Publication
Harlequin, c1948
Collection
Status
Available
Description
Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML: The Queen of Regency Romance, Georgette Heyer, delights readers with a charming tale of a duke who is tired of playing by the rules. The Duke of Sale is out to prove himself The shy, young Duke of Sale has never known his parents. Instead, his Grace Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware, Gilly for short, has endured twenty-four years of rigorous mollycoddling from his uncle and valet. But his natural diffidence conceals a rebellious spirit. A mysterious beauty provides the perfect opportunity When Gilly hears of Belinda, the beautiful foundling who appears to be blackmailing his cousin, he escapes with glee. But he has no sooner entered this new and dangerous world than he is plunged into a frenzy of intrigue, kidnapping, adventure, and surprises at every turn. Praise for Georgette Heyer and The Foundling: "What happens when a many-titled Duke decides to play hooky from his suffocating dignity..."�??Kirkus Reviews "Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen."�??Publishers Weekl… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
The Foundling by Georgette Heyer is less of a historical romance and much more of a comedy of errors with foundlings, runaway schoolboys, an incognito duke, kidnappers and assorted ruffians and more that a few concerned relatives charging about. The Duke of Sale has been cosseted and looked after
Georgette Heyer fills this book with some great characters that were a lot of fun to read about. From school boy Tom who finds trouble wherever he goes, to the totally empty-headed Belinda, even the villain of the piece, Mr. Liversedge was an interesting, full drawn rogue. The relationship between the duke and his betrothed was mature, believable and, I found, quite heart warming.
A coming-of-age story that is full of humor and adventure, Georgette Heyer has another winner with The Foundling.
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by servants and family for his whole life. He is now coming into his majority and instead of handing the reins to him, everyone still seems to feel the need to protect him. His future wife has been picked out for him, and even though he has always been very fond of Harriet, he doesn’t feel great love for her. Breaking free of his traces, the duke goes off as a plain Mr. Rufford, on a quest to help a cousin out of a fix. Amid much mayhem and confusion, the duke learns not only to assert himself but that there are times when it is advantageous to be the Duke of Sale and to have a loving family to surround him. Most importantly of all, he and Harriet discover that love is blossoming between them and that they are meant to be together.Georgette Heyer fills this book with some great characters that were a lot of fun to read about. From school boy Tom who finds trouble wherever he goes, to the totally empty-headed Belinda, even the villain of the piece, Mr. Liversedge was an interesting, full drawn rogue. The relationship between the duke and his betrothed was mature, believable and, I found, quite heart warming.
A coming-of-age story that is full of humor and adventure, Georgette Heyer has another winner with The Foundling.
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LibraryThing member phyllis2779
A charming Regency. Gilly was a nice change from the masterful type hero It made this book feel fresh. There wasn't much of romance in this book; it was more a comedy of manners and characters. Heyer's true genius is in the characters -- many of them unique and different.
LibraryThing member JudithProctor
When the young Duke of Sale finally decides that he want to control his own life rather than being organised by his family and servants, he siezes an opportunity for adventure and gets mixed up with the Foundling of the title. Belinda is a startlingly beautiful women with the mental capacity of a
The real strength of this book lies in the characters. A wide variety of personalities, each well drawn and each internally consistent. A real pleasure to read.
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goldfish. While fully aware of her beauty, Sale doesn't fall for her. Keeping her out of trouble and dealing with the people who either fall in love with her or try to use her for their own ends, leads him into many entertaining situations and helps him to mature and to find his own strengths. He also meets up with Tom, a young lad running away from home. Sale emphasises with the young man who is also being kept on too tight a leash, but Tom is far wilder than Sale and lands him in even more scrapes.The real strength of this book lies in the characters. A wide variety of personalities, each well drawn and each internally consistent. A real pleasure to read.
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LibraryThing member Helenliz
If Heyer's books are all even half this good, I'm in for a rare old treat as I read my way through the library shelves.
