Heyer's plots

[girlyswot]

Inspired by a comment here, I have attempted to compose a list of Heyer novels for each of Ronald Tobias's plots:

1. Quest: The Talisman Ring
2. Adventure: The Corinthian, The Reluctant Widow
3. Pursuit: The Foundling, Friday's Child
4. Rescue: Charity Girl, Beauvallet
5. Escape: Royal Escape (there's a clue in the title, here!)
6. Revenge: These Old Shades
7. The Riddle: The Quiet Gentleman, The Masqueraders
8. Rivalry: Bath Tangle, Regency Buck
9. Underdog: Cotillion
10. Temptation: Venetia
11. Metamorphosis: Hmm. Tobias wants a physical transformation into a beast or some other fantasy creature. Any ideas?
12. Transformation: An Infamous Army
13. Maturation: Simon the Coldheart
14. Love: Okay, so they pretty much all fit in here.
15. Forbidden Love: The Nonesuch
16. Sacrifice: The Convenient Marriage
17. Discovery: The Masqueraders
18. Wretched Excess: Devil's Cub? Though this isn't actually the plot.
19. Ascension: Faro's Daughter; A Civil Contract
20. Descension: ???

Any more suggestions? Obviously several books fit into more than one category.

Incidentally, while I was 'researching' this, I came across the suggestion that These Old Shades is really a continuation of The Black Moth, with changed names and details. This had never occurred to me before. What does anyone else think about this possibility?

Comments

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

I thought that as soon as I read These Old Shades. Well, not exactly a continuation but she was obviously (I thought) playing with more or less the same characters but changing the situations slightly. The Duke of Avon is The Black Moth in love for real. I felt that it was as if she would quite like to go back and rewrite her first book to fit with the later version.

I can't be bothered to fit the other stories in to the plots but she probably does have them nearly all covered.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see. I was thinking about Carstares and the girl and I couldn't make it work at all. But yes, the Black Moth (what was he called?) as Avon makes sense.

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

Carstares and the girl (can't remember her either) were rewritten as the neighbours (Anthony and Jennifer, I think) but they were the least close to the original characters. There was a reference to him being nicknamed "The Highwayman" and to the fact that Avon had abducted her, or tired to, before their marriage. The sister and brother were similar to Fanny and Rupert although Fanny's husbands (Caratares's brother, wasn't it) were completely different.

Heyer, I believe, was asked to write the Duke (can't remember his name either) in love but also said that These Old Shades wasn't a sequel, although it has been suggested that the title refers to the similarities with characters in the first book.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

I'm fairly sure I read These Old Shades long before I came across The Black Moth and the characterisations are so much stronger that I didn't notice the connections. I barely remember the plot of The Black Moth, actually, beyond the 'not actually having cheated at dice (cards?) but honourably chose to take the rap instead of brother' storyline. I forget where the Duke came in, other than his attempt to kidnap Diana. I should read that again sometime. And These Old Shades, too.

I've always wondered what 'These Old Shades' actually means.

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

I read most of them over a period of three months when we were boarding with my uncle and aunt whilst trying to sell a house in Great Yarmouth and then buy one in Manchester. Both my Aunt and oldest cousin liked Georgette Heyer so they had them all in the house, so I read them. All my books were packed away and it wasn't the best time to spend money on anything other than moving. Consequently I would read the books quite close to each other so the similarities were obvious (mind you, the similarities between characters in all her books are quite strong, LOL!). I read a biography of Heyer last year, where the writer suggested that the title of These Old Shades was a reference to the earlier book but I don't know if there's any concrete evidence to back it up, other than the title doesn't really make sense, even as an allusion to hair colour.

I was thinking that Venetia could almost fit the Descension story, as it was commanly flet she would be ruined if she married Damerel.

P.S It always amused me that if Heyer wanted a heroine or location to be completely unknown and unheard of, she always located then in Yorkshire!

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

Typing errors again! That should be "commonly felt".

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, Yorkshire was absolutely the back of beyond. Not to mention the terrible worry that you might have an accent that would mark you out! Though I have to say, I think that the only character known to have come from Staffordshire was Mrs Scorrier's husband in Venetia. Not a flattering connection.

How is These Old Shades an allusion to hair colour? I always thought it was some literary allusion I didn't recognise. Shakespeare, or something.

Possibly if Venetia had ended with the promised orgy, that might work!

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

Shade of hair colour! I was clutching at straw trying to think of what the title meant! Shades of a previous book makes a lot more sense.

You know Heyer couldn't have actually written the orgy. He readership would have been far too shocked! Hopefully Venetia got one quite to her satisfaction, amongst all the quotations and overseas travel.

[coughingbear]

And I think there's a best friend in Black Moth who is very like Hugh Davenant in These Old Shades.

Interesting that's the only one you've put under Revenge, as I always used to think of it as a prototypical Heyer, probably because it was one of the first ones I read, but in fact it's not really. I can't immediately think of any others where revenge is particularly important either, though arguably it's a significant motive for Deb in Faro's Daughter, at least to start with.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

I read These Old Shades fairly early on too, but it's always been one of my least favourite and I'm always surprised by how many people really like it. Though I do love Léonie - I defy anyone not to.