La pedina scambiata (1926)

One of my favorite books! I have read it umpteen times and love Leonie and Justin. This is my favorite Georgette Heyer. ( )

I've read and enjoyed other books by this author before, but this one started a lot slower than I'd expected, and I put it down after about 60 pages. When I determined to give it another chance I was rewarded with an interesting and enjoyable story, a cut above most books of the genre, with less melodramatic breast-beating and angst so common with other authors. Definitely recommended. ( )

Walking through Paris, the English Duke of Avon spots a ragtag youth fleeing an unknown pursuer. Recognizing something distinct in the boy's appearance, the duke rescues him and promptly installs Léon in his household as his new page. Léon is delighted with his new station and worships the ground the duke walks upon, unaware that Avon's motives are rather more sinister.

What a delightful romp! What I loved most is the humor Heyer deftly inserts into her writing. It really brings the characters to life. Is the root cause of Avon's longstanding enmity toward Saint-Vire ever revealed to the reader? At the end of the book I couldn't recall, but I suppose the details don't entirely matter. Fun! ( )

simply fabulous ( )

This was my first book by Georgette Heyer, and it was fun to see the early roots of this genre. It ended up being kind of a mixed bag for me. I can see how other stories I've read paid homage to her writing in different ways. And I liked the premise, but I think the main characters were not a great fit for my tastes. The heroine was pretty child-like in her behavior and overly ruled by her emotions for my preference. And the hero was the most foppish non-comic relief character I've ever read in HR. His extravagant accessories seemed to be mentioned at *every opportunity*, even some of the other characters in the story were like 'really dude?' lol. And, though age gaps don't usually bother me, she's a pretty naive 19 and he's a pretty jaded 43-ish years old, and it was kind of hard for me to get around. It probably also didn't help that he called her "infant" and "my child" throughout the entire book... Also, I didn't really feel their romantic connection, she openly idolized him which didn't feel overly grounded, and he kept everything besides some fondness for her pretty well under wraps until almost the end of the book. Some of the dialogue was very witty though, and different aspects felt quite clever, and I appreciate that. And I think it got stronger for me toward the end. I won't rush out to read another by Heyer, but I'll definitely keep her in mind and try another in the future. ( )