Yeah! They fixed it!

Its another great Georgette Heyer story! I am sooo glad that I kept looking for this, so that I got it almost as soon as it was fixed. (... and it only took them almost 5 months ...)

It is fun, light, and I often just laughed out loud. (Just another crazy lady laughing to herself at the mall...) I enjoyed Caroline Hunt's characterizations, too. If you like Georgette Heyer, you'll love this one!

21 people found this helpful

A Good, Solid Heyer

A fun story well-written! I especially loved the narrator's characterizations, and the sequence which involves not one, but two young high-bred gentlemen in their cups while trying to assist a possible murderer is priceless. Miss Heyer is the next best thing to Jane Austen, imho.

12 people found this helpful

great story okay narration

I really enjoyed Georgette Heyer's story. Great characters laugh out loud situations. It took me a while to get used to the narrator's voice for Horatia. I got used to it after a while, but I think the stutter could have been handled better.

11 people found this helpful

Endearing and hilarious characters

Horry (short for Horatia), as a character, is very endearing, funny, and devoted to the best interests of her family. I like that her husband doesn't try to force her into behaving in a prudent, socially acceptable manner just because she has to. He tries to reason with her and manage her in such a way that she won't become even more willful and stubborn than she naturally is. Her character has some nice growth and arc over the course of the story, and I could easily forgive some of her early silly, less circumspect behavior because of the person she becomes by the end of the novel.

Her husband, the Earl of Rule, is amusing (in a dry, ironic way), brave, and I think that he's almost perfect as a romantic hero in a book of this genre. He can defend himself (and the woman he loves) in a duel, but yet he has all the manners and style of his station. He also has the patience of a saint.

The funniest moments in this book (as far as what I remember right at this moment) occur in scenes that involve Horry's brother, Viscount Pelham Winwood and his friend, Sir Roland Pommeroy. During the last 30 minutes or so of this audiobook, I was laughing uproariously many times at things they said and did, though they were entertaining at several other points in the book, too. In the scenes when they incorporated Pel's brother-in-law in their attempts to save Horry from a potential scandal, it was hilarious.

I liked that the characters were all fairly unique and interesting. For example, Pommeroy is Pel's best friend, but he's not exactly like Pel. He is more observant of the appropriateness of their actions, were they to be brought to the notice of society, though he's still just foolish enough (such as getting drunk with Pel) that you can see how they'd be good friends.

Caroline Hunt narrated the book very, very well, giving each character a distinctive voice. Also, she handled Horry's stuttering quite well, which could have turned out to be annoying, but wasn't.

11 people found this helpful

Disappointing narration

I love Georgette Heyer, and have listened to several of her novels with great enjoyment. Unfortunately, The Convenient Marriage, narrated by Caroline Hunt, was very disappointing. Her voice lacked the depth to convey the power and the irony in Rule's remarks - they sounded ineffective and sometimes just silly. Henrietta's voice was distinctive, but most of the other characters were indistinguishable (except for the secretary - was he really supposed to be Irish?). Any Georgette Heyer has some appeal to me, but I hope the book is redone at some point with a different reader, so I can enjoy it as much as I have some of her other works.

22 people found this helpful

Not Heyer's Best

I've read virtually all of Georgette Heyer's Regency romances, and they're all good fun and well written. However, this one is really not one of my favourites. The situations are even more contrived than usual, and less believably portrayed, and the heroine vacillates between total simpering miss and heroic. The book _almost_ redeems itself during a scene late in the book where Horatia is in Lord Lethbridge's house, but other than the one scene, really doesn't have all that many high spots.

Caroline Hunt's narration is perfectly adequate, but she'll never be my favourite. I won't avoid a book she narrates, but I also won't go out of my way to look for one, either.

9 people found this helpful

Delightful (& Audio Book is complete -Spring 2011)

Delightful narration, Horatia's stammer is rendered delightfully, it is so easy to be captivated by this intrepid heroine. This was not one of my favourites by this author, but this enjoyable narration is changing my opinion.

6 people found this helpful

Delicious, delightful, superb.

La Heyer is a phenom. This narrator did such a great job. I have to say one of my favorite favorite characters is Pelham. The humor in this book is sublime and LOL. I really enjoyed the love match and Rule rocks my world. This is one of my favorite's by a favorite. Well Done, Brava, Encore. Now if we could just get an unabridged version of Sylvester I would never complain again.

6 people found this helpful

This version includes missing final 22 minutes

This copy contains the 22 minutes at the end of the audio that were missing from the May 2010 release of this audio. The narrator does a fine job with the stuttering heroine. Thanks, audible!

12 people found this helpful

Funny and well-narrated Heyer

Where does The Convenient Marriage rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Heyer books in general are my favorite comfort food on audio. While this isn't my favorite of her books, the narrator is one of the best.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Rule and Horry were my favorites. While I don't usually like the 35 year old marrying the 17 year old, it worked here. She is not the beauty of the family, and has a stammer and a lot of stubbornness. Yet as soon as Rule meets her, he is taken with her. Although set in the Georgian period, Rule resembles some of her Regency heros like Alverstoke. The world at his feet, bored with all, but woken up when the heroine enters his life. I think if this book had Rule onstage more, and showed more of his interactions with Horry, it might have been one of my favorites.

What does Caroline Hunt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

As with all the Heyer books, hearing them on audio helps me get the correct British pronouciations. But more than that, she's just a fabulous narrator. Horry's stammer is handled well, and I loved the voice she used for her. I also enjoyed Rule and his Scottish secretary.

Who was the most memorable character of The Convenient Marriage and why?

Other than Horry and Rule, her brother Pelham steals the show. He's funny and a type frequently found in Heyer works -- the younger man who is involved with scrapes and acts as a bit of a foil to the hero, showing the hero's greater maturity and intelligence.

5 people found this helpful