Friday's Child

Gossip, scandal and an unforgettable Regency romance

By: Georgette Heyer

Narrated by: Owen Findlay

Brought to you by Penguin.

With an introduction written and read by Katie Fforde.

Hero Wantage is desperate to change her fate.

When the dashing Lord Sherry proposes out of the blue, Hero is overjoyed—she'll escape a life as a governess and, once they wed, he can finally claim his inheritance.

But as Hero attempts to social climb in glamorous London society, Sherry is concerned that her naivety will ruin them both and takes drastic action.

The chaos that follows will push friendships—and hearts—to breaking point.

©1944 Georgette Heyer (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Absolutely delicious tales of Regency heroes.... Utter, immersive escapism." (Sophie Kinsella)

"Heart-stoppingly gorgeous." (Harriet Evans)

"Georgette Heyer is second to none." (Sunday Times)

Left me smiling

Other reviewers have commented on the quality of the writing, the humor, the well drawn characters, & the neat plot. I agree with all of that.
But the thing that intrigued me most was the way that the heroine’s unfiltered admiration of her husband subtly and unbeknownst to either party changed the hero. Every “scrape” the heroine got into was because she had innocently modeled her behavior after that of the H. He would scold & express his exasperation and the heroine would docilely accept his admonitions. Neither character nor the author commented on the hypocrisy of this. Yet over time, the hero’s character gradually evolved until he was exactly the admirable man and ideal husband that the heroine thought he was.
That cleverly engineered outcome is the genius of Georgette Heyer’s writing and was what left me smiling:).

Outstanding

I had read the book, but was not as appreciative of the story and characters as I was listening to the audio. Completely wonderful.

…. Off to a rough start

Georgette H has a wonderful ability to bring different characters to life so main and side players have power … the beginning is confusing starting with BElla and then shifting to Kitten as the star ? The hero is difficult to perceive but he floats up after a while ..

Sparkling narration!

Thank you Owen Findlay for bringing these wonderfully amusing characters to life, and for giving your expressive voice to the narration. One of the funniest Heyer romances in a superb performancs.

Perhaps Heyer’s best/ but different

Friday’s Child is different from Heyer’s other books, in that the main characters marry early in the book, but only realize their love is mutual throughout their own growth through the book. It is a very beautiful, compelling read. My suggestion, for this particular narrator, is to listen at less than 1.0x speed, as the narrator is rather clipped and rapid in his speech, yet the nuance and beauty of the words really comes out when read more slowly. Typically, I listen to Heyer’s books at greater than 1.0x speed. But this book and telling of it is worth savoring at a slower pace. Highly recommend this audible version. Had the previous one, and like this narrator much better. Enjoy!