The Masqueraders -- Georgette Heyer

Yep, I've gone back to Georgette Heyer.  I adore the cover on this recent-ish Sourcebooks edition.  Prudence looks perfect -- though I don't know who that blond guy is supposed to be.  Certainly NOT the mountain.  Anyway.

The Masqueraders begins with our hero and heroine rescuing A Lady in Distress¹ from An Elopement Gone Horribly Wrong.  But things aren't quite as they seem, as siblings Peter and Kate are actually Prudence and Robin -- that is, Peter is Prudence and Kate is Robin -- and they're following their father's orders by hiding in plain sight to avoid capture after their involvement in the failed Jacobite Rebellion.

Despite their reasons for being on the run, you'll find no politics here -- just cross-dressing, flirtation, falling in love, witty banter, duels (two of them, one for ultra-romantic reasons and one TO THE DEATH!), and a sleepy-eyed mountain of a gentleman² who sees much more than most people assume.  Add to that a father figure who bears a striking resemblance to Schmidt from the Vicky Bliss books³, and I was in heaven.

Actually, yesterday I was checking some M. C. Beaton books out to this tiny little old lady and so of course I asked her if she'd read Marion Chesney's Regency romances (she had), which led us to a conversation about Georgette Heyer and this book and I mentioned my Schmidt bit and she totally agreed and put the new Elizabeth Peters on hold and then we talked about how great Schmidt was and we swooned a bit and it made me really happy that literary crushes can span four or five decades.

Yeah.  I don't have much to say here other than: Thumbs Up, Up, Up.  Also, the mountain?  SWOON.  SWOOOOOOOOOOOON.

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¹That's the name of the first chapter!  I love it when chapters actually have names.  Reading down through them just makes me all happy -- and Chapter 23 is entitled "The Fight By Moonlight", so really, it only gets better!

²You always have to watch out for the sleepy-eyed gentlemen -- Chrestomanci and Lord Peter taught me that.  Actually, Sir Anthony Fanshawe's are not only sleepy, but also grey -- and if you've read even two Heyer books, you'll be well aware that anyone with grey eyes will turn out to be formidable at the very least.

³I just imagined Schmidt reading The Masqueraders and then driving Vicki bananas by trying his damnedest to emulate that character -- it killed me and added yet another layer of awesome to the book.  Which was totally unnecessary, as it was chock-full of awesome on its own, but when have I ever been known to turn my nose up at an extra layer of awesome?

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Previously:

The Talisman Ring
The Grand Sophy
The Quiet Gentleman
Friday's Child

The Alastair Trilogy

1.  These Old Shades
2.  The Devil's Cub
3.  An Infamous Army -- The characters in Regency Buck are major players in this one, but Regency Buck comes first.  I read them out of order, sadly.

Connected to The Alastair Trilogy:

Regency Buck -- See An Infamous Army above.
The Black Moth -- This was Heyer's first novel.  She later revisited the same characters (but with different names) in These Old Shades.

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Book source:  ILLed through my local library.

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Comments

[Charlotte]

Have you ever read The Scarlet Pimpernel? Another sleepy-eyed gentleman for your collection....

[Tina]

I'm so glad you've gone back to Georgette Heyer! She's one of my go-to authors whenever I have a cruddy day or when everything I've been reading lately has been disappointing. Reading your reviews of her books are awesome too because you hit on the very reasons I love them!

[Jen]

Oh, that was the last Heyer I ever read. It took me years to find it; before the advent of the Internet. Not my fave, but still very good.

Have you read the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett? Sooooooooo fabulous.

[web]

Perhaps it's supposed to be Letty and Robin? Though I agree, looks much more like Prudence.

[web]

P.S. I don't remember Schmidt. I may have to reread those books. I didn't care for them at the time, but perhaps I was too young for them.

[Gina]

Charlotte, you took the words right out of my mouth -- er, fingers. I've occasionally wondered if Lord Peter might possibly be a direct descendant of Sir Percy. :-)

I have been enjoying Heyer's mysteries (despite some repetitive plots and characters) -- maybe I'll have to take the plunge and try some of the romances!

[Leila]

Charlotte, yes! I can't believe I didn't think to mention Sir Percy!

Jen, I haven't read that one -- I'll look it up. Thanks!

Web, Schmidt is KEY. He's Vicki's boss, completely bananas, and just gets better and better as the series progresses.

[Constance]

I do love this book, especially the chapter where Prudence is unmasked! You should join the Heyer listserv.

[Maureen]

Ooo, I love this book! Cross-dressing bandits ahoy! And Sir Anthony and Letty were both equally as awesome as Pru and Robin--a true match.

[Katie]

The cover is actually an image of Flora MacDonald bidding farewell to Bonnie Prince Charles, so there is a connection to the Pru and Robin's masquerade. Here's a link to the complete image.

Oddly enough, I had a copy of this checked out when your review appeared, and your review prompted me to picked it out of the pile. I'm glad I did. You can almost see Heyer giggling to herself as she wrote this.