❧ audiobook review

Richard Armitage narrating this really set the scene! After growing up with him in North & South and Robin Hood, I just associate him with costume dramas. (Except for Spooks, cos, yanno, that's not a costume drama at all. 'Tis definitely dramatic, though. But now I'm totally off topic.)

For some reason, I didn't realise until now that I was mixing up Georgette Heyer and Elizabeth Gaskell. Oops. But I'm gonna put that down to thinking Armitage was in costume dramas by both, haha. (Not even sure if he is in a costume drama based on one of Heyer's books, but I digress ...) Anyways - well worth a listen! The writing was engaging and funny, but not convoluted or overdone. Very enjoyable. ( )

There seems to be a law of diminishing returns with Georgette Heyer; three in a row is too much (maybe like sugary desserts?). Richard Armitage remains as before, however. ( )

Read the book rather than listen to this ABRIDGED audiobook! Whoever abridged this left out all the best parts and so changed this from being a wryly witty romance into a "typical" Regency romance similar to all those who copied Heyer without capturing her style or humor. ( )

This audio production is well done. Richard Armitage's narration is excellent, including a range of distinctive character voices. All the more disappointing then that this is a very much abridged version of Georgette Heyer's original novel with much of the detail and depth stripped out, leaving the narrative feeling rather bare and flat. I was especially disappointed that the hugely entertaining comic scene with Edmund, the dog and Fotherby's boots, which I had so been looking forward to hearing described, had been completely excised from the tale. ( )