Georgette Heyer: The Regency Buck

For some reason, my husband found the title of this book hilarious.  Usually he doesn’t comment too much on the stacks of hist-ro on the nightstand shelf, or on the titles of my own novels.

Perhaps it didn’t help that the cache of Heyer books looked rescued from a library and had seen they’re better days (with those funky retro Harlequin esque covers).  He was somehow convinced that this was the NAUGHTIEST of the naughty, making me laugh even now.

For those of you who have (or have not) read Heyer, you know that Regency Buck is very vanilla and defintely PG (if only for language and adult themes).  Its why I continue to recommend it for young women interested in reading romance…much more wholesome and with a message than many of the tripe teens and tweens read today (ahem, does no one else think about the metaphor of vampires?).

If you are lucky enough to find a copy of Heyer’s Regency Buck, old fashioned cover or a newer release, pick it up!

Combining both of her preferred genres, historical romance and the detective novel, Regency Buck is the cornerstone of many contemporary hist-ros.  We have two young provincials adventuring to Town in defiance of their newly appointed (and never encountered) guardian.  Judith, our heroine, is possessed of a sizable fortune and stands to inherit even more at the demise of her younger brother, Peregrine.  Judith is instantly launched to Diamond status because of her fortune, while Peregrine cuts a dash spending money and getting into scrapes (which Judith begins to suspect are attempts on his life).

Meanwhile, the Earl of Worth is a classic Heyer hero.  Aloof, managing and ever bit cut of the same cloth as Austen’s Mr. Darcy both the reader and Judith are confounded by his heavy handedness that is tempered with levity.

There is mystery, a dash of suspense, and the delightful appearance of Beau Brummel who makes an instant companion out of Judith.

This cast of characters reappears in Heyer’s ode to Waterloo, An Infamous Army (which I am trying still to slog through, not caring much for military machinations).

My only complaint is that Regency Buck, too, ended abruptly leaving me with a gratitude for contemporary authors who provide a little epilogue at the conclusion of their stories.