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These Old Shades (Hardcover)

by Georgette Heyer (Author)

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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2 used from CDN$ 174.22

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Product Details

Hardcover: 362 pages
Publisher: Amereon Ltd; Reprint edition (May 1979)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0848808169
ISBN-13: 978-0848808167
Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm
Shipping Weight: 636 g

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #1,540,731 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

A gentleman was strolling down a side street in Paris, on his way back from the house of one Madame de Verchoureux. He walked mincingly, for the red heels of his shoes were very high. A long purple cloak, rose-lined, hung from his shoulders and was allowed to fall carelessly back from his dress, revealing a full-skirted coat of purple satin, heavily laced with gold; a waistcoat of flowered silk; faultless small clothes; and a lavish sprinkling of jewels on his cravat and breast.

The gentleman in question is Justin Alastair, the Duke of Avon, known by friends and enemies alike as Satanas--the devil. On this particular evening, the dangerous rake crosses paths with Léon, a red-headed youth of low birth who is fleeing a certain beating at his brutal brother's hands. On a whim, Avon buys the boy and makes him his page. It soon becomes clear, however, that Léon is not what he seems, and that Avon has an ulterior motive for bringing him into his household. Set in pre-Revolutionary France, These Old Shades follows a twisting course as young Léon (or is it Léonie?) is swept up in a dangerous mystery: how to account for the page's amazing resemblance to the sinister Compte de Saint Vire, for example; and why will this man go to any lengths to get the youth in his power?

Georgette Heyer's historical romances tend to fall into two different camps: later novels such as Cotillion, False Colours, and Sylvester feature larger-than-life comic characters and romantic pairings more akin to Beatrice and Benedick than Hero and Claudio. Earlier works such as These Old Shades, however, tend to be darker, tinged with mystery and overshadowed by very real menace. What both types share is Heyer's fine storytelling and encyclopedic knowledge of Regency mores and manners--her books are the next best thing to a time machine. These Old Shades's greatest asset, however, is the charming Léonie: beautiful, brave, and loyal to a fault, with a fondness for swordplay and pistols and a delightfully incomplete grasp of the English language. Heyer herself was so fond of this character that she featured her in two more novels, Devil's Cub and An Infamous Army. --Alix Wilber --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Justin Alastair, Duke of Avon, is called "Satanas" by enemy and friend alike. In the aristocratic circles of both London and Paris he has a reputation as a dangerous and debauched rake. He has the occasional odd whim, however, and when a semistarved, ragged child literally falls into his arms on a dark Paris street, Justin purchases the miserable scrap from his abusive guardian and makes the child his page. Cleaned up and properly dressed, Leon proves to be surprisingly comely, with delicate features and flaming red hair. His delicate manners coexist with a personality that combines innocence and arrogance with a fiery temper and a willful stubbornness. Strangest of all, he bears a strong resemblance to the Comte de Saint-Vire, an old enemy of Justin's. Before long Leon is unmasked as the girl Leonie, but the mystery of her heritage deepens. The strength of the characters rather than the plot fuels this novel. Justin cuts a dark and brooding hero figure; his motives are definitely dubious at the beginning of the story and remain questionable. Even the secondary characters are strongly drawn, distinct, and important to plot development. Narrator Cornelius Garrett does an excellent job, offering a rendition of Justin that is suitably languid. Highly recommended.
Barbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Once and Future Heyer, April 19 2008

By	C. Kronlachner - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: These Old Shades (Paperback)

A lovely story, one my mum first read to my dad and I ages ago, and one Ive consistently returned to over the years. Full of intrigue, Ive always found These Old Shades along with The Masqueraders, Devils Cub and Regency Buck some of Heyers most fresh and spirited novels.

These Old Shades has none of the insufferable constricted cast, grist of the mill formula of some of her later romances. These Old Shades particularly enjoys all the gay romp of Heyer in her early career and unlike so many other romances it sticks in ones memory.

The story is replete with glittering balls, and ever-changing scenery, unlike her more constrained and less mobile later work. Cross-county chases and the constant gallivanting expand the scope for historical detail; while Heyers always witty dialogue brings the characters alive. It is adventure first and foremost as the metamorphosis of Leon into Leonie and the accomplishment of the Duke of Avons revenge fill the story with intrigue while the extensive cast parade across the pages.

In a world that abounds in self-indulgent historical pulp which cares only for the leading lord and lady to the exclusion of such niceties as historical accuracy, a full and developed cast in a well crafted setting is much to be desired.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Dark & Menacing, But A Great Read, Jul 8 2004

By	M. Bechyne "free_fall" (Downey, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: These Old Shades (Mass Market Paperback)

The Duke, also known as Satanas, recues a disguised damsel in distress, thus becoming an old enemy's nemesis. A wonderful read about characters you come to care a great deal about. I would recommend this to any fan of the genre! If you like this, don't forget about the sequel about the next generation, The Devil's Cub. Another great read!

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3.0 out of 5 stars Alright, April 10 2004

By	Kit "bownci" (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: These Old Shades (Mass Market Paperback)

Several of my favorite authors have mentioned this book(or this author) as one of their favorites. So...even though I had never read a harlequin romance novel before and I had never heard of the author and I wasn't too into the storyline from the blurb...I figured, it couldn't hurt to try it out.
When I first started reading the book, I was somewhat dissapointed. I wasn't too into the story at the start. It didn't really catch me the way some other books do...so as the days passed by, I very gradually read a few pages here and there. Sometime in the middle of the book it started to become more interesting, and I would actually make time to read the book, but that was half because I wanted to move onto other things.
Still, the book and the characters did start to grow on me. I wanted to see what happened. By the end of the book, I was almost dissapointed that it was over. I decided it wasn't a bad book after all, and I almost gave it four stars.
However, one of the things that turned me off from the start was the use of French in the book. I guess it was supposed to add a sort of authentic feel to the characters...and make them more believable...but if you don't know French at all, you might have trouble in these parts and be annoyed, even when you miss very small dialoge because of the language barrier. This is a book written in English. When I read a book in English, I expect to understand it.
Also, I wasn't so into their love. Like some of the other reviewers, the father-daughter relationship and the age difference just didn't do it for me. Half the time I tried to imagine that he was younger than he was...but part of me wanted her to end up with one of her younger suitors...
And I guess these are very small points, but sometimes the style of the writing sort of threw me off. The author, for example, would refer to the characters (whom she talked about in 3rd person for most of the book) as "my lady" or something of the sort. It took me a while to get used to that without stopping to consider the paragraph....
Additionally...I felt like the book sort of went along at too smooth a pace for the most part...there were some exciting parts and you knew when the book was sort of at the climax...but it never really did get THAT exciting to me. Perhaps more excitement would have done the book good.....

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but,
I enjoyed the story overall but a little too much French especially for someone like me who knows very little of the language.

Published on Jul 19 2004 by marla weaver

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical Background
"He walked mincingly, for the red heels of his shoes were very high. A long purple cloak, rose-lined, hung from his shoulders and was allowed to fall... Read more

Published on Feb 19 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite reads
I love the whole "series" of interrelated Heyer novels that begins with this one, continues on through Devil's Cub and Regency Buck and ends in An Infamous Army. Read more

Published on Sep 11 2003 by Bibliolati

3.0 out of 5 stars Not her best, but still above average
This was the first Heyer I did not like whole-heartedly. The great age gap between hero and heroine bothered me a lot(he's over forty, she's only nineteen) though this might be... Read more

Published on Aug 13 2002