This is more a coming of age tale, combined with a comedy of errors than it is a romance. Gilly is our hero (although he's far more Buttons than he is Prince Charming), and while
This is such great fun. The story bowls along merrily, and there is an air of pantomime about this (that's not meant to be derogatory). Gilly is more Buttons than Charming, Gideon would be Charming (although he doesn't get the girl). For rogues we have Liversedge (boo) a highly personable rogue, but we also have Uncle Lionel, who could certainly be viewed as trying to suppress Gilly and keep him in the comfortable box of boy, not man.
I'm usually quite sparing with my stars, but this gets 5. It manages to be great fun and not leave you feeling that it's full of plot holes or daft writing.
This is more a coming of age tale, combined with a comedy of errors than it is a romance. Gilly is our hero (although he's far more Buttons than he is Prince Charming), and while
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he is Duke of Sale, he is cossetted, protected and smothered by his servants and his uncle such that he feels completely useless and unable to assert himself. To test his wings, he decides to head off on his own (actually to solve cousin Matthew's problem of breach of trust and a blackmailer). All in all he manages tolerably well, coping with the trials of a blackmailer, a stagecoach, an inn and acquiring a small ruffian (who has also run away from his overprotective father and an overbearing tutor) along the way. However at that point it all starts to go a little less swimmingly. Gilly also acquires the beautiful but empty headed Belinda (the foundling of the title) and gets himself into a far more dangerous scrape with a top notch rogue. All the while his servants and family are in uproar, trying to find him and thinking this all very out of character. It turns out to be the making of him.This is such great fun. The story bowls along merrily, and there is an air of pantomime about this (that's not meant to be derogatory). Gilly is more Buttons than Charming, Gideon would be Charming (although he doesn't get the girl). For rogues we have Liversedge (boo) a highly personable rogue, but we also have Uncle Lionel, who could certainly be viewed as trying to suppress Gilly and keep him in the comfortable box of boy, not man.
I'm usually quite sparing with my stars, but this gets 5. It manages to be great fun and not leave you feeling that it's full of plot holes or daft writing.
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Fun Heyer. I like Gilly quite a lot, and Harriet blooms a bit too. My only objection is that the title is The Foundling, because Belinda (the foundling) is pretty much a cipher (she's too dumb to be a character) - though I admit she's the catalyst for a great deal of this story. Gideon is excellent
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- wish he'd gotten his own story. And Uncle Lionel is an idiot of quite another type - so certain he's acting for the best, at all times. It's great to watch Gilly grow up - find his own abilities and learn to trust himself. This one is definitely worth rereading, in a while. Show Less
LibraryThing member seldombites
After reading the first chapter of this book, I had low expectations for the rest. Not surprising, since this is not my usual genre. I was pleasantly surprised, however. The characters, though unrealistic, were engaging and the plot exciting enough to hold the reader. If this is a good example of
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regency romance, I believe I will be reading more of this genre in the future. Show Less
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware, the young Duke of Sale, had grown tired of being surrounded by his army of devoted and overprotective servants, his overbearing guardian uncle, and his well-meaning but stifling friends and family. He'd grown tired in fact, of being the Duke of Sale, and longed to
Despite its similarity (in parts) to some of Heyer's other novels - Sprig Muslin and Charity Girl in particular - The Foundling provided a quick, entertaining read, with a gentle charm of its own. Gilly may have been somewhat too mild, but his rebellion against the strictures placed upon him, and his gradual transformation from boy to man, made for an engaging coming-of-age tale. His romance with Lady Harriet was somewhat less appealing, and had the feel of an afterthought. One has to wonder, moreover, at the similar names that Heyer gives all these trustworthy "older" female friends, who always stand ready to assist her heroes with the young runaways they have undertaken to help: Lady Harriet, Lady Hester, and Henrietta... An unconscious acknowledgment on the author's part that they are essentially all the same character? One has to wonder...
