The Corinthian: Gossip, scandal and an unforgettable Regency romance

A seemingly unlikely couple for a love story but it works thanks to Heyer's skill. For all Pen Creed's youth and tomboyishness, she has plenty of common sense besides being such a likable character with a gift for spinning tales. And you can't help but root for Sir Richard "Beau" Wyndham as he escapes a marriage of convenience to the emotionally vacuous Melissa Brandon into which his well-meaning family is trying to thrust him.The story is helped enormously by the plot twists that introduce the hilarious thief Jimmy Yarde and the silly Lydia Daubenay. But my favorite secondary character is Cedric Brandon, Melissa's flamboyant and comical brother, who tells Richard, "Don't do it! There isn't a fortune big enough to settle our little affairs...that's my advice to you: run!" Aptly described as "an engaging scapegrace," Cedric frequently reminded me of the Duc of Avon's brother Rupert from These Old Shades.Heyer's masterful writing style is on display from the opening scene when Richard's mother, sister and brother-in-law descend on Richard's mansion in St. James's Square. In just a few pages she conveys a wealth of information about these characters and the family dynamics at play. Just using his mother as an example: with her handkerchief, vinaigrette and hartshorn always at the ready "anyone observing her...would have had to be stupid indeed to have failed to appreciate their sinister message." Lady Wyndham feels a pang whenever she enters the mansion Richard had only purchased a few years before after having sold the much larger family domicile in Grosvenor Square, enabling her ever since "to mourn its loss without being obliged to suffer any longer its inconveniences." Likewise, she can lament the fact that her husband's will left everything to his only son while she enjoys the handsome jointure which allows her to indulge "her liking for the most expensive fal-lals of fashion," all while commanding the sympathy of friends who naturally assume from her complaints that her jointure must have been a mere pittance. This is Heyer at her satiric best.There is nothing missish about Penelope Creed, as readily apparent in her hilarious interactions with the silly and melodramatic Lydia Daubenay, and she can hardly be blamed for stigmatizing Lydia as "that stupid girl" in the refreshingly frank observations she shares with Sir Richard. Obviously audacious, Pen is also warmhearted, generous and sincerely interested in people, avid and sympathetic as she listens to the long-winded stories other stagecoach passengers share during the early part of their adventure. Sir Richard deplores the stagecoach ride but he derives much amusement from watching Pen in this milieu - like her wide-eyed curiosity on listening to Jimmy Yarde's thieves' cant - and from offering an occasional fictitious detail of his own or otherwise acting "in character" whenever he's expected to corroborate the tale Pen hatched about being a young man traveling with his tutor (Richard variously figures as tutor, uncle, cousin and trustee in the course of the story). One of the funniest scenes comes about after Lydia Daubenay tells her father it was Pen she was meeting clandestinely, in an attempt to throw him off the scent of her true secret suitor. Her father, though angry, immediately envisions a splendid match between Lydia and the wealthy Richard Wyndham's young cousin. In a performance that Pen finds enormously entertaining, Richard ruthlessly quashes Major Daubenay's aspirations with his portrayal of Pen as a monster of precocious depravity who regularly toys with the affections of unsuspecting young ladies and is penniless, to boot.In an early scene, Richard's sister Louisa asserts unequivocally that he doesn't have a romantic bone in his body and that he was, first to last, a man of fashion who would never act in any way which contravened that. This claim is soon belied by the excellent adventure Richard is enjoying, but it was perfectly true up until that time: as he muses to himself, had he been sober, he would never have "set forth on this absurd journey, but having done so, drunk, he was perfectly willing to continue it." Like Alverstoke in Frederica but without Alverstoke's cynicism and rakish reputation, Richard suffers from the boredom that arises from the predictability of his life and of the people around him. He is an entirely sympathetic character and his serendipitous encounter and subsequent adventure with Penelope Creed not only affords great entertainment but it feels increasingly well-deserved as it brings out the softer, more vulnerable qualities in Richard that even he did not realize he possessed.

Oh I imagine I will say that about more than one of her books, but I adore this one. This is a re-read. There are entire sections where I just could not stop laughing! So well done.

Comedies are, by definition, messy, and this one is no exception. After being cajoled into the prospect of a horrific marriage, Richard gets drunk and stumbles upon Pen, a girl with a large fortune who is being pressured by her aunt to marrying her cousin. Pen dresses as a boy and decides to travel back to her home town and elope with Piers who, at twelve years old, had agreed to marry her. Richard decides to go along as a chaperone.At this point, things become really messy. Melissa, the girl to whom Richard nearly proposed, is part of a destitute family. Their family jewels are stolen, and the unsuspecting Richard and Pen are embroiled in the affair when (spoiler) the thief slips the jewels in Pen’s pocket (end spoiler). People Richard hadn’t thought he’d see end up finding him and Pen.Unlike other GH books, there are no dances or boxing scenes or drives through the park. Instead, there is drama, lies, and murder. The romance comes secondary to the plot, and things end a little too quickly for my taste. (I wish GH could overcome her obsession with ending her books the minute the main characters kiss.) Good read otherwise. I give it a 3.5 for originality, a 2 for romance, and a 5 for tension.

