Cotillion (novel)
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| Cotillion | |
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| Author | Georgette Heyer |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Regency, Romance |
| Publisher | Sourcebooks, Inc. |
| Publication date | 1953, 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 368 pp |
| ISBN | 978-1-4022-1008-2 |
Cotillion is a Regency novel by Georgette Heyer that was released in 1953. It is one of the most light-hearted of Heyer's romances, avoiding the mystery, intrigue, and sensational events present in many of her novels.
[edit] Plot summary
Heroine Kitty Charing has been brought up in rural isolation by her rich and eccentric guardian, Matthew Penicuik, whom she calls Uncle Matthew. Uncle Matthew makes the whimsical decision to name Kitty as his heiress -- but only if she marries one of his extensive collection of great-nephews, the offspring of his assorted and much-loathed sisters.
Uncle Matthew expects that Kitty will marry Jack Westruther, his favourite great-nephew, and Kitty would be only to happy to comply: she has adored Jack for years. But Jack, while he intends someday to wed Kitty (believing that Uncle Matthew's money must be willed either to her or to him), prefers to lead a rake lifestyle as long as possible. Confident that Kitty will not accept any of his cousins, Jack declines to attend the family party at which Uncle Matthew intends for his great-nephews to propose to Kitty.
Kitty, greatly upset by the absence of Jack and by the possibility of becoming destitute should she not accept one of the great-nephews, is further dismayed by the proposals she receives. First, there is doltish Lord Dolphinton ("Dolph"), an impoverished Irish peer under his mother's thumb. Dolph is clearly proposing because his mother wants Uncle Matthew's money. Then there is Reverend Hugh Rattray, who assures Kitty that he is very fond of her, and that she will make a very suitable wife when her youthful levity has been tempered, for he pities the fact she is a destitute orphan -- to her scorn.
When another great-nephew arrives, Kitty hails him with relief. Freddy Standen is rich, good-natured, unaware of Uncle Matthew's intentions, and a confirmed bachelor. Nevertheless, Kitty begs him to propose to her and invite her to London to reintroduce her to his parents, whom she has not seen for some time. She assures Freddy that once she has visited London for a month, she will break off the engagement and live quietly thereafter. When she threatens to cry, Freddy is too mortified to do anything but agree. She does not tell Freddy that she really hopes to make Jack jealous and force him to propose to her. Freddy suspects she has something up her sleeve but does not know what.
Uncle Matthew, unconvinced by the announced engagement, guesses exactly what Kitty is up to; since it falls in with his own wishes, he allows Kitty to go to London. At the same time, he assures her that he will not tolerate being left for more than a month with "that fish" -- "that fish" being Miss Fishguard, Kitty's governess, who will stand in as housekeeper during Kitty's absence.
London lives up to Kitty's wildest hopes. Lodged with Freddy's married sister Meg, she has several weeks of innocent excitement: new dresses, the theatre, balls, and museums. A kind-hearted soul, Kitty proceeds to get involved in the problems of the people she meets.
Dolph, for example, has met and fallen in love with an entirely ineligible woman. His love, Hannah Plymstock, is an average-looking, fortuneless woman of the merchant class. Under his mother's watchful eye, Kitty is able to help Dolph to meet Hannah. As far as the Dowager Countess Dolphinton is concerned, Hannah is merely a friend of Kitty's who goes along for propriety's sake.
At the same time, Kitty has accidentally fallen in with the beautiful Olivia Broughty, who is not of good "ton." Freddy suspects that Olivia's mother would be very happy to have her daughter become the mistress of a rich man.
A third character emerges in the form of Kitty's cousin Camille d'Evron, a Chevalier (French knight). Camille and Olivia -- almost inevitably -- fall in love. It soon emerges that Camille does not in fact have any title and should more properly be called a Chevalier d'Industrie, that is, a fortune-hunter: he is a professional gambler, the son of a casino-owner.
Meanwhile, Jack is not happy to find Kitty in London, where he is pursuing Olivia in the hope of making her his mistress. Kitty, in her turn, finds Jack rather less charming now that she has acquired a little more sophistication.
When Lady Dolphinton begins to pressure on her son to propose to Kitty again, assuring him that her betrothal to Freddy is clearly a fake, Dolph flies into a panic. Kitty and Hannah decide that an elopement, while usually entirely unacceptable, is the only way to resolve the situation. At around the same time, Kitty receives a very garbled letter from Miss Fishguard which so concerns her that she feels the need to return home briefly to find out what is going on.
Consequently, Kitty, Hannah, and Dolph leave London for the Reverend Hugh's rectory, which is close to Uncle Matthew's residence. They intend to persuade Hugh to marry Hannah and Dolph.
Meanwhile, Olivia's mother is pressuring her to accept a marriage offer from a wealthy but rather repulsive older man. Camille feels he needs to leave England for fear of exposure. Freddy therefore suggests that Camille and Olivia elope. He doesn't consider this an appropriate thing for normal people to do; but given the respective backgrounds of Camille and Olivia and that Freddy is increasingly concerned that Kitty's friendship with both Camille and Olivia could damage her reputation (not to mention that it will clearly make both of the lovers happy), he makes the suggestion anyway. Olivia and Camille are thrilled at the idea and dash off to France post-haste.
A farcical scene then takes place at the Rectory. Dolph, fearing discovery by his mother, keeps hiding in the cupboard. Kitty unhappily discovers that the lack of a special marriage license prevents Hugh from performing the ceremony. Jack appears and explains that Uncle Matthew has proposed to Miss Fishguard, which is confirmed by Hugh. Kitty tries to persuade Jack to get the license for Dolph; he refuses. To the complete surprise of everyone, Freddy arrives, bringing the license as well as news of the elopement of Olivia and Camille. Jack tries to persuade Kitty to marry him after all; he becomes quite angry at her refusal and insults her, whereupon Freddy hits Jack.
Eventually, Jack returns to London in a sulk. Hugh agrees to marry Hannah and Dolph and to put them up at the Rectory overnight. Freddy and Kitty then leave for Uncle Matthew's.
Kitty has realised, as a result of this farcical scene, that she has sorted out everyone else's problems but left herself in rather a sticky position. She therefore apologises to Freddy for all the trouble he's gone to and suggests that they break the engagement on the grounds that they have found they would not suit. Freddy rejects the suggestion, because, he says, everyone would know it was nonsense, since they clearly do suit.
A short amount of sentimental but humorous dialogue follows and the couple blushingly admit themselves to be in love, and their engagement is genuine after all.
