Thursday, April 26, 2012

A missing ring and a banished heir

The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer

Just the other day the Georgette Heyer listserv that I belong to was discussing which is the best book for a new Heyer reader to start with.  This topic comes up frequently, in part I think because people want to share the joy that they find in her books, and they want the book they choose to make a good impression (and possibly a convert).  Among my own favorites, I recommend The Unknown Ajax, Venetia, and The Talisman Ring as perfect places to start, and the discussion reminded me that it's been too long since I've re-read them myself.

The Talisman Ring is one of Heyer's early works, published in 1937, and it is set in the Georgian period rather than the Regency.  It opens in the winter of 1793, as Sir Tristram Shield arrives at the home of his great-uncle Sylvester, Lord Lavenham, who is dying.   Sylvester has a granddaughter, Eustacie, an orphan whom he brought back from France just before the Revolution.  He also has a grandson, Ludovic, who fled the country amid accusations that he murdered a local man in a dispute over an heirloom, the ring of the title, which he pledged in gaming.  Sylvester wants to see Eustacie married before he dies, and he has chosen Tristram to be her husband.  He ruthlessly rejects another cousin, Basil Lavenham, the next heir after the absent Ludovic, because he is a beau "who wears a green coat and yellow pantaloons, and a damned absurd sugar-loaf on his head!"

Tristram and Eustacie both accept the match, only to realize quickly that they are not well-suited for each other.  A romantic young girl, who dreams of adventure, not marriage to an older country gentleman, Eustacie develops an interest in her outlaw cousin Ludovic.  When she decides to run away to London to be a governess, rather than marry Tristram, she falls in with a gang of free-traders, and almost more adventure than she could have hoped for.  A handsome young smuggler takes her with him as they try to evade the Excisemen.  He is shot, and they end up at a nearby inn, The Red Lion.  Staying there are Sarah Thane and her brother Sir Hugh.  Sarah is quickly drawn into their adventure, appointing herself Eustacie's chaperone and helping to fend off Excisemen and Bow Street Runners, not to mention the Beau, pursuing Eustacie and curious about the identity of her smuggler.  When Sir Tristram arrives in search of his lost fiancée, much against his will he finds himself embroiled as well, protecting the young smuggler and searching for the lost talisman ring, the discovery of which could prove Ludovic's innocence.

He also finds himself drawn to Sarah, one of Heyer's most delightful heroines.  Not a young chit but a woman of twenty-eight, she has kept house for Sir Hugh when not jaunting around Europe with him.  She has wit and charm and a lovely sense of humor, and while Eustacie thinks her as romantic as herself, we know that Sarah also has a foundation of solid commonsense, which stands her in good stead in coping with the adventures she finds herself in.  Her brother Hugh is one of Heyer's great minor characters, a large man who reminds me of The Unknown Ajax's Hugo, though he is far more indolent.  A Justice of the Peace, he has strong views on smuggling, as strong as his taste for the brandy and other untaxed liquors in the Red Lion's cellars.  He ambles through the story, never quite sure what is going on but adding greatly to the fun of one of Heyer's best books.

11 comments:

  1. This really sounds...I think delightful is the only word for it! I'm so glad you provided a few works to read if you are new to Heyer because I've always wondered about it. I own a copy of Charity Girl - is it an okay place to start?

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  2. There are only a couple of Heyer romances (as opposed to the mysteries or historicals) that I haven't read and this is one of them. I'm not terribly fond of her more adventurous plots which is why I've stayed away from this - free-traders seemed ominous. But, after reading your fantastic review and having also been thinking about it since finishing Jennifer Kloester's biography of Heyer, I think I will have to try this some day!

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  3. The Talisman Ring was one of my first Heyers and remains in my Top 5 favorites to this day. It has my favorite type of Hero and Heroine, calm, humorous, and sweet.

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  4. To Claire above: Yes, you must read The Talisman Ring. It is so very funny, and the mystery is a really good one. The free-traders play only a small role -- nothing ominous about them.
    To Anbolyn: Charity Girl is not a bad one to start with, although it might not be on my recommend list for first Heyers. It's a very good one though.

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  5. Anbolyn, I'd have to disagree with Lori, I don't think Charity Girl is the best first Heyer. It's the second-to-last that she wrote, and while it is good, I think it lacks the energy and the snap of some of her books. I think you mentioned that your library doesn't carry her books, right?

    Claire, I think that reading the Kloester biography will probably set me off on quite a Heyer reading jag. I still have The Spanish Bride and some of the historicals to read myself. This is definitely one of her most adventurous books - but as Lori says, smuggling plays only a small part - like in The Unknown Ajax - and then Sarah is such a wonderful character.

    Lori, TTR was one of the books that I found later, but it instantly became one of my favorites. I agree with you completely about the hero & heroine (the real ones), and I have a decided tendre for Sir Hugh :)

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  6. This was the first Heyer novel I read and I enjoyed it, so I would agree that it's a good place to start. I loved Sarah Thane and Sir Tristram and I agree that Hugh is a wonderful character! My favourite Heyer book so far is The Masqueraders but there are still a lot I haven't read yet, including both The Unknown Ajax and Venetia, so I might try one of those next.

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  7. I love The Masqueraders too, Helen. My Lord Barham is so wonderfully imperious - and then there are Prudence and Robin, and the Mountain - more of my favorite characters.

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  8. It was a pleaure to discover GH a few years ago. What took me so long! This book is not one I've read, but it sounds like a good one to work in following some of the lit fiction that leaves me feeling hammered. She is so much fun and writes beautifully, always nurturing to read.

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  9. I'd definitely rate this one in my top five of her books. I'm always interested in how people discover GH. I stumbled across her, myself, and for years I didn't know anyone else who read her books. She does have a wonderful style, and I'm looking forward to reading the recent biography, to see how she learned her craft.

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  10. TTR is one of my top five too, but I'm delighted to see some love for The Masqueraders. It was my first Heyer (my older cousin had it in paperback when I was about 13, Lisa, to answer your question and made the mistake of leaving it lying around where I could pick it up and fall in love with it). It's one of my very favorite Heyers but it doesn't seem to be much admired.

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  11. I don't understand it, Susan, Is it because The Masqueraders isn't a a Regency, I wonder? I know that some people don't enjoy the old gentleman - which just baffles me!

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Thank you for taking the time to read, and to comment. I always enjoy hearing different points of view about the books I am reading, even if we disagree!