The Foundling (original 1948; edition 2009)

by Georgette Heyer

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Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML: The Queen of Regency Romance, Georgette Heyer, delights readers with a charming tale of a duke who is tired of playing by the rules. The Duke of Sale is out to prove himself The shy, young Duke of Sale has never known his parents. Instead, his Grace Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware, Gilly for short, has endured twenty-four years of rigorous mollycoddling from his uncle and valet. But his natural diffidence conceals a rebellious spirit. A mysterious beauty provides the perfect opportunity When Gilly hears of Belinda, the beautiful foundling who appears to be blackmailing his cousin, he escapes with glee. But he has no sooner entered this new and dangerous world than he is plunged into a frenzy of intrigue, kidnapping, adventure, and surprises at every turn. Praise for Georgette Heyer and The Foundling: "What happens when a many-titled Duke decides to play hooky from his suffocating dignity..."�??Kirkus Reviews "Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen."�??Publishers Weekl… (more)

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Member:	anatwork.k
Title:	The Foundling
Authors:	Georgette Heyer
Info:	Sourcebooks Casablanca (2009), Paperback, 439 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
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The Foundling by Georgette Heyer (1948)

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Parts of this seemed to drag a little for me, but I found other parts to be so sweet and cute and entertaining. I loved several of the characters, especially Gilly, Gideon, and Harriet. Wish I could find more stories with sweet heroines like Harriet, actually. There were lots of humorous sections throughout the book, too. This is only my second Heyer novel, and, while I didn’t like it as much as These Old Shades, I did like it a lot and look forward to reading more by her. (

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readingtangent | May 10, 2024 |

Gilly, the meek Duke of Sale, decides to temporarily ditch his nagging household in exchange for a few days of peace as an anonymous Everyman. Instead, he spends his holiday foiling blackmailers, escaping kidnappers, and rescuing two feckless children.

Gilly makes an amazingly sweet protagonist. His adventures are rollicking, and his broadly drawn household provides the signature Heyer humor. The one false note is probably Belinda, the eponymous foundling, who is less a character and more a punchline. On the other hand, nobody reads Georgette Heyer for her multi-dimensional characters.

(As a side note, Gilly has a cousin, Gideon, who is tall, dark, and handsome. Gideon calls Gilly his "little one." Gideon flies into passionate rages when Gilly's life is threatened. Gideon has no apparent female associates. In another author, I think I would suspect a subtext.) (

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proustbot | Jun 19, 2023 |

paperback

SueJBeard | Feb 14, 2023 |

A diffident young man of 24 years, easily pushed around by his overprotective uncle and the retinue of devoted family retainers who won't let him lift a finger for himself, Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware ("Gilly"), the seventh Duke of Sale, sometimes wishes he could be a commoner. One day he decides to set out to discover whether he is "a man, or only a Duke."

Beginning with an incognito journey into the countryside to confront a blackmailer, he encounters a runaway school boy, a beautiful but airheaded orphan, one of literature's most appealing and well-spoken comic villains, and a series of alarming and even life threatening events from which he can extricate himself only with the help of his shy and lovely fiancé… (

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Karen74Leigh | Jan 31, 2023 |

Very enjoyable coming of age story with some romance thrown in. My last Heyer romance (tear) and I tried to savor it but I just zoomed right through. *sigh* How sad to be through them all now. (

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sgwordy | Dec 31, 2022 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Georgette Heyer	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Lux, Hanna	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Nash, Phyllida	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Noble, Peter	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Publisher Series

Heyer's Regency Romances Series (8)

rororo (1837)

Is contained in

Foundling, Bath Tangle, Lady of Quality, The Talisman Ring, Spanish Bride #, Venetia, Infamous Army, Convieniant Marriage, Simon the Coldheart, Conqueror, April Lady, Pistols for Two by Georgette Heyer

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Canonical title

The Foundling

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1948

1982 (Germany)

People/Characters

Important places

England, UK

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

When the young gentleman strolling through the park with his gun on his shoulder and an elderly spaniel at his heels came within sight of the house it occurred to him that the hour must be further advanced than he had supposed, for the sun had sunk below the great stone pile, and an autumnal mist was already creeping over the ground.

Quotations

"That's the barber," he said cheerfully. "I thought you was backed at one time, guv'nor, but there's nothing like a real rum bub for a cull as has been greased. Not but what you didn't have no more than a lick, but I doubt it done you good. I got some cat-lap here for you, seeing as how you was as sick as a cushion and maybe used to pap. If you was to sit up you could sup it down, couldn't you?"

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Disambiguation notice

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Original language

English

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Wikipedia in English

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML:

The Queen of Regency Romance, Georgette Heyer, delights readers with a charming tale of a duke who is tired of playing by the rules.

The Duke of Sale is out to prove himself

The shy, young Duke of Sale has never known his parents. Instead, his Grace Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware, Gilly for short, has endured twenty-four years of rigorous mollycoddling from his uncle and valet. But his natural diffidence conceals a rebellious spirit.

A mysterious beauty provides the perfect opportunity

When Gilly hears of Belinda, the beautiful foundling who appears to be blackmailing his cousin, he escapes with glee. But he has no sooner entered this new and dangerous world than he is plunged into a frenzy of intrigue, kidnapping, adventure, and surprises at every turn.

Praise for Georgette Heyer and The Foundling:
"What happens when a many-titled Duke decides to play hooky from his suffocating dignity..."�??Kirkus Reviews
"Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen."�??Publishers Weekl

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