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experience life as "Mr. Dash, of Nowhere in Particular." When opportunity presented itself, in the form of a young cousin in trouble, Gilly set out on an adventure, and soon found himself entangled with an impetuous young runaway, a beautiful but very naive "foundling," and a kidnapping villain of great sensibility...Despite its similarity (in parts) to some of Heyer's other novels - Sprig Muslin and Charity Girl in particular - The Foundling provided a quick, entertaining read, with a gentle charm of its own. Gilly may have been somewhat too mild, but his rebellion against the strictures placed upon him, and his gradual transformation from boy to man, made for an engaging coming-of-age tale. His romance with Lady Harriet was somewhat less appealing, and had the feel of an afterthought. One has to wonder, moreover, at the similar names that Heyer gives all these trustworthy "older" female friends, who always stand ready to assist her heroes with the young runaways they have undertaken to help: Lady Harriet, Lady Hester, and Henrietta... An unconscious acknowledgment on the author's part that they are essentially all the same character? One has to wonder...
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LibraryThing member thatotter
Public service announcement for all goodreads friends and followers: I promise that my latest Heyer binge is almost at an end. Be patient: soon I'll be back to reading random crap I find on the street.
...So anyway, this book is a coming-of-age story, not a romance. It's lovely to read about Gilly
...So anyway, this book is a coming-of-age story, not a romance. It's lovely to read about Gilly
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coming into his own (even if there is a little bit of a children's book quality to it), and Liversedge is a pretty awesome/lovable villain. Belinda and Tom were a bit tiresome, so I can't really go above 3.5 stars here. But Gilly and Harriet: the sweetest! Gilly and Gideon: also the sweetest! I'm pretty sure they all lived happily ever after. Show Less
LibraryThing member riverwillow
Lots of fun in this one as Gilly, Duke of Sale, discovering that one of his cousins is being blackmailed and determined to escape from the oppressive care of his guardian and his servants, sets out on an adventure. Things don't go as planned, and Gilly ends up caring for the beautiful Belinda, the
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foundling of the title and Tom, a schoolboy on the run from his annoying tutor. Show Less
LibraryThing member Familyhistorian
It has been so long since I have dipped into many of the books in my Georgette Heyer collection that reading them is like discovering the story for the first time. The Foundling is the story of the Duke of Sale who is so coddled by his retainers that he is unable to do anything for himself. When
Once again I was charmed by Heyer’s tale and wit. I eagerly read the book from cover to cover in a very short time.
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his young cousin confides his troubles to the Duke, Sale seizes on the excuse of helping his cousin and sets out on what he thinks will be a short adventure away from his retinue. Of course, nothing is that simple and he soon finds himself taking responsibility for a youth and then a strikingly lovely young woman, the foundling.Once again I was charmed by Heyer’s tale and wit. I eagerly read the book from cover to cover in a very short time.
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LibraryThing member PhilSyphe
“The Foundling” is not the most apt title for this work, as the foundling character and her storyline is essentially a subplot. The main focus is on a 24-year-old duke and his need to break away from his relatives and servants who treat him like a sickly child – something he *used* to
Belinda – the foundling herself – may not be the story’s focal point but she is an entertaining character. She’d be classed as a “dumb blonde” in today’s society. In this tale she is excessively beautiful yet devoid of intelligence. This makes for some superb humorous moments.
Tom is also amusing with his endless schemes and getting into scrapes. In fact, all characters are well-defined and humorous to varying degrees, and it’s the comedy aspects that appealed to me the most.
The plot itself was okay, if a little disjointed, but when the witty dialogue exchanges are not apparent the reader is often faced with lengthy narrative passages that are slow paced and mundane.
In short, the parts are better than the whole.
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be.Belinda – the foundling herself – may not be the story’s focal point but she is an entertaining character. She’d be classed as a “dumb blonde” in today’s society. In this tale she is excessively beautiful yet devoid of intelligence. This makes for some superb humorous moments.
Tom is also amusing with his endless schemes and getting into scrapes. In fact, all characters are well-defined and humorous to varying degrees, and it’s the comedy aspects that appealed to me the most.
The plot itself was okay, if a little disjointed, but when the witty dialogue exchanges are not apparent the reader is often faced with lengthy narrative passages that are slow paced and mundane.
In short, the parts are better than the whole.
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LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
The Duke of Sale hankers to be an ordinary person, and is pitched into adventure by his cousin's amorous exploits. How he succeeds and extricates himself from various problems provides a fast-moving and exciting - albeit unlikely - story, with all the ends neatly tied in an excellent conclusion.
