Pistols for Two (by Georgette Heyer)

(Amazon UK link)

In re-reading my Georgette Heyer novels, yet again, I realised that it had been twelve years since I last read her short story collection, ‘Pistols for Two’. I didn’t recall any of the stories before I started, and while I did remember the conclusions of some of them as I read, I have thoroughly enjoyed them once again.

The opening story, which gives its title to the book, is about two frustrated and angry young men who are going to fight a duel. Although close friends for most of their lives, they have both fallen for the same young woman. Their jealousy and a misunderstanding causes events to escalate…

The second story is about a young couple who want to get married. They seem to be ideally suited, until the girl’s aunt discovers a connection that she really doesn’t like. So the story is actually about another romance, a long-standing one that - of course - is resolved.

Most of the stories are about romance, in a low-key Heyer kind of way, with entirely satisfactory resolutions. Having said that, they’re not all light-weight. One of them has an extremely bloodthirsty plot, which is quite disturbing in places, but, again, has a positive ending. One of them involves a young woman with an unkind, possibly abusive brother who gives her away after a gambling game. Two - including the first one - involve duels.

But they’re all written with Heyer’s masterly characterisation. Even in these stories, which are no more than 20 paperback pages each, she brings her people to life, making them believable and sympathetic, if not as memorable as some of the characters in her novels.

The conversations are believable, the details authentic, and there’s often some ironic or satirical humour in the interchanges between people. They’re historical fiction, of course, so there’s some archaic language, and anyone new to this style of writing might have to use a dictionary at first, although most words and phrases are fairly obvious when taken in context.

I always seem to forget just how much I like this short story collection, one I would recommend to anyone who likes Heyer’s style. It could also make a good introduction to her work, for someone not yet ready to read a full-length novel.

Definitely recommended.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's Book Reviews