Georgina (by Clare Darcy)

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I recently finished re-reading the crime fiction novels by Georgette Heyer.  But before I return to re-reading her historical romances, I decided to re-read my Clare Darcy collection. She’s the only author I’ve come across who wrote high quality ‘regency era’ fiction that can even begin to compare with those by Heyer. 

It’s a very long time since I read any of them, so I decided to read them in the order they were published, and have just finished ‘Georgina’, which was originally published in 1971. Apparently Clare Darcy was a pseudonym for an American writer called Mary Deasy. I don’t know if she had read Georgette Heyer’s books, but her research, however done, seems to be very effective. The style, the conversation and the descriptions all appear to be authentically done.

I last read this book in 2002 and had entirely forgotten both the people and the plot. The story involves a young woman called Georgina, who is like one of Heyer’s feisty heroines. She has a mind of her own, and often flouts what she perceives as useless society conventions. We first meet her at her grandmother’s home in Bath, where she is turning down an offer of marriage from a highly suitable young man. Her grandmother is so annoyed about this that she decides to send her granddaughter to Ireland, to stay with a cousin on her father’s side. 

There are some complicated family dynamics mentioned; I’m not sure I ever got a complete grasp on relationships. Georgina’s mother is widowed; she was considered to have made rather a poor match, and is reduced to living with her rather overbearing mother. Her husband’s cousin Bella (also widowed) is Georgina’s host in Ireland. She has a son, Brandon, who is around Georgina’s age, and they used to get along very well. Bella would like them to get married although they see each other more as siblings than potential spouses.

To add to the confusion, another cousin of Georgina’s (whom she had never met) called Nuala made a somewhat scandalous runaway match some years previously with a man called Mr Shannon. He was considered to be a fortune-hunter, as he was the illegitimate son of an earl who employed him, but then cast him off. At least, I think that’s what happened. Nuala died within a few years of marriage, of a fever, and Mr Shannon is returning to take his place at her estate. Which is where Bella and Brandon have been living… and have not yet moved out.

Yes, it’s all a bit complicated, though I’m not sure why it felt so convoluted. It didn’t seem to matter very much, once I got involved in the story. I found it hard to understand why Mr Shannon is considered such a shocking character, and why hardly anyone in the neighbourhood is willing to receive him. However that’s how it starts - and at first Georgina is extremely rude to him, though again it’s not entirely clear why. But she also finds him oddly attractive - it was obvious this was going to happen, almost from the start, by the conventions of this kind of novel. 

The bulk of the story sees Georgina gradually discovering different facets of Mr Shannon’s personality. She also does some rather foolish things - not just riding around on her own, without a groom (although she is an excellent rider) but trying to make local people accept him. This is generally not successful.

The writing is good, and I found myself quite liking Georgina and also her cousin Brandon; he continues to be her friend, and also becomes quite friendly with Shannon, rather to his mother’s horror. Bella is a somewhat caricatured middle-aged dowager (although she can’t have been more than about forty - maybe less!) who doesn’t do a lot of thinking. Her one concern is to find a wealthy wife for Brandon. But he’s only nineteen, and wants to go to university before he thinks of settling down. 

I liked the book; I didn’t mind its inevitable predictability, and I enjoyed the light twists that the story took. And yet it’s not Heyer. There’s something missing. There’s a tad too much explanation of people’s thoughts or actions, something that Heyer shows brilliantly without any ‘telling’. And this book didn’t have the light ironic humour that pervades Heyer’s writing. 

However, it’s unfair to compare anyone to the acknowledged queen of regency romance novels. Clare Darcy’s writing is considerably superior to that of any other writer I’ve tried in this genre. So on the whole I would recommend ‘Georgina’ if you like this kind of light historical romance. 

Although Clare Darcy's books were printed several times, they don't currently seem to be in print. But this is often found second-hand, and can now be bought for the Kindle too. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews