Courtesan with a Heart of Gold

 

    

Faro’s Daughter (1941) Georgette Heyer’s take on the ‘courtesan with a heart of gold’ trope. Let’s set the scene— we’re in a gaming house in London and there is, gasp, a lady by the name of Deborah Grantham who manages the faro bank for her spendthrift aunt. They are barely able to make ends meet. Their bills are in the hands of Lord Ormskirk who wishes to make the beautiful and ravishing Deborah her mistress. Another one of Deborah’s suitors is young Adrian Lord Mablethorpe with a sizeable inheritance that he can’t touch until he comes of age. Yep. A mere whipster vs. an old lecher.

    Enter Max Ravenscar, most eligible (or richest) man in town! He’s here to break off things between Adrian and Deborah no matter the cost. But it looks like he’s met his match in cards and craftiness. Although Deborah has no inclination to marry for money, she would never admit to it even if it...breaks her bank. Thus begins the battle of wits! Who will win? Will Ravenscar succeed in using bribes and blackmail to coerce Deborah into releasing Adrian from her charms? Or will Deborah find satisfaction in making Ravenscar kneel before her feet, begging for forgiveness...and her hand?!

    We have enough farcical and ridiculous elements to make a good romp, don’t we? So why did I like it? Hmm. It was too much of a farce. I wanted more nuance and development in the romance department, and I wanted there to be less tears and scheming and more wit and dialogue. (It says a lot about the lack of romance that my fav romantic moment was a side character confessing his devotion to the heroine and her happiness despite knowing her heart is not for him.) I wanted there to be less idiocy in all parties involved. I realise when I say I dislike Faro’s Daughter because it is too much of a farce it’s like hating coke because it tasted fizzy. In my defense, I wasn’t expecting coke. I saw the it from afar and thought it was coffee. So...yep, my mistake. It’s another Georgette Heyer book I can say I’ve read though. That’s always a plus. And I did like their names—Ravenscar, Ormskirk, Lucius...aren’t they just choke-full of comedic value?!