The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer

A friend had recommended Georgette Heyer to me a while ago, and when I saw this book on the shelves at my local library I decided that it was now or never. Besides it promised to be a light and fun read, and the link to http://www.austenfans.com/ on the back cover promised Austenian fun and wit.

Well, that link was misleading. I was severely disappointed from the very first page because Heyer was clearly no Austen. However, once I got over my disappointment, and decided to enjoy the book solely on its own merits, I discovered that this was a light and funny read (laugh out loud in many parts).

I think the main difference for me was that Austen traded more in satire and wit, while Heyer traded more in the absurd/caricature. Horry Winwood was also not a very engaging heroine. Despite her youth (which was often emphasised), she still comes across as a spoilt brat. One wonders why/how she enchanted the Earl of Rule. While the book tries to make a case for her charm lying chiefly in her naive frankness and honesty, it sometimes comes across as a childish lack of maturity. Luckily for Horry then she is quickly married off to a rich (hence negating the need to earn her keep) protective (allowing her her escapades, from which she escapes with nary a hurt except for a couple of anxious moments) older (who will sometimes train her like a child, using laws of reverse psychology and the like) husband.

The Earl of Rule, on the other hand, is painted as an attractive man of the world, happily sowing his wild oats until Horry came along. He is prone to settling arguments with violence or threats of violence. He wouldn't be an attractive man in real life - except of course what woman can resist the charms of the domesticated wild oat sower?

Overall, this book read very quickly, and was laugh out loud funny in many parts. Be prepared for plenty of the absurd, and some wit, and some very interestingly caricatured minor characters. I was later informed that this was not one of Heyer's best. Since I really did enjoy this thoroughly after (1) getting over my annoyance at it not being more like Austen, and (2) indulging in the fantasy that I am Horry and can do what I want and not suffer any consequences, and not have to work, and can buy jewel-encrusted shoes on a whim. This would make awesome airport/airplane reading material.

 ***** for being a jolly good read, despite not being Austen. And the detailed descriptions of clothes and fashion and hair!

An interesting thought: When Austen wrote her books, they were contemporary romances. When Heyer wrote hers, they were historical romances. Makes one wonder who is the Austen of today? 

Empress Orchid and The Last Empress, by Anchee Min

I had actually read "The Last Empress" before I read "Empress Orchid". I found "The Last Empress", by itself, to be tough going. It dealt with a time when China was faced with invaders on all fronts, and too weak to defend itself. I felt like much of the book dealt with politicking, foreign negotiations, etc and too little with the human dimension. Nevertheless, I was intrigued enough to pick up the "Empress Orchid", since the summary presented in the prologue hinted at a more human story - or at least a more personal story less tempered with the realities of holding power at the head of a dying dynasty.

Initially I found the writing in "Empress Orchid" to be clunky, with much overuse and abuse of both adjectives and adverbs. However the story itself was so compelling that it drew me in anyway. I suppose I should be honest enough to admit that I was looking, at least partly, for titillation - this lady after all was the only one of three thousand concubines of the emperor to bear a son, and only one of two to bear him a child (the other child being a princess whose mother later hanged herself).


Having read "Empress Orchid" did give me me new appreciation for "The Last Empress". Reading about the time when China was merely weak, not unsalvageable, put a new perspective on the challenges outlined in "The Last Empress", and also added context to Orchid's desperation that she was unable to raise a competent Emperor.

Towards the end of "Empress Orchid", and throughout my re-reading (ok, skimming) of "The Last Empress" afterwards, however, I was disturbed by an undercurrent of racism. While the title character, the man she loved, and some of her most trusted advisors were Manchu, the writer frequently interjects with comments of how gracious, how tolerant the Chinese were as a whole, and how loyal and capable the Empress' Chinese advisors were, even excusing their fence sitting during the power struggle after the Emperor's death. In contrast, the Manchu were portrayed as decadent weaklings, their blood running thin. If I had to venture a guess, I'd guess that Anchee Min was Han Chinese.

Overall, this was an interesting book, but I'd class it closer to the fictional side of historical fiction than the historical side. Parts of the books seem to be laboring to provide excuses for the Empress inability to hold the country together, or to provide new interpretations of historical events that show the Empress in a nobler light. For example, after the attempted assasination attempt on her life, the Emperor was moved to a palace on an island on a lake - in the book, this was for his health and by his request, while according to various websites (which obviously are not reliable sources :)  ) the Emperor was literally in house prison.

These books were interesting enough however that they made me want to pick up a biography of Cixi - to learn about the woman in history - not a romanticized fictional account of her. Whether I will indeed do so though, who knows.

 ** 1/2 for the undercurrent of racism I felt balanced against the interest sustained in the story, especially in the first installment, although how much of this is due to the credit of the author, and how much to the credit of the Empress, I do not know.