Of these seven, the order in which I rate them:
1. The Masqueraders
2. Simon The Coldheart
3. These Old Shades
4. The Black Moth
5. Instead of the Thorn
6. Powder and Patch
7. The Great Roxhythe
Next Entry: A Trio of Writers
Thursday, February 12, 2015
The Old Gentleman Orders All
Heyer's seventh novel, The Masqueraders, was published in 1928. I absolutely love this one!
Set in England it tells the story of Prudence and Robin, brother and sister, who arrive in England from France on the orders of their father, whom they call The Old Gentleman.
The two have grown up following their father across Europe, often taking assumed names and even switching genders with one another -- which is how they arrive in England. Prudence, tall and built on queenly lines, dresses and acts the part of Mr. Peter Merriott, while Robin, small and compact, dresses and acts the part of Peter's sister, Kate. Since Robin, along with their father, has recently taken part in the late Jacobite Rebellion, they feel it is a matter of life or death to maintain such a disguise.
They are guests of an old friend, Lady Lowestoft, who knows their true identities, and are supposed to wait quietly until their father arrives. But they are inadvertently drawn into society in their disguises by chancing upon and thwarting the abduction of a young innocent. Robin (Kate), of course falls for the girl, while Prudence (Peter), befriended by Sir Anthony Fanshawe, a close friend of the girl's father, finds herself drawn to him.
With the help of their faithful retainer, John, the two maintain their disguises through many close calls until the very end of the book, when The Old Gentleman sets all to rights with a surprise that rocks the tonne and restores the family's fortune and rightful place in society.
The Masqueraders has romance, adventure, intrigue, and one of the most annoyingly egotistical characters ever encountered -- The Old Gentleman. There is a dastardly villain, sword fights, tipping wine down sleeves (you have to read it to see what that means!), and a wonderful love story! All ends well, of course, but the journey to that delightful end makes this one that you MUST try to find in your local library.
Heyer was only 25 when she wrote this book and was living in Africa with her husband at the time. This is one of my favorites, in my top 10. It is light, has a fast plot, and adorable main characters.
My only copy is a hardcover, Heinemann edition, a fourth printing of the first editon, and even though it is in poor physical shape, I am very proud to have it. The image at the top is of a newer softcover copy.
Heyer's Son Dies at 75
Sir Richard Rougier, aged 75, died this past Thursday, October 25. Details in the Telegraph.(I originally published this post on October 28, 2007)
What Was Her Mysterious Parentage?
Published in 1926THESE OLD SHADES by Georgette Heyer
These Old Shades was Heyer's sixth published novel, and was set in Georgian times. It tells the story of Leonie, a girl brought up in a humble home in Paris, but whose origins are anything but humble.
Through a series of interesting events, (and after first masquerading as his page "Leon") Leonie becomes the ward of the Duke of Avon. The mystery of her real parentage lies in the hands of the Duke of Avon's enemy, the deadly Compte de Sainte-Vire, a man Leonie greatly fears.
Published in 1926, the book is very much "of its time", with a rather melodramatic tone. It seems to be a favorite with members of the Heyer Listserv (book discussion group), and Avon is definitely a favorite hero with some of the ladies on the list. Justin, Duke of Avon, is amusing, arrogant, self-centered, with a sometimes destructive wit at the beginning of the book. About halfway through we see him maturing a bit; he is kinder, his good characteristics have strengthened, and he actually puts someone else's interests above his own.
Leonie, I have to admit, annoys me at times; she worships Avon with slavish adoration and defends him to all. The man's nickname is "Satanas", for goodness sake! But I still have a kindness for her, and, as I said, he does grow up. This is a Heyer that I do like to re-read once in a while. The characters of Justin's family are so very funny. There is a lot of wit and charm in the book (which one expects of Heyer, after all). I think my favorite character in the whole book is Rupert, the Duke's brother. Rupert makes the book worth reading all on his own.
It is a fast-paced, tension-filled book, which will keep you laughing throughout -- from the moment Avon first meets Leonie, dressed in boy's clothes and going by the name of "Leon", to the excellent chase and rescue at the end. It is a feel-good read with hilarious dialogue throughout and characters that you can't help but love. And although it is not in my personal top 10, I know some who put it in the #1 spot on their Heyer list. So look for it in your library or buy an inexpensive paperback on Ebay or Amazon. It's worth the read.
My copy of TOS is a Bantam Books paperback, published in 1970.
