These Old Shades
First edition
|
|
| Author | Georgette Heyer |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Georgian, Romance |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
|
Publication date
|
1926 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 352 pp |
| Preceded by | The Black Moth |
| Followed by | Devil's Cub |
These Old Shades (1926) is a Georgian (set around 1755–56)romance novel written by British novelist Georgette Heyer (1902–1974). It was an instant success, and established her as a writer. It falls into the category of historical romance.
Fortune favours Justin Alastair, the uncanny and notorious Duke of Avon, casting in his way, one Paris night, the means to revenge himself on his enemy, the Comte de Saint-Vire. Avon literally collides with an abused boy, Léon Bonnard, whose red hair, deep blue eyes and (improbably) black eyebrows proclaim him a child of the Comte.
Not knowing if the boy is a legitimate child or a "natural" (bastard) child, Avon purchases the boy from his brother, a tavern keeper. He takes the boy as his page, and Léon follows him to society's highest functions, and even goes to a Court party held by Louis XV, where he sees the king himself (who looks just like the coins, he says), views the Queen, and sees Madame de Pompadour. While at Versailles, the Duke displays Léon before the Comte's wife and his son and heir. He notes the resemblance of the son, Henri, to Léon's brother, Jean Bonnard, a tavern keeper. He also notes that the boy, Léon's age, prefers rural life, and wants to be a farmer. After this excursion to Versailles, the Comte sends one of his satellites to purchase the page, but Avon refuses. The Duke's friend, Hugh Davenant, tries to persuade Avon to give him the page; they both have realised, separately, that the boy Léon is actually the girl Léonie.
The Duke journeys into Champagne, where Léonie has grown up, to meet a childhood mentor, the village priest who educated her. This old man confirms to him that the Bonnard family came originally from the same province, indeed, from one of the estates, as the Comte de Saint-Vire. The Duke's desire for revenge soon turns to passion for justice as Léon – or rather, Léonie – has endeared herself to him. He takes her home to England and teaches her to be a girl again, under the name of Léonie de Bonnard. After an attempt to lure Léonie from Avon Court fails, the Comte kidnaps her and carries her to France. Léonie escapes from him with the help of the Duke's younger brother, Lord Rupert, and seeks refuge at an inn where Avon finds her and rescues her from a second attempt to abduct her. In the meantime, Fanny Marling, the Duke's sister, and her husband, join the party in France.
...
Wikipedia