Devil's cub (by Georgette Heyer)

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Since I recently reread Georgette Heyer’s novel ‘These old shades’, it made sense that I would follow it (a month later) by rereading ‘Devil’s cub’, which I last read in 2018. That’s because it’s a kind of sequel, set over twenty years later. 

The characters in this book are wonderfully created, three-dimensional for the most part, and quite distinct despite a somewhat large number of them. Lord Vidal is the main male character, and we see him first as a hot-tempered, angry and promiscuous young man with no compunction or moral code at all, or so it seems. He loses his temper after an accusation, and fights a duel. His father, the Duke of Avon, is becoming increasingly annoyed with him, and orders Vidal to travel to France for a while. 

In stark contrast are the Challoner family. Mrs Challoner is widowed, and is one of Heyer’s caricatured grasping women. She is remarkably self-centred, and cares what society thinks of her far more than she cares about her two daughters. Her younger, Sophia, is very beautiful, and we learn that Vidal has found her very attractive. Mrs Challoner thinks they might get married, but her older, more sensible daughter Mary knows that won’t happen. And Sophia herself knows that he wants her as his mistress. But she’s too immature to care. 

Mary learns of a planned flight, and decides to do something both courageous and foolish in order to save her sister’s reputation. But she doesn’t take into account Vidal’s bad temper, or his need for revenge. She gives him the wrong impression of who she is, and is in considerable danger… but she’s resourceful, and practical, and quite willing to do something drastic when she has to.

It’s quite an active story, with many different characters chasing each other to France, and then to Dijon. It’s enlivened by Vidal’s cousin Juliana, who is prone to hysterics. She wants to marry a staid young man who adores her, but doesn’t really know how to handle him.

The pace is excellent, the characterisation very well done, and the conversation believable. I love the way that, while Mrs Challoner seems to have no redeeming features, the hot-headed violent Lord Vidal does adore his mother, and respects his father. And he finds himself somewhat at a loss when confronted with Mary’s strong determination and pragmatic nature.

There’s a lot of humour too, in Heyer’s ironic way. Vidal’s uncle Rupert is corpulent and idle, but can’t resist the blandishments of his sister-in-law. So he, too, ends up in France. Rupert has something of a one-track mind, however, and his insistence on dinner and fine wine adds to the humour, as does his lack of comprehension about some of the finer details of the story…

I loved the climactic scene, one which I had quite forgotten until it started. It looks for a while as if all the principal players in the story are going to converge, as happens fairly often in Heyer novels. But Mary is determined not to allow Vidal to do something which, she believes, will cause a family rift for him. She ends up telling her sorry story to an elderly and generous acquaintance. I knew who he was, either from memory or because Heyer makes it obvious to the reader. But Mary has no idea, and this makes for a dialogue that is both poignant and, in places, amusing. 

The ending is less abrupt than in many of Heyer’s romances, and while this isn’t one of my top favourites, I liked it very much. There are a lot of innuendoes and some violence in the early chapters which might put off some readers. Perhaps those are why I didn’t like this so much when I was younger. But if one can get past that, and the rather despicable idea that it’s fine for young noblemen to be promiscuous with young, working girls, it’s a good story.

As with all Heyer's novels, 'devil's cub' remains almost constantly in print, and is now available for the Kindle as well as paperback. These books can often be found inexpensively at second-hand or charity shops too. 

Review copyright 2025 Sue's Book Reviews