![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieOut of morbid curiosity, I tried Lucinda Brant's Noble Satyr, driven by the fact that a lot of irate reviewers said it was a blatant rip-off of Georgette Heyer's These Old Shades, one of my favorite books.
Short version - yes, it's a rip-off. But that is not even the crime here, the crime is that it is so deadly dull. The sole advantage, such as it is, over TOS, is that TOS, written in 1926, does not have sex scenes, and NS does. I'd trade every sex scene in existence, however, for a sense of humor, character development, and protagonists I care about.
TOS, for those who are unfamiliar with it, is one of the earliest novels of Georgette Heyer, the founder and patron saint of Regency romance. (Though TOS is actually set in France in 1750s, i.e., Georgian era). It created a lot of tropes that are still used, but nonetheless reads very fresh. There is cross-dressing, chases, revenge, murder attempts, family secrets, and the good old (though I suppose not so old back then) 'rake redeemed by a love of a woman' set-up. Our hero, the Duke of Avon, who has a well-earned awful reputation and is 40 without any desire to settle or slow down, comes across our heroine, Leonie, when she is dressed as a boy, "Leon." Intrigued by her resemblance to his long-standing enemy, he decides to hire her as his page. And the story goes from there...
So, why do I love TOS so and found NS a horrible bore?
1. This is such a funny, witty, biting novel. I literally laughed out loud repeatedly.
2. Leonie is probably one of my favorite Heyer heroines (and 'pig person' is an insult I adopted :P) She's hot-tempered, impatient, brave, unconventional, blunt and reminds me freakishly of Chiana from Farscape, minus Chiana's love of sexual experimentation.
3. Most 'hardened rake reformed by a love of a good woman' stories either bore me, leave me incredulous, or both, but here it actually works. For one, because Leonie is not a 'good woman' by a standard definition, being prone to rages, fully cognizant of Avon's reputation and being fine with it, and at one point lamenting to Avon that he didn't kill her father but should have :) She puts him on a pedestal and he actually ends up working to be worthy of it. For another, Heyer is great at character development and the biggest delight of the book to me is watching the slow change in their relationship - it starts with her adoration of him for being rescued from the slums and his indifference, progresses to his being fond and amused by her, and by the end, she's the one who's winding him around her finger. I always thought it was pretty symbolic that they start with her kneeling to him (as his page) and end with him kneeling to her. They are a very unconventional couple, but it works. Oh, and the age difference is addressed (and doesn't bother me in 1750s upper class anyway).
4. Secondary characters crack me up.
5. Cross-dressing!
I always wished they made a movie out of it...
Not related,, but I looooove this fanvid of Farscape, that concentrates on John's insanity...
Short version - yes, it's a rip-off. But that is not even the crime here, the crime is that it is so deadly dull. The sole advantage, such as it is, over TOS, is that TOS, written in 1926, does not have sex scenes, and NS does. I'd trade every sex scene in existence, however, for a sense of humor, character development, and protagonists I care about.
TOS, for those who are unfamiliar with it, is one of the earliest novels of Georgette Heyer, the founder and patron saint of Regency romance. (Though TOS is actually set in France in 1750s, i.e., Georgian era). It created a lot of tropes that are still used, but nonetheless reads very fresh. There is cross-dressing, chases, revenge, murder attempts, family secrets, and the good old (though I suppose not so old back then) 'rake redeemed by a love of a woman' set-up. Our hero, the Duke of Avon, who has a well-earned awful reputation and is 40 without any desire to settle or slow down, comes across our heroine, Leonie, when she is dressed as a boy, "Leon." Intrigued by her resemblance to his long-standing enemy, he decides to hire her as his page. And the story goes from there...
So, why do I love TOS so and found NS a horrible bore?
1. This is such a funny, witty, biting novel. I literally laughed out loud repeatedly.
2. Leonie is probably one of my favorite Heyer heroines (and 'pig person' is an insult I adopted :P) She's hot-tempered, impatient, brave, unconventional, blunt and reminds me freakishly of Chiana from Farscape, minus Chiana's love of sexual experimentation.
3. Most 'hardened rake reformed by a love of a good woman' stories either bore me, leave me incredulous, or both, but here it actually works. For one, because Leonie is not a 'good woman' by a standard definition, being prone to rages, fully cognizant of Avon's reputation and being fine with it, and at one point lamenting to Avon that he didn't kill her father but should have :) She puts him on a pedestal and he actually ends up working to be worthy of it. For another, Heyer is great at character development and the biggest delight of the book to me is watching the slow change in their relationship - it starts with her adoration of him for being rescued from the slums and his indifference, progresses to his being fond and amused by her, and by the end, she's the one who's winding him around her finger. I always thought it was pretty symbolic that they start with her kneeling to him (as his page) and end with him kneeling to her. They are a very unconventional couple, but it works. Oh, and the age difference is addressed (and doesn't bother me in 1750s upper class anyway).
4. Secondary characters crack me up.
5. Cross-dressing!
I always wished they made a movie out of it...
Not related,, but I looooove this fanvid of Farscape, that concentrates on John's insanity...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 11:04 pm (UTC)Anyway, mostly dropping by to say I really enjoyed this post! :)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 11:24 pm (UTC)Thank you :)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 06:04 am (UTC)One of my favourite aspects of TOS is how completely Avon's motive for 'revenge' changes over the course of the novel, to the point that he's so consumed with Leonie, he almost completely forgets what his original motivation was. Love it.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 01:51 am (UTC)What is your fave Heyer?
no subject
Date: 2012-01-31 01:32 am (UTC)These Old Shades wasn't my first (that was Cotillion), but it was definitely the one that started the obsession.
Frederica is definitely at the top of the list - I've re-read it three times since I first picked it up in December. It's got everything I love - OTP that were friends first, a strong independent woman who really has to be TAUGHT how to rely on anyone else, the bored, self-interest man who suddenly finds himself ONLY thinking about what is best for someone else (Frederica) for the first time in his life, their shared sense of humour, how they both come to understand that love isn't all romance and passion but just being generally unhappy when the other is not around and deciding that you simply can't live without the other... Plus, I don't believe I will ever stop laughing over the Baluchistan hound.
I'm also very partial to Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle, which has one of the best arguments in a ballroom EVER, filled with repressed emotions, passion and fury. Such a train wreck. So good.
I think Friday's Child would be much higher on the list, but I'm not overly fond of the last section - it gets a little too ridiculous for my taste.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 02:56 am (UTC)