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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...
