Georgette Heyer, False Colours (1963)
The first book you read by a favorite author has a special quality. Even if there are other books by the same author that you realize are more worthy of recognition, the joy of discovery lends your “first” a lingering glow. Sometimes, the particular circumstances of finding the book are stamped on the memory as well. I’m revisiting some of these “first reads” and giving some second (or fifth or twentieth) impressions.
As with Terry Pratchett, I saw Georgette Heyer’s books on the shelf for years before I picked one up. I had her pegged as a “romance novelist,” and romance was not a genre I was particularly interested in. Wasn’t she one of those formulaic, swoony writers like Barbara Cartland? So I passed her by, until who knows what whim prompted me to take home one of her books from the library and start reading.
Well, that book, False Colours, had me hooked from page one, with its witty banter, well-realized period setting, intelligent, likeable central couple, and screwball-comedy-style plot. It starts when Kit Fancot, returning home from the Napoleonic wars to his mother’s London townhouse, learns that his twin brother Evelyn is missing on the eve of an important appointment … for which the twins’ mother begs Kit to stand in for Evelyn for just one day … which stretches into weeks, during which the masquerade becomes more and more difficult, particularly as he finds himself falling for Cressy, his brother’s potential bride …
Yes, this is a Regency romance; Heyer basically invented the genre, and she practiced it in a way that many have tried to imitate, but few have bettered. Her Regency is not the lived one of Jane Austen, but a constructed universe that is slightly unreal, a bit too technicolor. Her period slang is genuine, but nobody would really run it all together in one speech the way her characters do. Her female characters, while behaving with a thorough understanding of the proprieties of the time, have a slyly modern side that allows them much more knowledge of certain “unmentionables” than was probably the case. And no writer of Austen’s era would spend so much time on descriptions of clothing, especially masculine fashions.
But such alterations are clearly not the result of sloppy research and careless writing (which sometimes drive me mad when I try to read other Regencies). It was Heyer’s choice to consciously craft this fictional world, full of details from a time she clearly loved and knew much about, but with an internal coherence and logic all its own. She did it brilliantly, and most importantly she used it to tell wonderful stories about people who come to life on the page, so that we care about them and want them to find happiness with each other.
I was enchanted by this world, and by Kit and Cressy and all their friends and relatives. Most notable in this particular book are the twins’ flighty mother, who seems to be modeled on the Duchess of Devonshire, and her portly suitor Bonamy Ripple. Heyer uses them to poke fun at some of the excesses of the era, but her humor is more light-hearted than coldly satirical. We want this unlikely couple to find happiness too, even as we laugh at them.
After my first Heyer, I went on to read as many others as I could get my hands on. Not a one-note writer, she wrote with astonishing flair and facility in a variety of genres and historical settings. Quite a few of her other novels are better than False Colours, which has too much talk and too little action, and suffers from Cressy not being given enough to do (aside from a memorable scene in which she puts paid to the blackmailing mother of one of Evelyn’s paramours). It’s when Heyer’s heroines really get to shine, as in The Talisman Ring or Friday’s Child or Cotillion, that her books are at their best, I think. But every one has pleasures of its own, and if you haven’t yet discovered them for yourself, I hope you will soon.
Thanks to First Impressions Reviews for inspiring me to write this post for her Georgette Heyer blog hop! Please visit the other posts for more about this author and her marvelous books.
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The Emerald City Book Review Archive 
So glad you liked it! I really have been meaning to try some of her books. I don’t like romance either, but it’s good to hear there is more substance to it. Thanks for giving encouragement.
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Some of her books are more substantial than others, and with the later ones she did sometimes seem to be writing to a formula, but at her best she’s smart and entertaining. Worth a look!
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What do you suggest I start with?
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The three I mentioned are among my favorites – The Talisman Ring (which is not a Regency), Cotillion, and Friday’s Child. I would probably not start with the heavier straight historical novels (Iike An Infamous Army or The Spanish Bride) but that depends on your taste. Looking at a library shelf and picking up whatever seems most appealing to you is a good way to decide – that’s what I did!
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Fantastic review Lory! Even though I read one of her Gothic novels I have to agree that I liked how unlike Austen she was and created a world all her own. I will have to read False Colours the for my next Heyer, it sounds like a fun read. Thank you for participating in the tour!
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I did find it a fun read, though some of her others are even better. Still, I always be fond of it as my introduction to Heyer.
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One never forgets their first. I feel that way about Jane Austen and think that is part of the reason why Pride and Prejudice is my favorite. By the way, I think you put the Goodreads widget to great use, and really like that you featured your want to read shelf.
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Oh good! Thanks for your help. 🙂
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The book I’m reading right now is also a romance set during the Napoleonic wars – Hangman’s Beach by Thomas Raddall. Hangman’s Beach is not a comedy, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. I’m not a romance fan, but classic historical ones seem to work okay for me. There is so much more to it than the love story.
Thanks for introducing me to Georgette Heyer – I will have to check out her books!
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Heyer’s historical research is impeccable, even when she plays a bit fast and loose with it (intentionally, I believe). The love story is only part of the fun!
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I’ve been meaning to try Heyer for at least a decade. You’d think I’d have found the time by now. But I will try valiantly to move her up the “to try” list, because your review/analysis makes her sound quite delightful.
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I, too, spent way too long not reading Heyer. Just watch out, once you start you’ll instantly add about 50 books to your TBR list.
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“Her Regency is not the lived one of Jane Austen, but a constructed universe that is slightly unreal, a bit too technicolor.” – I just loved this sentence, it’s such a brilliant observation! I haven’t read a Georgette Heyer novel since high school, and your post has made me want to revisit her books. 🙂
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That’s an excellent response — I do hope you follow up on it.
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Glad you enjoyed it! Cotillion was my first Heyer. And while I didn’t like it as much as The Corinthian, it was quite enjoyable.
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I think I need to do a complete Heyer reread at some point so I can definitively pinpoint which are my favorites. That would be a fun project.
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I still haven’t read any of Heyer’s books, but I know I should! I enjoyed hearing about how much you love her books 🙂
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Since you’re interested in the romance genre, you absolutely should. I think you will love them too.
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