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Very enjoyable. Show Less
LibraryThing member Figgles
Enjoyable! The young Duke of Sale kicks over the traces and vanishes from the solicitous care of his Uncle and retainers. Some of Ms Heyer's themes of youth, coming of age, the problems of dealing with your relations and love are handled better in some of her other books (this one gets a bit long
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and complicated at the end) but it is still an enjoyable read. Interesting to see a bullying tutor called Snape! Wonder if JKR is a Heyer fan! Show Less
LibraryThing member SusannainSC
Wherein the ingenue is a duke.
LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Gilly was born an incredibly rich duke. Far from trying to get his inheritance, his family did everything in its power to ensure that the sickly little boy would grow to manhood. However, now that Gilly's nearly of-age, their coddling and controlling is less welcome. Being pushed into an engagement
I liked this book a great deal. It's largely free of Heyer's love of Regency-era slang, and the main character is far from her usual tall-saturnine-sardonic-controlling hero. The only issue I had was that the love between Gilly and the woman he ends up marrying seems to come out of nowhere. It's a regency romance, Heyer, you've got to put *some* effort into the romance part, no matter how meticulously researched the "regency" part is.
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with an old friend is the last straw, and Gilly takes an opportunity to flee his hangers-on and pretend to be just a gentleman. While doing so he rescues a fair but dimwitted maiden, takes on the charge of an adventurous boy, thumps villains on their heads, gets kidnapped, burns down a house, and all in all leads a very enterprising life indeed. I liked this book a great deal. It's largely free of Heyer's love of Regency-era slang, and the main character is far from her usual tall-saturnine-sardonic-controlling hero. The only issue I had was that the love between Gilly and the woman he ends up marrying seems to come out of nowhere. It's a regency romance, Heyer, you've got to put *some* effort into the romance part, no matter how meticulously researched the "regency" part is.
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LibraryThing member JBD1
This one made me laugh almost (but not quite) as much as Friday's Child. Another grand romp through Regency England, this time with even more amusing characters than some of the other Heyer novels I've read.
LibraryThing member JoBass
Charming story about a Duke who feels hedged in by servants and friends, and wishes to strike out on his own.
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Gilly, the young Duke of Sale, is nearing his 25th birthday when he will be of age to control his own estates and fortune. His father died before his birth and his mother shortly afterwards, so Gilly grew up under the guardianship of his uncle, Lord Lionel Ware. Due to his premature birth, Gilly
I was expecting romance, and I was pleasantly surprised when this turned out to be more a coming-of-age story. There is a bit of romance as Gilly gets to know Harriet, the bride his uncle has chosen for him, and meets the beautiful but very air-headed Belinda. The parallels between Gilly and the young runaway, Tom, are a bit heavy-handed. Nonetheless, this was an enjoyable page-turner.
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was a sickly child. His uncle and all of his retainers are very solicitous of his health. Gilly chafes under their well-meaning protection. When an opportunity offers itself for an incognito escape, Gilly takes it. He finds more adventure than he bargains for, and in the process he discovers more strength than he knew he had.I was expecting romance, and I was pleasantly surprised when this turned out to be more a coming-of-age story. There is a bit of romance as Gilly gets to know Harriet, the bride his uncle has chosen for him, and meets the beautiful but very air-headed Belinda. The parallels between Gilly and the young runaway, Tom, are a bit heavy-handed. Nonetheless, this was an enjoyable page-turner.
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LibraryThing member japaul22
This was an ok book about a young Duke who goes undercover as a commoner to help out his cousin and winds up in all sorts of trouble. In the meantime, he gains confidence and grows up after being coddled his whole life.
I was kind of bored by this one. I liked the Duke, but there weren't any good
I was kind of bored by this one. I liked the Duke, but there weren't any good
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female characters and I was sort of annoyed by all the hi jinks. It sort of fit the bill for something mindless to read as I've been pretty stressed out by work, but that's about all it was good for in my opinion. Show Less
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
I don't really know what to say about this book. The writing is superb; really just near perfect. The dialog is crafted so well it just trips off the tongue, even though it's a speech pattern that's hardly common today.
