Windows To The World

          The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every time I read this book  and it is worth rereading, I am flabbergasted by the fact that Georgette Heyer began it when she was fifteen years old. The characters are very well drawn with a subtle mixture of emotional depths that is very insightful. Even her villain is quite three dimensional with an intriguing blend of good and bad that made him in the end quite likable.


Nobody does period speech as well as Heyer and she has been much emulated. If I had to compare Heyer with Jane Austen all I can say it I have read her more often and more repeatedly that any of Austin's works in which case once was enough. Heyer sets a beautiful scene and takes the reader back in time. Then she gives each character a voice and they come alive. 




The first books that she wrote had several that either foreshadowed or segued into other books.

	In These Old Shades it is apparent that the story was foreshadowed in Georgette Heyer's first book The Black Moth because the main characters bears many similarities in both books. But in this case Justin Alastair the Duke of Avon is more fully fleshed out. He is never as bad as he is painted. This is one of her best. Heyer spends a lot of time discussing the clothes of the era. The wealthy had little else to do so they spent an inordinate amount of time on their person and their outfits. . She does have a thing for shoes with red heels, they show up in all her early books. The story begins when he rescues a waif from the streets of Paris with striking hair and makes him his page. There is a mystery subtly interwoven in between action and adventures that makes this book very enjoyable. The sequel to this book is Devil's Cub. The young Marquis of Vidal is known to be even wilder that his father the Duke of Avon. As he flees England after one misadventure he kidnaps a young lady who changes his life. This book is one of my favorites. The Talisman Ring is not classified as one of Georgette Heyer's mysteries but the story does revolve around the solving of the murder of Sir Matthew Plunkett and discovering the location of a talisman ring. When Lord Lavenham crosses the great divide, his grandson and heir Ludovic is supposedly hiding in Europe because he is suspected of being the killer of Sir Matthew. There is definitely an air of adventure and excitement mixed with some romance as the story unfolds with with, humor and mild suspense. There are cutthroats, smugglers, Bow Street Runners, hidden basements, priest holes and foolish as well as clever heroes and heroines. It is fun to read. Regency Buck

This is Georgette Heyer's first story actually set in the regency era .  Beautiful heiress Judith Tavener and her younger brother become wards of Julian St John Audley the Earl of Worth. What a great name! The two young people have travelled down to London from Yorkshire planning not to set the world on fire but just to shake the straw out of their hair.

Before long a game is afoot to murder the young Percy. Is the culprit the free spending Lord Worth  are there other villains in the family such as a dipsomaniac uncles whose pockets are to let. The book is filled with such interesting turns of phrase which are well researched by Heyer at heart a historian. It is said that her book The Infamous Army which details the battle of Waterloo and the defeat of Napoleon is used a a British Military college as required reading.

These books are just a taste of Heyer. She has written excellent historical books, golden age mysteries and more. Her books are still frequently republished.