Review: The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer
Such a daring escape…
Their infamous adventurer father has taught Prudence Tremaine and her brother Robin to be masters of disguise. Ending up on the wrong side of the Jacobite rebellion, brother and sister flee to London, Prudence pretending to be a dashing young buck, and Robin a lovely young lady.Could cost them both their hearts…
Then Prudence meets the elegant Sir Anthony Fanshawe, and Robin becomes the mysterious hero of the charming Letitia Grayson, and in order to have what they truly want, the two masqueraders must find a way to unmask themselves without losing their lives…
If you read my you will know that I have been suffering from a bit of a reading slump. Books get picked up only to be put down again a little bit later. It might be the weather, it might be the fact that I am so excited about certain books that no others catch my interest but at times like these, I know there is always one way to get rid of those reading blues – a Georgette Heyer Novel.
I’ve already discussed and reviewed a book or two of hers, most of which take place in Regency England. But this time around I needed some action and adventure as well. For that I turned to The Masqueraders: Set in mid 18th century England, right after the attempt to bring Jacobite Bonnie Prince Charlie to the throne (1745) it begins at a roadside inn on the way to London where brother and sister Peter and Kate Merriot stop for a rest.
Rest isn’t quite what they get when they find themselves rescuing Ms. Letitia Grayson from an unwanted suitor determined to marry both her and her fortune. Then just as things calm down, an old family friend of the Grayson family, (who isn’t really that old ;)) Anthony Fanshawe appears – well, he was going to save the day but got beaten to the punch.
Sounds like a whole book in itself, right? Well, that was just the first chapter. See, Peter is a bit interested in Anthony and it seems that Kate feels the same way about Letitia… No, not typos. Confused? Well, Kate is actually Robin and Peter is actually Prudence. The brother and sister team are in disguise and heading for London to meet up with their father.
This is where the fun really begins.
See, Robin and Prudence have been masquerading as one thing or another for their whole lives. With their father pulling the strings, they have spent time in every European capital living under various false identities. But now they are back in England for their next masquerade and instead of just waiting for papa dearest to instruct, they have been getting into a mess all by themselves.
As they try to unravel the knots without revealing themselves to past pursuers they also have to face the fact that at some point, the masquerade has to end. Hey, they may even want it to!
This is one of those swashbuckling tales filled with damsels in distress, sword fights, duels, highway robbery, mysterious letters from the past and of course, a masked and mysterious suitor…
Georgette Heyer’s witty dialogue is there as are her endearing characters, plus a few not-so-endearing ones. Masqueraders is pure escapism that always gets me back in the reading game. The only problem with this book? You might find yourself talking like someone from the eighteenth century for a while. Struth!
Happy Reading!
As I mentioned on twitter, this is my all-time favourite Heyer. I would love to see someone competent make a movie of it. But yes, a wonderfull novel with witty dialogue and great characters. In the end, I thought that they should stage their own rebellion and set themselves up as the long lost Royal family.
Sounds like a fun and exciting read. I'm definitely interested in finding out how they could unravel these knots :-)
She's definitely on my TBR list!
Thanks for the review — I love this period in history and will have to add this one to my TBR list. Heyer's Beauvallet is a departure from the Regency era, as well. It's set during the Elizabethan era and is an action packed, swashbuckling adventure. I loved it!
LOVE!!! Thank you so much for the review;)