Quite posibly my least favorite of Heyer's Regency novels. Penniless Kate is taken in by her aunt-in-law, who seems kind but is pressuring her to marry her very odd cousin. For "very odd" read "possibly criminally insane." Yeah, Heyer goes there. Rather dark for the divine Georgette.

"Cousin Kate" is Georgette Heyer's "Northanger Abbey," and--like "Northanger Abbey"--it is something of an anti-Gothic. There are other parallels and contrasts that I won't go into, but in order to enjoy the book it is probably best to be aware at the outset that it isn't going to be spooky and it isn't going to come to a spectacular climax.

The story concerns young Kate Malvern, who is rescued from a life of penury and the fate of being a governess by her aunt Minerva, Lady Broome. Installed at Broome Hall, Kate becomes acquainted with her oppressively managing aunt, her gentle but weak uncle, and her handsome and unstable cousin Torquil, as well as with a cousin, Philip Broome, who has the sort of resolute qualities recognizable in a Heyer love interest. The characters then proceed to have a series of dinners and conversations, with not much else happening beyond the occasionally mildly unsettling incident that has Kate wondering what is really the status of the family at Broome Hall and what her aunt really wants of her.

There is, in fact, a family secret, there is something of a conspiracy, and there are even acts of violence at the end--but perhaps not enough to justify the almost 400-page length of the novel, and certainly not enough to qualify it as a true gothic. The pleasure of the book, though, is in spending time with Kate, who is graced with kindness and good sense, as well as a sense of humor, and in seeing the ways in which characters as sensible and down to earth as any in Heyer's oeuvre (or in Austen's) cope with over-the-top tragedy. (Hint: no matter how overwhelming the tragedy, the servants must be managed and soothed, community gossip avoided, and the daily routine adhered to.) This book isn't as laugh-out-loud funny as other Heyer books, but the unflappability of the characters--the more unsettling the event, the more resolute the everydayness--has its own tickling charm. Not by any means the best of Heyer, but worth the read, and perhaps even an eventual re-read.

Cousin Kate is a gothic novel that has a lot of family tension and a somewhat suspenseful plot but, ultimately, I'm not sure if it quite delivers.

Kate is a young twenty-something who has lost both her parents and must find her own way in the world. She fails as a governess (by no fault of her own) and returns to live with her nurse. Though her nurse is entirely devoted to her, she worries that Kate will be forced to more drastic measures to support herself and so she contacts Kate's father's half-sister to see if some of her family will take her in. Surprisingly, this aunt shows up almost immediately and offers to take Kate back to the home she shares with her titled, elderly husband and her nineteen year old son. After some time spent in the home, Kate starts to become suspicious about the real situation in the household and her aunt's motives for bringing her there.

The characters are well-formed and some are similar to her mystery characters in that they are pleasantly unpleasant. However, this story builds slowly and while you wait for something grand to happen, there are only small occurrences that are a little disappointing. Then, all of a sudden, there is a climax that comes out of nowhere and is just as quickly dismissed by those involved. I still enjoyed this book and it was entertaining but I wished it would have been a bit more -- a bit more forceful, a bit darker, a bit more, well, gothic.

http://webereading.com/2009/06/new-re... ( )

Well. This surprised me. I was expecting a Regency romance, which is what Heyer is famous for, and instead, I got a gothic. I lurrrrve gothics.

The "Cousin Kate" of the title is an orphaned, penniless young woman who's been invited to live with her aunt after losing her position as a governess. Her old nurse, to whom she'd turned, contacted the aunt Kate had never met, and at first, all seemed fine.

The aunt was kind and solicitous, and her cousin Torquil a handsome but moody young man, but the expected introductions to London society never materialized with their hope of contracting a marriage for Kate, and instead they lived quietly in the country, with the poor health of her aunt's husband, Sir Timothy, as an excuse.

With the arrival of Sir Timothy's nephew Phillip, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems, and Kate is thrust into the middle of a mystery, not knowing whom to trust.

I've been wavering between 4 and 5 stars for this book. On the one hand, I have no complaints about it whatsoever. I love the gothic style, and this was a pretty much flawless example of a gothic romance. On the other hand, it's a flawless example of a gothic romance--that is, there was nothing to distinguish it from other gothic romances, nothing that made me say "oh, my god, this is such a good book." Realizing that my ratings have been becoming inflated of late, I'm sticking with the 4 stars. Which I've always intended to mean "a book I really enjoy, but that doesn't make me want to do a little dance." ( )

Not a favorite. A penniless orphan, after being fired from a job as governess, is brought to a secluded estate by her aunt. The aunt is overpoweringly generous, but cold and controlling; the uncle is ill and mild-mannered; the son is moody and volatile. ( )