Bath Tangle

A great Regency Romance by Georgette Heyer. It is funny - sweet - charming and makes you feel good. Lady Serena is a great female character. The sparks between her and the Marquis fly off the page! Heyer can portray intense passion without resorting to graphic sex - read it and you will see what I mean.

Perhaps best known to American audiences as Livia in "I, Claudius," Sian Phillips has a very expressive voice that is a wonderful match for Heyer's prose--she can convey volumes in her reading of a syllable or two. This is a reading of exceptional wit and style.

This title would be an excellent introduction for anyone unfamiliar with Heyer's work. It contains fine examples of all of the critical elements: wonderful characters, sparkling dialogue, and an independently-minded heroine who is still very much a product of her time and place in society. Oh, and a rattling good love story!

Always one of my favorite Georgette Heyer books, Serena and the Marquis of Rotherham are a fun pair, and the supporting characters are wonderful. Sian Phillips' narration is energetic and engrossing. I am glad to see Audible adding titles to their Heyer canon--the more the better!

I love Georgette Heyer and this one is truly a favorite. It made me laugh all the way from NY to Florida! Excellent characters and plot!

I enjoy Georgette Heyer so much. I love her characters and their situations. She never lets me take anything too seriously, yet manages to make her characters feel sincere. I listened to this while on a road trip; I found myself slowing down to save gas and to be able to finish BATH TANGLE before the end of the trip.

This was the first purchase I ever made from Audible. When each of the last three books I've listened to turned out to be more sad and depressing than the one before, I decided I desperately needed something upbeat and to take no chances. I re-loaded "Bath Tangle" onto my Ipod and even though there are passages of this book I can recite from memory, I listened again and was not disappointed.

Lady Serena Carlow is the poised and headstrong only child of a politically powerful earl who, after many years of widowhood, suddenly decided to "take a bride out of the schoolroom," presumably in the last-ditch hope of "getting an heir." The book opens with the earl's funeral, as his sudden unexpected demise from "contracting a chill" followed hard on the heels of his marriage (and without the hoped-for heir).

Serena is left with a stepmother several years younger than she is who is her complete opposite in personality. She is also horrified to learn that her considerable inheritance has been left in trust, and that the trustee is the haughty Marquis of Rotherham--the fiance she jilted two years ago!

Thus the set-up for the "tangle" of the title. Every character in this story is a delight, and Sian Phillips (the wonderful British actress who played Livia in "I Claudius") gives a sparkling and energetic narration.

Georgette Heyer essentially invented the Regency Romance. She may not be Jane Austen, but her best novels are just as entertaining despite (or perhaps because of) the predictability of the eventual outcome. This is certainly one of her best and transcends the genre.

Sian Phillips is such a great reader of this Georgette Heyer than i went hunting for more novels read by her. Excellent.

Sorry Georgette Heyer, just a bit too romantic and lovey dovey. I think you have done better on some of your other books.

Heyer is a brilliant writer; a true master of her craft and her novels are in my personal permanent collection. This is an excellent audio production, and I appreciated the audio version of the book better than I had the written book. Nonetheless, Bath Tangle remains among my least favorite of Heyer's novels. I find the main characters in Bath Tangle far less congenial or believable than those in her other novels. Consequently the resolution of their dilemma at the close of the book is not as engaging as her other works. The writing is excellent, but the premise is not Heyer's best. That said, Heyer's worst is still great and worth listening to. Of Heyer's novels, The Foundling and Friday's Child are the two I reread most often. I love Audible's version of Friday's Child and look forward to Audible making The Foundling available in unabridged audio. And here I must speak my peace. Audible must abandon the deeply misguided practice of abridging Heyer's novels. Remember the disaster that was "New Coke"? Know your audience! Heyer devotees will NEVER be satisfied with the abominations that result from attempts at abridging Heyer's work. Even worse, such unappealing misrepresentations will only serve to dissuade potential new fans from exploring her other numerous works. Poor business practice! Even the best and most appealing celebrity narrators cannot make it work. Sylvester and Venetia are among my Heyer favorites, and despite Richard Armitage's best efforts, the abridged versions by Audible had been reduced to such a tawdry level of romance novel that I had to return them. Far smarter to produce one excellent version that would have been appreciated and promoted by Heyer fans than two mutilations that can only be deprecated.

The confusion and sweetness throughout. The listener is given little hints so they can predict what will happen, but only sometimes.

Ivo. Because he keeps his secret very well, I think.

No, but I enjoyed this very much. That deep voice must have been difficult.

Serena, Because she is a lot of fun.

Loved the book and the narration.