Cousin Kate

De: Georgette Heyer

Narrado por: Christina Cole

Brought to you by Penguin.

Kate Malvern never expected to see this kind of splendour again.

After her father's death, Kate was left an orphan, striving to make ends meet as a governess until her Aunt Minerva rescues her from poverty.

Kate hardly knows what to expect at the grand house of Staplewood. Her uncle lives in one wing, while her handsome, moody cousin, Torquil, occupies another; guests are few and far between, but even family dinners are rigidly formal. And, over it all, Minerva's word is law.

But the sudden arrival of Cousin Philip throws Minerva's control over the household into doubt, and Kate begins to suspect the shocking reason for Minerva's generosity. She has no one to confide in but cousin Philip - but for reasons unknown, he seems to have taken an instant dislike to her....

Cousin Kate is a rich and classic Georgette Heyer novel, replete with the sparkling humour, memorable characters and intricate plots that have made her the queen of the Regency romance novel.

©1968 Georgette Heyer (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Wonderful characters and rapturously romantic." (Katie Fforde)

Light Gothic

A good read. Christina Cole did an excellent job reading. The villainous Lady Broome was a perfect mix of charm and evil. The treatment of the mentally ill in the 1800s is only alluded to. Torquil is treated gently but only because of his usefulness to Lady Broome.

Poor Relation Finds Country Estate Mysterious

Regency Romances, Historical Fiction, and Mysteries dot the Georgette Heyer booklist. She wrote them all and in a style of sparkling banter, the era so splendidly described without neglect of the plot or characters so that her light, coquettish works rival Austen for most readers. However, among her splendid list of offerings, there is the occasional cross-genre piece that draws from her Regency Romance and her Mystery writings’ both.

Cousin Kate is one such and I had mixed feelings about it. In truth, Cousin Kate was light on plot development though it had strong bones, plot-wise. It tried for gothic suspense and romance, but was shallow in both pools.

However, before you get the impression it was terrible and I hated it, I will say that though it wasn’t strong gothic suspense and romance that it was moderately good. While not high in the comedy or sparkling wittiness of her best books, Cousin Kate was not devoid of all typical Heyer writing strengths. It was well settled in the post-Napoleonic Regency world so that everything from dialogue to descriptions of manners, settings and social mores were pitch perfect for the time. Activities that were authentic and forwarded the plot and the reader’s understanding of the characters and situations were present.

Cousin Kate’s main character was a young woman who’d lived an exciting life as a child of a soldier-adventurer on campaign during the Napoleonic Wars. At the beginning of the story, she’s an orphan, but she has spunk. Kate is determined not to be a burden and this is even so once her old nurse gets in touch with Kate’s aunt, a woman who married for position and wealth and surprises Kate by accepting her with open arms.

Everyone tells Kate that her aunt is not generous or simply being kind. She’s ambitious and controlling. Kate chooses to ignore all this because she is profoundly thankful her aunt accepted her as family. Kate encounters her aunt’s older, invalid husband Sir Timothy who is pleased to have young, vivacious Kate around the gloomy house, her tempestuous and immature cousin Torquil, the social climbing doctor staying after looking after Torquil through his earlier illnesses and now Sir Timothy’s, and, later, encounters Sir Timothy’s nephew, Phillip, who rumor has it tried to bump off Torquil the heir and is unwelcome by her aunt.

A few mysterious events and a growing unease in the household whirling about Kate finally come to a climax. I saw it coming as the author foreshadowed heavily so that only naïve Kate is oblivious as long as she is. But, Kate makes a great gothic heroine who is neither timid nor nonsensical. She and Phillip didn’t hit it off right away, but when they spend enough time getting to know each other, they see the truth about their real characters and form a friendship that becomes an increasing necessity for Kate.

Christina Cole was a superb narrator capturing Kate’s youthful and energetic style to the lower class accents of an old man. This was my first time listening to her work, but I would like to hear more books by her.

While it isn’t the best example of Heyer, it’s still a pretty decent listen that I can recommend for light Regency romance and mystery.

Great work despite painful plot

This story stands out in the prolific literature of Georgette Heyer. Still, it is, despite the painful theme, a masterwork. Heyer Somehow manages to bring in bits of characteristic humor, while the harrowing story unfolds and a rich romance takes form.
Christina Cole presents a formidable performance with dignity and beauty and lights up the occasional humor. For those of us who had looked with foreboding toward a new performance, we must feel very lucky indeed with Christina Cole. 

Cousin Kate

Good narration, but not one of Heyer 's best writings. I enjoy her recency romances.

Very Different!

Very different from any of the other Regency romances by this gifted author. I was immediately intrigued when the note of trouble was introduced early and the usual humor and romp never manifested.

It fell somewhat short of being Gothic and it didn’t get into any heavy psychoanalysis. The character of Torquil was odd. Rather than being “mad” in the sense of someone with schizophrenia, his behavior fell more into the category of intermittent explosive disorder. The novel fell short of the expectations I had at first, but it kept my attention till the end and was a pleasant change from the usual Heyer romance.

The narration kept giving me challenges because the male voices were done very loud and female voices were often too soft. I kept having to hit the volume control.

Heyer Meets Daphne du Maurier

This late entry is Georgette Heyer’s most gothic romance. There is virtually no plot but several interesting character studies. Not recommended for those new to the Regency series. Try instead most everyone’s favorites, The Grand Sophy and Venetia. I would add Frederica and an overlooked delight, The Talisman Ring.

Best narration

This is one of the best narrations I’ve ever listened to. Christina Cole’s characters, voices, intonations made this story come to life. It’s one of Georgette Heyer’s darker stories but I still really like it. Ms Cole treated it with the dignity it deserved and each of the characters were just spot on. I wish she had narrated some more of Georgette Heyer books. Highly recommend

Creepy things happen on the way to the romance…

Good enough story but there is some weird and disturbing sh**. If you need a light hearted read this is not it.

Yes!

A truly delicious Georgette Heyer audiobook. Gothic. Twists and turns. Surprise ending. I loved every minute of it.

As good as any other heyer’s book

The narrator is excellent, the story is enchanting. Don’t understand why someone did not rate it higher