If you like historical romance and tongue-in-cheek humor you will love this book. The Corinthian tells the story of Sir Richard, a man of nine and 20, is being pestered by his mother and sister to marry. He’s practically engaged to a cold fish. Unfortunately, no other lady he meets seems interested in him, save for his money. Feeling his impending doom, he tries to drown his sorrows. Coming home while in his cups, he sees a young man climbing out a window of a home across the street. It turns out that it’s a young lady, Penelope Creed. An heiress, Pen is being pressured by her domineering aunt to marry her milk toast cousin. Her plan is to take her childhood friend up on his promise to marry her when they were both 12. Sir Richard is intrigued and thus begins their adventure together. There’s false identities, subterfuge, travel in a post carriage and quite a bit of fun. I cannot say how much I love this book. There were so many times where I laughed loudly. It’s a perfect example of Regency propriety at its best.

I read Georgette Heyer the first time when I was15 or 16, I am now 70 and I still love her books . Penelope Creed is running away from home to avoid being forced to marry her fish-faced cousin. Richard - Beau Wyndham sees her dangling from a rope on the side of the house. He helps her to the ground. He is extremely drunk and very unhappy about his own life. Pen wants to go to her childhood home to see the boy who was her best friend as they had made a promise to marry each other. Richard doesn't want her going alone even disguised as a boy, so he goes with her, at different times be is Pen's uncle, tutor or distant cousin. They have several adventures on the way and also once they get there. A fun love story

This book sets the standard for how to write a great historical romance, and what's really amazing is how well it fits with current day writing. It's fast action packed adventure, with great characters and just so much fun from the 1st to last page. The H is jaded, drinks a little more than he should but he's a good man who has got lost in his lifestyle of money, mates, and avoiding growing up. The h is very young, candid and sweet and she likes him straight away. She is very innocent but also very smart, finds him a good and kind man and she challenges his views. They go on a wonderful adventure, with stolen diamonds, thieves and murderers and elopement all twisted together seamlessly by the talented writer. It a feast for the senses - just gorgeous.

If The Corinthian had been my introduction to Heyer's historical romances I don't think I'd have looked at any more. Fortunately, it was not. I've read and re-read These Old Shades, Devil's Cub, Frederica, Venetia, Black Sheep, Grand Sophy, Infamous Army, Lady of Quality, Bath Tangle and some others, revelling in Heyer's evident mastery both of the period (abt 1755-1820) - the history, customs, language, cant, all couched in her very own narrative style - and of the art of an historical novelist.But alas, The Corinthian just doesn't do it for me. It feels as if it had been written in a weekend, untypically superficial. Heyer barely expands upon her character stereotypes (eg the 'Mk 1' and 'Mk 2' heroes): poor Sir Richard Wyndham, the Corinthian in question, doesn't even merit a word about the colour of his hair! The story is but a light-hearted romp, well enough in itself, but I was left feeling dissatisfied: there is a lack of depth such as might be found in the novels I've named above, whilst certain elements of the plot seem like a pale imitation of These Old Shades, written some 15 years earlier. Disappointing.But one good thing? I found a few more words of Regency cant to add to my repertoire!

Really good adventure, funny with lots of unexpected scrapes.If your looking for romance, there really is none, except one quick kiss in the very last sentence.I really would of loved an epilogue, what happened to his previous almost betrothed etc.Definitely recommended though as always you can’t go wrong with a Georgette Heyer book, always brilliantly written. 👩🏻‍💻

Although I've read many Regency romances, this was my first Georgette Heyer and perhaps it was an unfortunate choice. I found it absolutely silly and unbelievable. There was indeed no development of characters and the shenanigans they went through were most irritating : stupid, unlikely and obvious. As has been mentioned by other reviewers, very little romance. The supposed humour of the dialogue left me totally cold. I suppose to be fair to Ms Heyer, I ought to try another book. Maybe I shall.

This was the first book I read by Georgette Heyer and it set me on the road to a lifelong love of her books. Sir Richard Wyndham is being pressured into marriage with someone he has known since childhood. He doesn't like the thought of the marriage but lacks the incentive to refuse to comply with his family's wishes.On the night before he is to propose he is walking back to his house slightly the worse for wear when he says what he thinks is a young man climbing out of a window. He stops the runaway falling and realises it is a young woman. Together they decide to run away with Penelope Creed disguised as Sir Richard's nephew. Their adventures make entertaining and amusing reading.This is perhaps one of the most light-hearted and engaging of Heyer's Regency romances even though it does include stolen jewels and a murder. The dialogue sparkles and the situations the runaways find themselves in are at times hilarious as well as dangerous. If you want to try Georgette Heyer for the first time then this would be a good place to start. The heroine is resourceful and engaging and the hero intelligent and not above laughing at himself. I recommend it if you want something light-hearted with an historical background

As always immaculate historical research combined with sparkling wit that springs directly from her characters and is not at all contrived and gentle romance. One of my go to authors as her books never fail to make me laugh, and lift a dull day. Do try it you will be as hooked as I have been since I first discovered her books in the school library.