Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I recently re-read this book and loved it more than i remembered hence came to goodreads to put in a review and I was shocked to see all the other reviews that spoke at length about how much they hated Lord Worth. I kept wanting to jump in with 'But he didn't's and 'But he wasn't's so here is a review of my own.

In defence of Lord Worth

• He lived 200 years ago! Let us make some allowance for the difference in manners and mores. Even Lord Peter Wimsey (who must surely be granted undisputed heartthrob status) behaved in a forward manner with the wives of his tenants - or nearly did anyway. There was a portion in Clouds of Witness that says as much. So while the Earl was definitely out of line during the whole 'Clorinda' episode, let us cut him some slack and look the other way for now, shall we?
• Since I was re-reading the book and knew all along who the bad guy was, I was able to appreciate his restraint, his efforts in looking out for his wards,and his wisdom in pushing through unpopular decisions when they were for the ultimate good. The choice of house in Brighton, the chosen chaperone, the hiring of servants all must have taken thought and effort for Worth for which he was not appreciated.
• He did not berate her for nearly being molested by the Prince Regent. He got her out of an ugly situation with gentleness and understanding combined with enough social sense to prevent her name being dragged into a scandal. That is the one thing I love about Heyer. How she dexterously rescues her characters from unpleasant situations without making a scene. Look at how she handled the abduction in The Black Moth! Really, i re-read this scene. Nowhere was he less than concerned and kind towards her without making his deeper feelings obvious (that would have been highly mistimed)
• Am starting to run out of steam a bit now, but regarding the whole bit about being patronizing in not telling Judith the whole, would she have believed him? With all her prejudice against him, i think not.

But having got the prejudice bit in - did anyone else think this book was kind of a pride and prejudice lite? She even throws in some Jane Austen references! I kept being reminded of that book which is one of my favorites!

While regency buck is certainly no timeless classic, it worked for me as a rom-com in a book with a reasonably interesting mystery thrown in. What's not to like? Oh and I rest my case!

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The Help

It did not surprise me a whole lot to find a lot of cribs about this book on goodreads. The real mystery for me was how it ended up being a bestseller! I did not really have a lot of issues with the factual inaccuracies and so on because I am Indian and my knowledge of the civil rights movement/southern culture/local dialects is quite limited. Also, having grown up on a diet of Bollywood movies, being real and correct are not mandatory to my appreciation of anything. You could take pretty much any topic, douse it in melodrama and stir up a rabble rouser which would entertain me greatly. Oh and I'd buy all of it. But there is a cardinal rule to that sort of thing. You can't be boring. And Stockett is! When I'd finished the book I actually stopped and wondered what was in all those pages! Did this book have an editor? Pretty much the only portions that worked for me were those involving Aibileen and Mae Mobley. I felt like rushing off to the crib to wake up my own two year old and hug him! i held back, thank God! He's not at his most friendly when woken up and hugged but coming back - those bits sprang off the pages and came to life. The rest was a very forgettable mess.