Deborah Grantham is well born, well-bred and ever so lovely. None of this matters, however, in the game of love and matrimony in Regency London, because Ms. Grantham earns her living playing cards in one of London's finest gambling houses. And marriage with such a gaming-house wench is just not done, especially not in the echelons of the "ton." Young Lord Maplethorpe is willing to flaunt society and risk its censure to marry the beautiful Deborah for love. His unhappy mother seeks help from her stepson, the handsomest, cleverest, richest man about town, Max Ravenscar. This unrelenting bachelor meets Deborah, his new foe, across the faro table where they play for power, although they wager for money.

And proud Ms. Grantham gives Ravenscar a run for his money as she proves to be more stubborn and high principled than he in this delightful romantic farce. Georgette Heyer writes one of her best novels with "Faro's Daughter." The witty dialogue, the power plays between the intelligent Deborah, who does not want to be beholden to anyone, let alone to the arrogant Lord who is so willing to believe the worst of her, and the creative subplots and adventures showcase her talent.

This is a winner, and a must read for all Ms. Heyer's fans!
JANA

This was my first Georgette Heyer book and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it! The way Ms. Heyer weaves humor and historical detail into her books is amazing and beautiful. I am so sad that most of her books are out of print, but you can believe that I will be faithfully searching every nook and cranny I can find to get my hands on more!

Lord Mablethorpe is a man in love. Well... not exactly. He has proclaimed undying love to Miss Deborah Grantham, but it is painfully obvious that it is just a case of puppy love. However, this is not the story that gets to Mablethorpe's mother's ears.

Lady Mablethorpe hears that a wench from the gaming table has ensnared her helpless son into marriage. As Lord Mablethorpe is of respectable lineiage and will come into a handsom fortune, Lady Mablethorpe will not let this come to pass. She has nothing better to do then to call on her nephew, Mr. Max Ravenscar, the richest man in London. Lady Mablethorpe begs him to save her son from the claws of the harpy, and so Mr. Ravenscare accepts. He intends to buy Deborah off at whatever price it takes. When he confronts Deb with the subject of her "ingagement" to Lord Mablethorpe, she is extremely offended. She never had any intention of marrying Lord Mablethorpe (of course she doesn't tell Ravenscar this) and she is not really a woman of the gaming houses. Oh, it's true that she does enjoy a bit of cards and she does run the E.O. table at her aunt's house, but this is because she and her aunt are in dire straits and desperately need money. As a matter of pride, Deb will not take the money from Ravenscar and declares that she will marry Mablethorpe (of course it is a lie) and she will bring him to utter ruin.

Coming home in a fit of rage, Deb makes a resolution to act as the harpy that Ravenscar seems to think she is. She tranforms herself into a gaudy, chintzy, totally tasteless female and shocks everyone. The two thouroughly dislike each other, but... love and hate go hand in hand...

Oh dear!

It is such a shame that all of Georgette Heyer's books are not all in print. I was lucky enough to find _Faro's Daughter_ at my library, I storngly urge you to look for it too. This is what regency and romance is all about, my friends. This is it! The humor, the slang ("I don't give a button what you think!") the love, the language, all of it. Georgetts Heyer's style of writing should be the basis of every author's book. She does not treat her readers as children and spell everything out for them. Indeed, reading one of her books is an interactive experience. Her plots are unique, if not the origionals. Her characters come alive and basically speek to you. The emotions that I felt while reading _Faro's Daughter_ cannot actually be said out loud... all I can say is read it. You must, you simply must. Georgette Heyer books are must haves for any true romance fan.

uk" (Canada) -

"Women of your stamp should be whipped at the cart-tail!" Thus says Max Ravenscar to the woman he believes to be a scheming strumpet out to snare his young, impressionable, titled and rich nephew. This is not, however, the way to impress Deborah Grantham, who is in fact an entirely honourable young lady despite her presence in her aunt's gaming-house.

So Deborah decides to spite Ravenscar; first she rejects out of hand his offers to buy her off, then appears in public with his nephew, Adrian, dressed and behaving as precisely the vulgar harpy her believes her to be. This, of course, only serves to infuriate him even more, and he ups the stakes further.

There are some hilarious scenes in this book - the one where Deborah has Ravenscar kidnapped and imprisoned in her cellar (and then... oh, but no spoilers! <g>) is worth the price of this book all on its own.

For a sparkling and determined heroine, and a hero who, despite his stiff-necked pride, has a very well-developed sense of both honour and humour, you can't go far wrong with Heyer's Faro's Daughter.