Note: Heyer did not do sequels, but it is generally accepted by "Heyerites" (and stated by Heyer biographer Jane Aiken Hodge) that she did take the main characters in The Black Moth and use them again, under different names, in These Old Shades. She titled the book so, as a hint to her readers -- the characters in TOS were "shades" of those in TBM.
Since TOS was published in 1926, she was probably writing it at the time of her marriage to Ronald Rougier in 1925. It was published during what is known as The General Strike in England when there were not only no trains or newspapers, but no advertising or reviews, either. Yet the book was an instant success. Hodge suggests Heyer may have been encouraged to believe that she didn't need publicity to have a successful novel, after TOS sold 190,000 copies on publication.
My list, so far:
1. Simon The Coldheart
2. These Old Shades
3. The Black Moth
4. Instead of the Thorn
5. Powder and Patch
6. The Great Roxhythe
Next Entry: The Old Gentleman Orders All
More On Their Personal Lives...
In 1923 George Heyer gave a talk on "History in Fiction" to the select Wimbledon Literary and Scientific Society, and in 1925 he gave a talk on "The Humour of Dickens's Minor Characters". In 1924 the Oxford University Press published his translation of Francois Villon's poems, saying they were proud to handle it. Georgette appeared with her father, playing Prince Arthur to his King John in a literary tableau at the age of 11, for the Literary and Scientific Society which he had been invited to join in 1909.
It is easy to imagine how much his appreciation of her first literary effort in The Black Moth must have meant to Georgette.
Next Entry: These Old Shades
Simon The Coldheart
Book Number Five --
Heyer published this book in 1925, the fifth of her 54 novels. I have to count Simon as a favorite, though not in my top 10. The book is set in the year 1400 and tells the story of Simon, the illegitimate son of Geoffrey of Malvallet who, at the age of 14, has to fend for himself. He puts himself in the service of Fulk of Montlice (his father's natural enemy), and I do mean "puts himself" into his service. He has a very forceful nature and gets what he wants. He wanted to serve Fulk, and so he does! He works his way up from being a page to Fulk to becoming a friend and equal to Alan, Fulk's son. The book follows Simon to age 32, by which time he has made a name for himself as Simon of Beauvallet, has a castle of his own, and has won for wife the lady he chooses, a spitfire and a beauty.
Simon is set during the reign of Henry IV, a favorite historical age for Heyer. She dedicated the book to her father, George, because, of all her published books at the time, Simon was his favorite.
Heyer, however, put Simon on the list of books she was adamant about keeping suppressed, even when fans wrote to ask that it be re-issued. After her death, her son allowed its publication in 1977, saying that in this one case his mother had been too harsh.
I have to say I agree, because I do enjoy reading Simon now and again. My own hard cover copy looks exactly as the photograph above. I was able to get it on Ebay for $32.00 plus shipping, and it came to me encased in plastic and in pristine shape. It is a 1978 Book Club Associates edition, published by arrangement with William Heineman Ltd. And I don't mind at all that it isn't a first edition (which would be a find, indeed) because it is such a beautiful book, and I love that cover. I also have a Pan paperback, published in 1979.
Now that I've written about Heyer's first five, I will begin to put them in the order in which I enjoy them. Of these first five, the order would be:
1. Simon The Coldheart
2. The Black Moth
3. Instead Of The Thorn
4. Powder And Patch
5. The Great Roxhythe
Next Entry: More on their personal lives...
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Autobiographical In Nature
Critic and novelist A. S. Byatt wrote a long memorial piece for The Sunday Times when she died, based on interviews with her husband, her good friend, Carola Oman, and two of her publisher friends. That is about the only written source for any information on her early life. Hodge supplemented that info with interviews with her surviving family and friends and some of the letters to which she was given access when she wrote The Private World Of Georgette Heyer, published in 1984.
Heyer's brother, Frank, asserted that the four suppressed contemporary novels (Instead of the Thorn, Helen, Barren Corn, and Pastel) were somewhat autobiographical in nature, in particular Helen. But it is still a guessing game, as far as I can see, as to which parts of the novels were autobiographical.
We have Hodge's work, based on the only written and interview sources available, and we have our own opinions or surmises as to what she was really like and what her life was really like. She will forever remain somewhat of a mystery. I guess it should be that way because she obviously preferred it that way while she was living. But those of us who have had a love affair with her work still crave more.
Next Entry: Simon The Coldheart
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