These old shades (by Georgette Heyer)

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The author whose books I re-read most often is Georgette Heyer. She wrote some 20th century detective/crime fiction novels, but the bulk of her work was in historical fiction. It’s mostly set amongst the upper classes, and generally features a romance. Her characterisation is excellent, and her plots very cleverly contrived.

It’s only six years since I last read ‘These old shades’. It’s a book I acquired in 1987, and I had already read it five times, so the overall story was familiar to me. Set in France in the middle of the 18th century, the arrogant, promiscuous Duke of Avon buys a ragged-looking boy - who is in fact nearly twenty - as a page. This lad, known as Leon, rapidly becomes devoted to the duke, and is taken everywhere with him. 

There’s a secret behind Leon’s identity, and another one which the duke is aware of almost from the start. But it would be spoilers to say what this is. The first time I read the book, I was quite surprised at the first revelation, although it happens fairly early in the book. The second time I don’t think I recalled it. But I knew it was coming this time, and it didn’t actually spoil my enjoyment in any way; indeed, I was watching out for signs of what I knew was coming.

The darker secret that the duke holds is quite an unpleasant one, both in his original motivation, and in the eventual showdown near the end of the book. The duke is not portrayed as a hero, or even a particularly likeable man. And yet, with Heyer’s genius, we start to see him through Leon’s eyes - and, in the face of such apparently naive adoration, he begins to develop some more admirable traits. And he always had a sense of humour.

There are some very enjoyable family scenes; Avon has a delightful sister, Lady Fanny, who is married to quite a staid (but wise) man. He also has a brother, Rupert, whom he isn’t very fond of at the start of the book. But Rupert shows a lot of courage and ingenuity, and earns his brother’s gratitude and admiration. There are some quite amusing scenes when the family convene on an inn, and they discuss what exactly he has done, and what has happened to an unfortunate man’s horse…

There’s a delightful curé who plays a small but significant part in the story. He’s the parish priest in a small French village, and has mostly distanced himself from the world. But even he has heard of the Duke of Avon’s reputation. However, this does not stop him from having a very enjoyable discussion with him, as they try to solve some problems and find out more about the past. 

While I had recalled the outline of the plot and the main characters, I had mostly forgotten the details. As each new scene was introduced, my memories came back slowly. But Heyer’s writing is so good that I could probably read some of her books every year and still appreciate them and smile at some of the phrasing. 

‘These old shades’ was one of Heyer’s earlier novels, but still reads very well and demonstrates her tremendous gift of characterisation, and her impeccable research. She places her people and situations in real historic situations, with authentic clothes, actions and conversation. And she has quite unlikely heroes and heroines; the Duke of Avon is one of the most unlikely, but she still manages to make him quite appealing by the end - and that notwithstanding his terrible need for revenge that leads to quite an unpleasant climax to the book. 

I think this would make quite a good introduction to Heyer’s historical writing, although it’s not one of my absolute favourites. 

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