Simon the Coldheart: A Tale of Chivalry and Adventure

I havent read Heyer before and am not a fan of the regency period so was glad to get an opportunity to try this author on. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! This book is absolutely fabulous, its a hard read because of the old type English but its worth it. Really believable characters. I got this from the Library and will now have to buy myself a copy cos its a keeper. I cannot recommend this book highly enough

This book is a fun read because you really get into the characters and find yourself anxious to see the outcome. What also made this book even more enjoyable was to follow reading it with reading "Beauvallet" which, set in the 16th century, revisits the family that Simon the Coldheart starts.

Simon the Coldheart is now rarely in print - sadly Dame Heyer's cardboard mysteries are more often available than this her one foray into medieval life & times when she delved into the Norman Conquest & produced a remarkable, enduring tale of the clash of two cultures.No quarter was given in those times - not from men, not from women & they loved & fought in the only way they knew - with honor & duty & , that strangely new emotion, courtly love!Fascinating & worth finding!

(My other favorite is Charlotte's Web, by E.B.White, which is of course totally different from Simon the Coldheart!) Most of Georgette Heyer's books are set in Regency England, and she herself did not consider "Simon" to be one of her best efforts, asking that it not be re-printed. I am glad her kids got together and decided to re-print "Simon" because it is a totally unique blend of medieval life, adventure, romance, and character studies. Simon himself is a larger-than-life hero who walks straight through the front door and into the reader's memory for a lifetime! As my 10-year-old daughter observed when she read it, "Mom, I love this book! That Simon's a man and a half!"

Georgette Heyer has turned out a book that shows great insight into the medieval lifestyle. The characters come alive and are completely credible. The events are historically accurate and the plots are resolved wonderfully well. A hugely entertaining book all round