About this title: Kate Malvern, rescued from penury by her aunt Minerva, hardly knows what to expect at Staplewood - the grand household is so very different from a life spent following the drum in the Peninsular! But surely, other households are more homelike! Kate's uncle lives in one wing, handsome, moody cousin Torquil in another; thought the guests are few, even family dinners are formal. And, when Kate begins to suspect the shocking reason for Minerva's generosity, she has no one to confide in but cousin Philip - who appears to have taken her in instant dislike...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Bantam
Date Published: 1970
Description: Fair in fair dust jacket. pages are all intact but the cover has quite a bit of wear on it, has a scrape on top corner of front cover by the spine. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. May have wear or tear to spine, edges and or cover. Creases in spine. Bent/rounded corners. May have highlighting/notes. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Bantam Books
Date Published: 1973
Description: Fair. *** Paperback in Fair condition. Binding beginning to crack, but pages secure and mostly clean. Bookstore stamp on first inside page. Significant cover and spine wear. *** read more
Description: Okay. Mass Paper Back. spine has been torn and the first 100 pages are loose at the spine, but the book is intact and really very tight. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: E.P. Dutton and Company
Date Published: 1968
Description: Good in Poor jacket. 2nd printing. Ex-library with typical marks, moderate wear and yellowing; solid book. The dj is heavily creased and worn; wrapped; taped to book. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilogram. Category: Fiction--Romance Inventory No: 074813. read more
"Psychological drama unlike any of the other novel formats. Kate Malvern is destitute and cut off from her family so is thought to be easy prey to be used by Kate's paternal aunt Minerva. Invited to the family estate, Staplewood, Kate is the being maneuvered into place to be used in shoring up the Broome family tree."
"In you aren't a die hard Georgette Heyer fan, you might be unaware that all of her books are being re-printed--a blessing for those of us who are huge followers. Cousin Kate was a book absent from any library collection of which I have been a patronage. However, due to the re-printing, I am able to indulge in the more obscure Heyer titles.
This was a decent Heyer novel. Not my favorite, but not my least favorite either. It is rather gothic in flavor which is a break from her other regency novels. It is definitely worth a read if you are a fan of her other novels."
"The only other Georgette Heyer novel I've read is Frederica, which was witty and charming and quite sweet. This book, Cousin Kate, was a little darker, an attempt at Gothic instead of a Jane Austen-like romance. The dark side didn't pay off for me; the book's reoccupation with the madness of Kate's cousin Torquil overshadowed both Kate's character and her romance."
"Kate Malvern is considered at 25 on the brink of old age by the Regency standards. Her prospects for the future are looking worse and worse by the minute. With no parents, no dowry to speak of and no real prospects for substantial income, Kate has only one person to turn to: her nurse Sarah Nidd. But Sarah has her own family and household to care for and as much as she loves Kate, it's only a matter of time when Kate will become a nuisance and yet another mouth to feed. With the appearance of Kate's aunt Minerva, the estranged half-sister of Kate's father, it looks like the deliverance from all worries has finally arrived. Kate is overwhelmed by the kindness bestowed upon her by Minerva and wishes with all her heart to repay it any way she can. When taken to Staplewood, Minerva's family estate, Kate discovers soon enough that what she's expected to do in return for Minerva's benevolent treatment may be more horrifying than she could ever imagine. The household has the gloomy atmosphere with uncle Timothy living in a separate wing, the moody and often unpredictable cousin Torquil living in another part and Minerva ruling the house with an iron fist. Soon, Kate finds herself entrapped in Staplewood with only one person, cousin Phillip willing to help.
Cousin Kate is a completely different novel from the ones I've read but also the same talent Heyer's for writing with style, humor and cleverness shines through. Kate is a very likable character, she's independent, she knows what she wants, how to say what she wants and most importantly, how to stand up for herself and say no. I suspect she got it from her nurse Sarah, which I think I liked the most, even though she only appears at the beginning and end of the book. Talk about a no-nonsense woman. I like to imagine that Georgette Heyer used some of her own characteristics when creating Sarah. Also, I was happy to see that despite writing in a different genre, Heyer didn't lose any of her wittiness, humor and a knack for truly bringing to life all her characters. There was one other new element introduced: mental illness. That just added more fun for me because I enjoy reading books with at least one person who suffers from some kind of mental impediment. Heyer never names what the illness is, but it really doesn't matter because a name is not necessary when the portrayal is so excellent. Cousin Kate was simply another great performance by this wonderful writer and it only makes me elated to know that there are plenty more of her books to read."
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