And I genuinely liked Lord Sale and his cousin Gideon (him best of all, I
Lord Sale's staff were insufferable. Heyer meant them to be, of course; that's a big point of the plot from the beginning, but she did her job so well it was tedious to endure the reading of it.
Liversedge was probably brilliant and towards the end even I thought the situation was hilarious, but the first half of the book his character was just smarmy.
But the character I save most of my ire for is Belinda. It was coincidence that I was reading this book the same time I was reading Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth, but it was also perhaps karma having a go at me: I claimed nobody could be as stupid as Margot in Grey Mask and so the fates brought Belinda into my reading life. Belinda makes Margot look like a genius; Belinda makes air look literate. Belinda, in short, should have been institutionalised. Nobody – nobody – could be that vacuous and still show signs of life.
If this book failed at all it was with Heyer's decision to make Belinda too stupid to be believed. I could not be sympathetic to her story at any point because she was not even believable as an automaton. And because she played such a huge part in the middle of the book, the story dragged dangerously midway through and at one point, I just didn't want to finish it. Fortunately, the POV shifted to Gideon, and the story picked up pace considerably. The last half of the book was great, in fact: even though Belinda got to let her stupid shine to the very end, there was a lot less of her and the story focused on the characters that were interesting - the sentient ones.
The moral of this story: stupid people can ruin even the best story.
And I genuinely liked Lord Sale and his cousin Gideon (him best of all, I
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think); I even didn't mind the pompous uncle and Tom was moderately amusing. I should give Heyer a fourth star just for that story about the two donkeys, a horse and a cow. But as for the rest... Lord Sale's staff were insufferable. Heyer meant them to be, of course; that's a big point of the plot from the beginning, but she did her job so well it was tedious to endure the reading of it.
Liversedge was probably brilliant and towards the end even I thought the situation was hilarious, but the first half of the book his character was just smarmy.
But the character I save most of my ire for is Belinda. It was coincidence that I was reading this book the same time I was reading Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth, but it was also perhaps karma having a go at me: I claimed nobody could be as stupid as Margot in Grey Mask and so the fates brought Belinda into my reading life. Belinda makes Margot look like a genius; Belinda makes air look literate. Belinda, in short, should have been institutionalised. Nobody – nobody – could be that vacuous and still show signs of life.
If this book failed at all it was with Heyer's decision to make Belinda too stupid to be believed. I could not be sympathetic to her story at any point because she was not even believable as an automaton. And because she played such a huge part in the middle of the book, the story dragged dangerously midway through and at one point, I just didn't want to finish it. Fortunately, the POV shifted to Gideon, and the story picked up pace considerably. The last half of the book was great, in fact: even though Belinda got to let her stupid shine to the very end, there was a lot less of her and the story focused on the characters that were interesting - the sentient ones.
The moral of this story: stupid people can ruin even the best story.
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LibraryThing member lquilter
The conservatism of Heyer's social arrangements and characterizations aside (nobility is idolized, and every person ends up in the situation most appropriate to their social circumstances of birth), this was highly enjoyable, with some truly funny situations. I really enjoyed Gilly's kindness and
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growth as a character, and the warmth and caring of all the principal characters. One of my favorite Heyers. Show Less
LibraryThing member SandyAMcPherson
Only very mildly a romance; a bit improbable but the Duke of Sale is engagingly described and Heyer creates a light-hearted adventure.
LibraryThing member kaulsu
2005 Another favorite...this one dealing with "Plain Mr. Dash of Nowhere in Particular," learning he can handle life's offerings on his own.
2007 Heyer's improbable situations and humorous dialog make for the perfect escape from reality.
2007 Heyer's improbable situations and humorous dialog make for the perfect escape from reality.
LibraryThing member readingtangent
Parts of this seemed to drag a little for me, but I found other parts to be so sweet and cute and entertaining. I loved several of the characters, especially Gilly, Gideon, and Harriet. Wish I could find more stories with sweet heroines like Harriet, actually. There were lots of humorous sections
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throughout the book, too. This is only my second Heyer novel, and, while I didn’t like it as much as These Old Shades, I did like it a lot and look forward to reading more by her. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0373835493 / 9780373835492
Original publication date
1948
1982 (Germany)