Faro's Daughter (Paperback)

by Georgette Heyer (Author)
Key Phrases: Miss Grantham, Lady Bellingham, Miss Laxton (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A sparkling Regency romance from the queen of the genre

Beautiful Deborah Grantham, mistress of her aunt's elegant gaming house, must find a way to restore herself and her aunt to respectability, preferably without accepting either of two repugnant offers. One is from an older, very rich and rather corpulent lord whose reputation for licentious behavior disgusts her; the other from the young, puppyish scion of a noble family whose relatives are convinced she is a fortune hunter.

Max Ravenscar, uncle to her young suitor, comes to buy her off, an insult so scathing that it leads to a volley of passionate reprisals, escalating between them to a level of flair and fury that can only have one conclusion...


"My favourite historical novelist--stylish, romantic, sharp, and witty. Her sense of period is superb, her heroines are enterprising, and her heroes dashing. I owe her many happy hours." --Margaret Drabble
"Georgette Heyer is unbeatable." Sunday Telegraph
"Sparkling." Independent on Sunday
"A writer of great wit and style...I've read her books to ragged shreds." --Kate Fenton, Daily Telegraph (20081021)

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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Reprint edition (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402213522
• ISBN-13: 978-1402213526
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,586 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gambler's Daughter Plays A Winning Hand!, September 24, 2003

By	Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Faro's Daughter (Mass Market Paperback)

Deborah Grantham is well born, well-bred and ever so lovely. None of this matters, however, in the game of love and matrimony in Regency London, because Ms. Grantham earns her living playing cards in one of London's finest gambling houses. And marriage with such a gaming-house wench is just not done, especially not in the echelons of the "ton." Young Lord Maplethorpe is willing to flaunt society and risk its censure to marry the beautiful Deborah for love. His unhappy mother seeks help from her stepson, the handsomest, cleverest, richest man about town, Max Ravenscar. This unrelenting bachelor meets Deborah, his new foe, across the faro table where they play for power, although they wager for money.

And proud Ms. Grantham gives Ravenscar a run for his money as she proves to be more stubborn and high principled than he in this delightful romantic farce. Georgette Heyer writes one of her best novels with "Faro's Daughter." The witty dialogue, the power plays between the intelligent Deborah, who does not want to be beholden to anyone, let alone to the arrogant Lord who is so willing to believe the worst of her, and the creative subplots and adventures showcase her talent.

This is a winner, and a must read for all Ms. Heyer's fans!
JANA

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love and hate go hand in hand..., November 16, 2000

By	Kelly (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faro's Daughter (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first Georgette Heyer book and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it! The way Ms. Heyer weaves humor and historical detail into her books is amazing and beautiful. I am so sad that most of her books are out of print, but you can believe that I will be faithfully searching every nook and cranny I can find to get my hands on more!

Lord Mablethorpe is a man in love. Well... not exactly. He has proclaimed undying love to Miss Deborah Grantham, but it is painfully obvious that it is just a case of puppy love. However, this is not the story that gets to Mablethorpe's mother's ears.

Lady Mablethorpe hears that a wench from the gaming table has ensnared her helpless son into marriage. As Lord Mablethorpe is of respectable lineiage and will come into a handsom fortune, Lady Mablethorpe will not let this come to pass. She has nothing better to do then to call on her nephew, Mr. Max Ravenscar, the richest man in London. Lady Mablethorpe begs him to save her son from the claws of the harpy, and so Mr. Ravenscare accepts. He intends to buy Deborah off at whatever price it takes. When he confronts Deb with the subject of her "ingagement" to Lord Mablethorpe, she is extremely offended. She never had any intention of marrying Lord Mablethorpe (of course she doesn't tell Ravenscar this) and she is not really a woman of the gaming houses. Oh, it's true that she does enjoy a bit of cards and she does run the E.O. table at her aunt's house, but this is because she and her aunt are in dire straits and desperately need money. As a matter of pride, Deb will not take the money from Ravenscar and declares that she will marry Mablethorpe (of course it is a lie) and she will bring him to utter ruin.

Coming home in a fit of rage, Deb makes a resolution to act as the harpy that Ravenscar seems to think she is. She tranforms herself into a gaudy, chintzy, totally tasteless female and shocks everyone. The two thouroughly dislike each other, but... love and hate go hand in hand...

Oh dear!

It is such a shame that all of Georgette Heyer's books are not all in print. I was lucky enough to find _Faro's Daughter_ at my library, I storngly urge you to look for it too. This is what regency and romance is all about, my friends. This is it! The humor, the slang ("I don't give a button what you think!") the love, the language, all of it. Georgetts Heyer's style of writing should be the basis of every author's book. She does not treat her readers as children and spell everything out for them. Indeed, reading one of her books is an interactive experience. Her plots are unique, if not the origionals. Her characters come alive and basically speek to you. The emotions that I felt while reading _Faro's Daughter_ cannot actually be said out loud... all I can say is read it. You must, you simply must. Georgette Heyer books are must haves for any true romance fan.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Proud aristocrat brought neatly to a fall!, November 1, 2000

By	Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Faro's Daughter (Hardcover)

"Women of your stamp should be whipped at the cart-tail!" Thus says Max Ravenscar to the woman he believes to be a scheming strumpet out to snare his young, impressionable, titled and rich nephew. This is not, however, the way to impress Deborah Grantham, who is in fact an entirely honourable young lady despite her presence in her aunt's gaming-house.

So Deborah decides to spite Ravenscar; first she rejects out of hand his offers to buy her off, then appears in public with his nephew, Adrian, dressed and behaving as precisely the vulgar harpy her believes her to be. This, of course, only serves to infuriate him even more, and he ups the stakes further.

There are some hilarious scenes in this book - the one where Deborah has Ravenscar kidnapped and imprisoned in her cellar (and then... oh, but no spoilers! <g>) is worth the price of this book all on its own.

For a sparkling and determined heroine, and a hero who, despite his stiff-necked pride, has a very well-developed sense of both honour and humour, you can't go far wrong with Heyer's Faro's Daughter.