The Gamesters Have Met Their Match
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Purchased
What happens when a twenty-year-old young buck falls in love with and proposes marriage to Deborah Grantham, a beautiful faro dealer?
What happens when the outrageously wealthy, yet “abominably close” Max Ravenscar, who is determined to protect his cousin from an untenable match to a “harpy,” pays a visit to the lovely Miss Grantham and offers her a bribe to relinquish “all pretensions to [his] cousin’s hand and heart?” and gravely insults the lady?
What can Deborah do when she wants to marry for love and is not inclined to take advantage of the young puppy who has proposed to her but is burdened by her aunt’s financial troubles while being pursued by a lord with dishonorable intentions???
Deborah plays the game…and her opponent is the notable gamester – Max Ravenscar. Can Deborah succeed in outsmarting this proud and meticulous gentleman and achieve her ends? Or does Mr. Ravenscar’s cunning thwart her plans…
Another vastly entertaining and madcap comedy by Georgette Heyer! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this game-set-match contest of wills between Deborah and Max. Their relationship has a very Darcy and Elizabeth feel to it! They both dislike each other instantly, and even though they do privately acknowledge that the other has some positive attributes, they are both too stubborn to change their first impression. I adored seeing Max and Deborah in their scenes together – how they both upped the ante continuously…and outrageously, how volatile (read: passionate) their exchanges were, and how both showed signs of caring for or missing the other (those moments were really sweet!). However, I did often wish we saw more of Deborah and Max together, though.
Aside from our clever and competitive couple, I enjoyed the colorful and comical supporting cast in this story – with Lady Bellingham and Silas Wantage being my favorites! I love Lady Bellingham’s Mrs. Bennet-like tendencies! Her repeated lamentations about the price of peas, her moaning for her hartshorn, and her vexation with Deborah and all her unfathomable schemes, and to top it all off the moment where she exclaims “I shall go distracted!” all had me laughing out loud! And I adored Mr. Wantage a fighter-turned-butler who is raring to have a sportsman like brawl, but very conscientious about proper sportsman etiquette! His speeches always made me smile. The other family members and acquaintances of this small circle were delightful to encounter drawn with Georgette Heyer’s characteristic wit and charm.
Even though I found Faro’s Daughter to be diverting and a dashing adventure, it isn’t one I’d list as my most favorites at the moment. I’m not sure if it was because the plot was a little predictable or slow moving in some parts, but I guess I overall felt something was a little lacking (or maybe I just wanted more interactions between Max and Deborah!). Nonetheless, it was a splendidly fun read with so many of the Georgette Heyer trademarks I’ve grown to love and cherish. A smashing match indeed!
For the past six years I’ve made it a tradition to post a review near/on Georgette Heyer’s birthday (August 16th) in celebration! I’ve read several Heyer novels not during August too, you can find all my reviews below:
Arabella I Black Sheep I Cotillion I Devil’s Cub I Friday’s Child
Sylvester: Or The Wicked Uncle I The Black Moth I The Convenient Marriage
The Grand Sophy I The Masqueraders I These Old Shades I Venetia
I get your hesitation. I love this story,especially its scheming aspects, but have to be in a certain mood to deal with a couple who are so angry all the time.
Yes, that is the emotion most often employed…especially with Deborah. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
i LOVE Georgette Heyer and laugh out loud is a constant with me when I read her books. This isn’t one of my favorites but enjoyable enough. When I wanted to get my daughter into Heyer, this is the first one she read and she loved it. Just goes to show Heyer has a book to suit everyone.
For sure! She must have been such a fun person to know in real life…I bet laughter was a very prominent part of her personality! That is awesome….and yes, it is interesting to see how many different books people claim as their favorites!
Thank you for posting your review of one of my favorites! I have a soft spot for Georgette Heyer and have read this one multiple times. Deb and Max’s schemes to out-do each other, refusing to back down or to admit that they are attracted always make me laugh. “I’d like to boil him in oil!”
Yes! That quote is hilarious! I really did enjoy how outlandish and competitive they both were! I loved the scene where Max met Deborah’s brother! Too funny!
It was a nice reunion with the story by reading your thoughts on it. The crazy antics of Deborah to cross up Max had me giggling and eyerolling. They really did get the wrong end of the stick about each other. 🙂
What a pair….I wish we could revisit them to see how they are getting on!
