Review: Literate and Witty
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 5, 2013
I can't believe so many reviewers didn't seem to understand that this is a satire and a pretty spot-on one at that. So, if you've had it after reading one too many Georgette Heyer knock-offs--or, worse--the endless stream of faux Jane Austen--you will certainly get a huge kick out of this book. The start is a tad uneven, but when the jokes begin--look out--because they don't stop. In fact, as the story of the "Defiant Lady" goes on and the author gets into the swing of it, it just becomes funnier and funnier. The amazing "information dumps" which are generously ladled into each chapter impressed me because I'm a detail nut when I read any sort of historical novel, especially one set in a period I know something about. This author knows her stuff, whether she's telling us about Regency clothing, manners, food, pleasure gardens, or European current events. The dialogue and the supporting characters might have dropped in out of a Sterne or Fielding novel, showing she's read extensively in the literature of the period, and knows the style and rhythms of speech, although she doesn't hesitate to plunk in modern phrases/and/or thoughts when it'll get a belly laugh. I Was Amused.  :)