Heyer rankings poll

[kate_nepveu]

Because skygiants asked, and because I don't mind using search & replace to generate DW poll code off of Wikipedia's novel list (hence the years, because it would take too long to edit them out): a poll about Heyer's Regency romance novels, what your personal top-tier are and, bonus question, what (if any) one you suspect is probably underrated generally.

Because there are a lot of books and the first question involves ticky boxes, it's behind the cut.

Poll #15180

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 74

View Respondents

Your personal top-tier of Heyer romance novels consists of . . .

View Answers

The Black Moth (1921)
0 (0.0%)

The Transformation of Philip Jettan (1923) (later republished as Powder and Patch) (1930)
0 (0.0%)

These Old Shades (1926)
16 (21.9%)

The Masqueraders (1928)
16 (21.9%)

Devil's Cub (1932)
21 (28.8%)

The Convenient Marriage (1934)
7 (9.6%)

Regency Buck (1935)
0 (0.0%)

The Talisman Ring (1936)
20 (27.4%)

An Infamous Army (1937)
6 (8.2%)

The Spanish Bride (1940)
2 (2.7%)

The Corinthian (1940)
6 (8.2%)

Faro's Daughter (1941)
13 (17.8%)

Friday's Child (1944)
11 (15.1%)

The Reluctant Widow (1946)
3 (4.1%)

The Foundling (1948)
6 (8.2%)

Arabella (1949)
8 (11.0%)

The Grand Sophy (1950)
31 (42.5%)

The Quiet Gentleman (1951)
5 (6.8%)

Cotillion (1953)
51 (69.9%)

The Toll-Gate (1954)
11 (15.1%)

Bath Tangle (1955)
2 (2.7%)

Sprig Muslin (1956)
11 (15.1%)

April Lady (1957)
2 (2.7%)

Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle (1957)
20 (27.4%)

Venetia (1958)
31 (42.5%)

The Unknown Ajax (1959)
27 (37.0%)

A Civil Contract (1961)
24 (32.9%)

The Nonesuch (1962)
6 (8.2%)

False Colours (1963)
10 (13.7%)

Frederica (1965)
39 (53.4%)

Black Sheep (1966)
11 (15.1%)

Cousin Kate (1968)
0 (0.0%)

Charity Girl (1970)
1 (1.4%)

Lady of Quality (1972)
3 (4.1%)

The Heyer romance you think is probably underrated, if any, is:

View Answers

None/don't know
7 (15.9%)

These Old Shades (1926)
0 (0.0%)

The Masqueraders (1928)
3 (6.8%)

Devil's Cub (1932)
3 (6.8%)

The Convenient Marriage (1934)
0 (0.0%)

Regency Buck (1935)
0 (0.0%)

The Talisman Ring (1936)
6 (13.6%)

An Infamous Army (1937)
2 (4.5%)

The Spanish Bride (1940)
0 (0.0%)

The Corinthian (1940)
0 (0.0%)

Faro's Daughter (1941)
2 (4.5%)

Friday's Child (1944)
0 (0.0%)

The Reluctant Widow (1946)
1 (2.3%)

The Foundling (1948)
0 (0.0%)

Arabella (1949)
1 (2.3%)

The Grand Sophy (1950)
0 (0.0%)

The Quiet Gentleman (1951)
2 (4.5%)

Cotillion (1953)
0 (0.0%)

The Toll-Gate (1954)
4 (9.1%)

Bath Tangle (1955)
0 (0.0%)

Sprig Muslin (1956)
2 (4.5%)

April Lady (1957)
0 (0.0%)

Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle (1957)
0 (0.0%)

Venetia (1958)
1 (2.3%)

The Unknown Ajax (1959)
3 (6.8%)

A Civil Contract (1961)
2 (4.5%)

The Nonesuch (1962)
0 (0.0%)

False Colours (1963)
1 (2.3%)

Frederica (1965)
0 (0.0%)

Black Sheep (1966)
4 (9.1%)

Cousin Kate (1968)
0 (0.0%)

Charity Girl (1970)
0 (0.0%)

Lady of Quality (1972)
0 (0.0%)

Ticky?

View Answers

Ticky.
29 (46.8%)

It is dreadfully flat here since you have been gone.
9 (14.5%)

I can't imagine why you should say such an extraordinary thing.
8 (12.9%)

We simply must do something!
15 (24.2%)

Kate, you can't fool me, these aren't _Heyer_ quotes!
23 (37.1%)

(If you're curious, it was prompted by this discussion, but don't look until you've answered or you'll prejudice the data.)

Comments

[skygiants]

I'm voting with my opinion of 48 hours ago for consistency's sake!

[pendrecarc]

I disliked These Old Shades on first reading and quite liked it on the second--may change my mind if I get back to it again. Venetia made me incredibly uncomfortable on the first reading, but on the reread I found it far more deftly handled than I'd remembered. Cotillion is charming and funny; Frederica is surprisingly sweet; and Talisman Ring wins hands-down for best couple, in part because I honestly thought for the first several chapters that she was writing her book about the wrong characters and was terribly relieved when that turned out not to be the case.

[sovay]

a poll about Heyer's Regency romance novels, what your personal top-tier are and, bonus question, what (if any) one you suspect is probably underrated generally.

Done!

(If you're curious, it was prompted by this discussion, but don't look until you've answered or you'll prejudice the data.)

Huh. Now I feel slightly bad about not including a title, but it isn't in the first rank for me; I just like it a lot.

[thistleingrey]

TBH, sadly, I have the sense that I don't remember a few that I liked well enough upon reading. (I didn't choose any that I don't remember at least middlingly.)

[genarti]

I voted, but I probably ought not to've, because I've only read two in total. But I have a clear favorite of the two and I was told I'd probably dislike a lot of her others more, so I went ahead and voted for it.

[glass_icarus]

I didn't fill out the underrated question as I've only read the few I could get my hands on in the library... this poll reminds me that I should go request some more. *g*

[metaphortunate]

I wish you had included a most OVERrated Heyer, as I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would prefer Frederica to another Heyer!

[mme_hardy]

Jane Aiken Hodge says "A Civil Contract appeals to the sort of reader whose favorite Austen is Persuasion", and she is right. It's by far the most melancholy Heyer regency, and I love it.

Other than that, cross-dressing FTW forever.

[roadrunnertwice]

(hence the years, because it would take too long to edit them out)

Hey, do you wanna learn regular expression find-and-replace? It lets you do things like delete all those dates in one pass. I could teach you the basics really fast, and it's actually pretty fun if you're the kind of person who would use find-and-replace to convert a list from Wikipedia into a poll.

[rushthatspeaks]

I put down Arabella as underrated, because, while it is not my absolute favorite, I never hear anyone talking about it, and it is the one in which the small and undistinguished dog wraps the hero around his paws and basically takes over his life.

Somehow I can never remember which Heyer it is in which the heroine is being guarded by her scapegrace brother's dog, who won't let her leave her chair, and all she can reach to read is the racing forms. That's right up there as my favorite scene in Heyer.

But the all-time holder of my heart forever are the poker scenes in The Convenient Marriage, which are among the two or three passages in the entirety of fiction which to me are funny-always, never-fail, laugh-out-loud unbreakable. I sometimes pick that book up just to read those chunks.

[ailbhe]

Beauvallet?