I have and love all the romances and mysteries by Georgette Heyer and have read them all, including this one, millions of times but like you I don’t number this among my favourites, much as I love it.
I’m afraid I haven’t been reading them as often since I found JAFF! I love my Darcy and Elizabeth stories too much but I do manage to read one now and again. The last one I re read was The Unknown Ajax a few weeks ago! I do love the humour in her books.
That is amazing, Glynis! It is so impressive because she wrote so many…such a difference from Jane Austen. I hope to be able to say I’ve read them all one day. This is number 13 for me, and I’m determined to read another in February because they are so fun!
The Unknown Ajax is one I haven’t read yet but do own.
I didn’t hear about this novel and I like it has some Darcy – Lizzy aspects as well as the sense of humour!.
Happy Birthday, Meredith! !! I wish you a great day sharing this special day with the ones you love!
A big hug, my friend, and keep enjoying the holidays! 😉
Yes…imagine if Elizabeth and Darcy challenged each other to a battle of wits and were both to proud to admit they liked each other!
Thank you so much for the lovely birthday wishes, Teresa! You are so sweet! Hugs to you!
Just got my copy in the mail yesterday – looking forward to starting it this weekend. Of the Heyer novels you’ve read above do you have two favorites that I should be looking for?
Oh yay! Happy reading, Jennifer! I’d love to hear your thoughts when you finish.
My favorites to date seem to be Venetia, Devil’s Cub, and Sylvester…but there are a few others I could add to this list. I tend to like ones that feature a strong, sensible, and admirable heroine.
I love Georgette Heyer. My favs are The Grand Sophy and Cotillion. But I like most of them, including the not-as-well-known The Talisman Ring. A bunch of madcaps! I, too, wish the romance was more, though (in all of her books).
Great choices and two that I have given 5 stars too! I have The Talisman Ring, but have not read it yet. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
First, Happy Birthday Meredith. We’re expecting the pictures will be great, as usual. 🙂
Faro’s Daughter is one of my favorites. I can’t explain why this one and not that one. But there are so many laughable scenes that are my favorites. I think one of the best has to be the entire cellar scenario. Heyer did madcap so well.
Yes, the kind of romance we have come to expect of today’s novels is missing in these stories. It’s subtle and on a slow-burn in the background. We get the kiss and then it’s ‘curtain down.’ And when these were written what we enjoy now wouldn’t have passed a publisher’s censor. They needed to keep publishing and she needed to keep having her books published.
Thank you, sweet friend! 🙂 We celebrated with a camping trip the weekend before and you know I will share some of those pictures for sure!
Yes, yes, yes! That cellar scene is hilarious! Loved when Max met Deborah’s brother…I feel like his such a goner for her at the point!
I know not to expect lots of romantic dialogue and amorous scenes in a novel like this…I think in general I felt that Max and Deborah had a lot of time apart in this novel, that I just wished they shared a couple more scenes together.
I’m glad to see another Georgette Heyer review of yours. I have only very dim memories of this book and those include that I, too, was dissatisfied with the romance betwen the protagonists (and maybe a little angry about the prejudices, if I am not mistaken). I might reread it because I have read my favourite Heyer books too often recently. Thanks!
I hope you enjoy the reread, Agnes. It is a very entertaining story, and I just love when a story can make me laugh and smile. Thanks for checking out my review!
I love Georgette Heyer – and have been re-listening to a number of them over the last few weeks – but I’ve never read Faro’s Daughter. I was concerned I wouldn’t like it very much, based on the description. I think I was thrown by the female protagonist being a faro dealer. If there is an Elizabeth and Darcy feel to the characters, though… 😀 Thanks for the review! I believe I’ll put this one on my TBR list.
That’s great that you have been enjoying some Georgette Heyer audiobooks! Lol…glad my review helped you! I can understand how that could give you pause, but truly it seems very understandable how Deborah, even though she is gentleman’s daughter, ends up as a faro dealer.
I love Heyer novels also. I have to say I don’t recall this one as well. I do appreciate your review. It’s always spot on. I love the wit and charm Heyer usually has. I don’t overly need much romance. Love the humor.
Thanks so much, my friend! To be honest…they help me remember keep details straight on what I read. As much as I love various stories, sometimes I can muddle them up!