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Frederica
| Title | Frederica |
| Writer | |
| Date | 2025-03-12 18:45:06 |
| Type | |
| Link | Listen Read |
Desciption
Rich and handsome, darling of the ton, the hope of ambitious mothers and despair of his sisters, the Marquis of Alverstoke at seven-and-thirty sees no reason to put himself out for anyone. Until a distant connection, ignorant of his selfishness, applies to him for help. When Frederica Merriville brings her three younger siblings to London determined to secure a brilliant marriage for her beautiful sister, Charis, she seeks out their distant cousin the Marquis of Alverstoke. Lovely, competent, and refreshingly straightforward, Frederica makes such a strong impression that to his own amazement, the Marquis agrees to help launch them all into society. Lord Alverstoke can't resist wanting to help her Normally wary of his family, which includes two overbearing sisters and innumerable favor-seekers, Lord Alverstoke does his best to keep his distance but he finally finds himself far from bored.
Review
The Marquis of Alverstoke is bored. He's especially bored with family and friends who try to get him to do things he doesn't want to do, like, say, put on a massive ball to launch his nieces in society. So when a distant, not-wealthy relative, Frederica Merriville, shows up, introduces herself and asks him to help introduce her beautiful younger sister into London society, he's really not inclined to help. But then Frederica's young brothers show up, and 13 year old Felix quizzes the Marquis on the latest fascinating technology, like locomotives and blast-pipes and pneumatic lifts, and after that her sweet and gorgeous (if rather airheaded) younger sister Charis appears, the epitome of all that is Regency-era loveliness, and it occurs to Alverstoke that it would be quite amusing to hold that come-out ball and launch Charis into society along with his nieces. Charis's beauty will outshine his nieces' and that will give his bossy and insistent sisters absolute fits. Hah--serves them right! The Merriville family is lively and likeable and a little bit crazy, and as they get into one scrape after another and Alverstoke somehow ends up being the one who rescues them, time after time, he finds himself getting more and more attached to all of them. Particularly to Frederica herself, who is so busy trying to keep all of her younger brothers in line and rescue them from their escapades and get Charis married off to a sharp and well-off man and keep her away from the men with pockets to let (i.e., not rich), that she never notices Alverstoke is gradually getting very interested in her. Or if she does notice, he can't tell if she really likes him in a romantic way or not, or if she'll accept his suit. And suddenly the bored Marquis of Alverstoke is no longer bored. This is a delightful and charming novel! The Merriville family is the best, adventurous and lovable and a little off the wall. The romance is pretty understated (typical for Heyer). Some interesting history about hot air balloons and other technology of the time, brought to you courtesy of Frederica's young brother Felix. Additional fun adventures courtesy of the noble if occasionally ill-behaved Baluchistan hound. 4.75 stars. My only quibble: The romantic scene at the end was rather disappointing; Frederica was too oblivious for a smart woman in her mid-twenties. Even if she does kind of have tunnel vision about her family concerns. :)Update: Feb. 2018 reread, just because I needed a literary pick-me-up. This solidified Frederica as one of my top 3 Georgette Heyer books. The main characters are intelligent, a little older (24 and 37), and their dialogue as they tease each other is hilariously witty. Frederica doesn't try to play Alverstoke; she just wants to be friendly, and he finds her so unusual among his acquaintances that he can't help being intrigued. And then ... well, read it for yourself. :)
