Heyer forever...

I'm afraid bookjunkie said everything so perfectly and eloquently I have very little to add and yet I must add my voice to those who claim this as their favorite Heyer. In Frederica, you have an exquisite heroine - intelligent, humorous, well-looking but not a diamond, kind, and above all totally believable as a woman who could turn the world of an accomplished, arrogant, self-centered rake upside down. Heyer manages beautifully to make our hero, Alverstoke, all those things and yet absolutely marvelous at the same time. As usual, Heyer's secondary characters are perfection - interesting and amusing and so believable you feel she must know these people. This book is a must read for any regency fan - it is one of the best! An added bonus is that it hardly matters how much you pay for it - I don't think I could ever get tired of reading this book; I probably re-read Frederica twice a year: it never loses it's charm.

Frederica counts among my top half-dozen Heyers, for its resourceful and determined heroine, and the way in which the grand Marquess of Alverstoke finds himself drawn into the lives of Frederica and her family. Her siblings are a delight, especially Felix and Charis, and the various adventures and scrapes from which Alverstoke has to rescue them are hilarious. As usual, Heyer's cast of minor characters are very well drawn, and as a result this is a book to treasure. Brilliant!

For any Regency Romance lover, Georgette Heyer's books are in a class all their own. This book is one of her warmest, filled with believable, quirky characters and a masterful use of our language. The story of feisty, practical Frederica, this book details her efforts to provide good futures for her younger siblings . . . and the efforts of a charming, rakish Peer of the Realm to change Frederica's future. Ms. Heyer's dazzling style, historical polish and delicious wit are beautifully evident in this fast and funny romance. There is something for the heart and for the mind . . . and for the funny bone!

Like the reader from Seoul, I began reading Georgette Heyer around age 13. I quickly discovered Frederica, and in fact, tried to use a passage from the book for an elocution contest (unsuccessfully). What is it about this book that stays with you over the ages?

I believe it is not just Georgette Heyer's wit, sparkling dialogue, careful historical research (despite the occasional error), or her lively characters. Somehow this book transcends even her usual output. Both the hero and heroine are older and more mature, with Frederica believing that she is fit only to be a chaperone. The Marquess is bored, cynical, and shows more affection for his secretary than for any member of his family. And of course, he values his horses above them all, as famously said by his sister. While his intentions for taking up Frederica and her family are hardly benevolent, his continued interaction with her and her irrepressible younger brothers Felix and Jessamy gradually humanize him. In that sense, this is the Heyer book closest in spirit to Pride and Prejudice, my all-time favorite. Perhaps that is why I love them both.

There is a thrilling chase after a balloon which results in near-tragedy, the usual minor characters who act in ways designed to exasperate the hero and heroine, and two sub-plots with two other couples falling in love during the book. The latter half of the book takes place with Frederica very preoccupied with family concerns. If you want a book full of drama and chases, this might disappoint you. However, this is the very part which shows me how much Alverstoke has changed. The part about the pork jelly is priceless, but I will leave it to the reader to find that out.

In conclusion, if you like the mature Georgette Heyer with the older hero and heroine, this is probably going to become one of your favorites.

Frederica is without doubt my favourite Georgette Heyer novel - and I like her novels very much! What makes Frederica so good? Simply that she has populated this book with wonderful characters, amusing dialogue, interesting historical setting and a love story which is gentle and fulfilling.

The basic plot is that Frederica, a rather managing girl with three brothers and one sister, all younger than her, is attempting to launch her beautiful sister Charis into society so that she can make a good marriage. Frederica enlists the assistance of her sort-of cousin, the Marquis of Alverstoke, in this - and he agrees to spite his sisters. Alverstoke is an uncaring, flighty rake who doesn't do anything for anyone else and is hugely selfish. Through his interaction with Frederica and her two youngest brothers, Jessamy and Felix, Alverstoke is brought out of his state of almost continual boredom and takes real responsibility for his adopted cousins.

The power in this story is the exquisite way in which Heyer portrays her characters. We are shown Alverstoke with all his faults, yet we also get glimpses into what makes him in some ways a good man - for example the honourable and fair way in which he treats his secretary, Charles, and in the way that he takes on responsibilities to his adopted wards in order to lessen some of the load on Frederica's shoulders. Although Frederica initially comes across as a woman without fault, as the story progresses we see her occasional blindness in dealings with her sister and her eldest brother Harry; Frederica wants Charis to make a good match but Charis doesn't want that for herself. As the story progresses Alverstoke becomes more responsible, more aware of the needs of others and more aware of the effect he has on them. He takes care to hide his interest in Frederica from society so that she is not teased about it. As for Frederica's feelings for him, we do not hear much of the story from her point of view but it becomes clear by things that she says that she considers him very important to her... until of course the end of the book when they become engaged and she discovers what it is to be truly in love.

There are many other sub-plots running along in the main story - the romance between Alverstoke's secretary Charles Trevor and Alverstoke's cousin Chloë Dauntry is one. The various men who offer marriage to Frederica because they see her qualities and the different way in which they are portrayed is great fun. But the central part of the book - the conversations between Frederica and Alverstoke - are a delight.

This is one of those books that you can read again and again and enjoy even more each time. Heyer has masterfully described the way that a bored rake, Alverstoke, can change his whole nature when he finally finds the right person, the woman who is a conversational match for him; I also think that her ability to gradually unveil the faults in her heroine, small that they may be, is also good - it's annoying to read books with `perfect' people as they are so unlike us.

Like all Heyer books, the historical setting, dialogue and description of places is perfect. This book is just a fantastic read in so many different ways - buy it!

Frederica is one of my all-time favorite Georgette Heyer books. I love the interaction between the characters. Each character is unique and you have to keep reading to see what happens. One of the funniest scenes in the book mentions Dr. Ratcliff's Restorative Pork Jelly! You'll have to read it to see what that scene is about. Georgette Heyer is absolutely one of my favorite authors and I find myself reading and rereading her books all the time. I can't even speed read through them when I reread them because I would miss great dialogue between the characters. Everything she has written needs to be put back in print.

I first stumbled upon a Georgette Heyer novel when I was 14 and for more than 30 years I have been an avid fan of her books. I got hooked on reading regency romance novels just because of Georgette Heyer books and NOTHING I have read until now (and I HAVE read a lot) compares to her original and sparkling romances. Her characters come alive on every page and there is no one who can write witty dialogue better. Frederica is one of my favorite Heyer heroines and this book has a really funny almost-proposal scene.