She has had to work as a governess to support herself and when she loses her job she has to move in with Mrs Nidd who was her nursemaid. Kate Malvern has been brought up ‘following the drum’ as her father had been a professional soldier, her mother had died young, so Kate isn’t your average Regency lady. The actual romance part was more or less over by around the middle of the book, and there was a distinct lack of the witty repartee that I enjoy so much about her dialogue. Updated 11 March 2022.Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer was first published in 1968, so it was the third last of her books and for me it seemed quite different from her other romances. Cover image courtesy of Sourcebooks Casablanca © 2009 text Chris © 2010,. We received a review copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Genre: Historical Suspense, Gothic Romance.

Of course, I was never really worried that things wouldn’t work out for Kate. There was nice mix of suspense and romance. A cast of engaging characters added some humour to the story. I wanted to know what the deal was with Torquil and what scheme did Lady Broome have up her sleeve. Philip never really gets the better of her.Ĭousin Kate is a fun story with an engaging plot. Their back and forth is a lot like Elizabeth and Mr. The dialogue between Philip and Kate is the best I’ve read from Heyer yet. Lady Broome is sufficiently nasty without becoming cartoonish. Lord Broome treats her like a daughter and Torquil is calmer in her presence. She also manages to charm just about everyone in the Staplewood household. She can go toe to toe with Lady Broome and her machinations. She’s a practical girl with a sensible head on her shoulders. Can she enlist the help of her other cousin Philip who thinks she’s a gold digger? Or rely on her own wits to disentangle herself from Staplewood?Įvery Georgette Heyer novel I read becomes my new favourite and Cousin Kate is no exception. When she offers Kate a way to pay back her generosity, involving her handsome but unstable son, Torquil, Kate knows she has to get out of Dodge. Lady Broome doesn’t seem like someone willing to give something for nothing. Kate starts to feel uneasy when Aunt Minerva gives her lavish gifts. Nidd, she writes to the only relative Kate is aware of, Lady Broome of Staplewood.Īt first, it looks like Lady Broome, or Aunt Minerva, is an answer to Kate’s prayers, offering her a place to stay for the summer.

Still, Sarah can’t let it go so with the help of her crusty father-in-law, Mr. Kate lived under all kinds of circumstances all over Europe so a little hard work doesn’t bother her.

Sarah doesn’t like the idea of her Kate, whose father was a gentleman despite being a soldier and a gambler, hiring herself out to anyone who asks. Kate Malvern just lost her job as governess and is staying with her old nurse Sarah until she gets a new situation.

Cousin kate by georgette heyer