False Colours
by Georgette Heyer
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Book Reviews of False Colours
Book Review: Light and lively entertainment
Summary: 3 Stars
Since Georgette Heyer is the renowned queen of the Regency romance, I don't quite know how I missed her back in my Regency-reading days 20 or so years ago. I have really only just discovered her books in the last year or so, and have purchased several to try. False Colours is only the second of Heyer's Regencies that I have read (so far I have mostly read her historicals), so I obviously don't know how it compares to others in her vast repertoire. What I can say is that it is a light, lively and humorous romance.
The main male character, Christopher "Kit" Fancot, leaves his military assignment in Vienna and returns home unannounced to London because he has a strong, intuitive feeling that something is wrong with his identical twin Evelyn. He arrives to find his mother desperately worried because Evelyn has been missing for two weeks, and is supposed to have dinner the next evening with his fiance's family and meet her formidable grandmother, on whose verdict their whole engagement depends. Evelyn's marriage to Cressy Stavely will bring an influx of money into the family, which is desperately needed to pay their spendthrift and irresponsible mother's large debts. The twins' mother, Lady Danville, is frantic that Evelyn won't return home in time for the dinner, the engagement will therefore be called off, and she will face drastic and dire financial straits. She persuades Kit to take his brother's place at the dinner the following evening.
Needless to say, Kit's reluctant agreement to impersonate his brother for one evening snowballs into a much larger deception; the more Kit tries to pull away and pull out of it, the deeper he becomes entangled. What follows is an engaging story full of entertaining characters. Although it was obvious early on that Kit was going to fall in love with Cressy (his twin's fiance), what was not at all clear -- until the last couple of pages -- was how it was all going to work out. Would Evelyn return, and when? How would Kit get himself out of the increasingly tangled web of deceit he was weaving himself into?
Heyer's writing is strong, and her knowledge of the Regency period makes for a wonderful and historically solid setting. She uses Regency slang with a heavy hand, although it is usually not too difficult to figure out from the context what is being said. The main characters -- Kit and Cressy -- are immensely likeable. They are the two level-headed, kind and sensible people in a cast full of eccentric characters. Lady Danville is a wonderful character, beautiful, charming and childishly irresponsible; and yet, under her frothy and fluffy exterior lies a sharp and subtle mind that always manages to get others to do what she wants.
Other reviewers have commented on the excessive use of exclamation points, and I did notice that myself right off the bat. However, once I sunk into the story they were less noticeable. I do think that Heyer's over-use of exclamation points was, in part, a way of emphasizing the breathless and excitable quality of Lady Danville's speech; she was the most "frequent offender" and, in the one very serious scene she has with Cressy near the end of the book, her speech uses very few exclamation points.
It is easy to see why Georgette Heyer is the queen of the Regency; if this is a period that interests you, then you can't go wrong with one of her books.
Book Review: Heyer's droll humor and appreciation for the ridiculous truly come to play.
Summary: 4 Stars
Christopher "Kit" Fancot knows that something has gone wrong. He and his twin brother Evelyn have always known when the other was in trouble, wounded or worse and Kit has a very strong feeling that something has happened to Evelyn. His mother is in a huge amount of debt and his twin brother Evelyn has gone missing. Evelyn needs to be able to meet with his fiance Cressida Stavely's family or risk having an elderly matron frown on the marriage of convenience (he wants to wind up his Trust, she wants to be free of her father and his new wife) and call the whole thing off. If Kit's twin doesn't marry, the family fortune won't be made available to him, and their mother's fantastic debts will lead to trouble for all involved.
That's when his mother hits upon an idea he wishes she hadn't. No one knows Kit is in town, so Kit can pose as Evelyn! For just one evening, she promises. In true Georgette Heyer style the crazy idea spawns yet more crazy and untenable circumstances that have Kit living in Evelyn's shoes for far longer than he wishes to and results in him feeling more for his twin bother's fiance than he really should.
I loved reading about this tangle of a situation that was created by Evelyn's disappearance. The trouble Kit has assuming his new brother's role in life puts all of his combined acting talent and diplomacy to the ultimate test. Plus there was always the threat of discovery.
The true representation of the period, the way that the characters thought, spoke and acted within the confines of their social standing and situations was delightful to read, and I love how the characters were drawn and portrayed throughout. Kit's mother was hilarious to read about as she thoughtlessly blew through her money, and Kit often had a sense of humor that made his uncomfortable situation at times very amusing.
Heyer's droll humor and her appreciation for the ridiculous truly come to play in this novel and if you are looking for a fun read true to the regency period than this novel will have you laughing your socks off.
Book Review: Amusing but not her best
Summary: 3 Stars
"False Colours" starts out on an excellent premise, an identical twin stands in for another when the first disappears under odd circumstances. He of course is very much attracted to the girl meant for the older twin. And the complications increase particularly when the girl's aunt invites herself for a visit.
This could have been a romp, punctuated by Georgette Heyer's typically incisive and well-written commentary. But, like the picture that decorates the cover of this edition, showing a singularly ill-at-ease and immature young man and a truly vapid girl at his side, this is not her best. While the hero and heroine are charming and ill-deserving of that illustration, one "lesser" character, the beautiful but totally irresponsible mother, proved such an irritant to me that she quite spoiled the story, particularly when she was rewarded for her selfish behavior. Her charm was lost on me. And I was a little surprised as Heyer does not usually treat such characters kindly and never gives them such a major role in a book.
Perhaps it was the fault of the cover! Perhaps I simply wasn't in the mood. But dearly as I enjoy my Georgette Heyers, I enjoy some far more than others. I believe what was so irritating about this book was that it is so close to being of the first water! While I don't recommend it as an introduction to the author, I still found it enjoyable and sometimes even touching.
Book Review: Twice as nice...
Summary: 4 Stars
If there is a more delightful creation than the lovely and extravagant Lady Denville, the thistledown mother of the handsome twin heroes of "False Colours," I haven't come across her. In spite of her maddening inability to economize, her sons, the responsible, but totally charming Kit and his brother Evelyn (Lord Denville), who sails nearer the wind, love her dearly. When she is nearly capsized by enormous debts, Evelyn proposes to Cressy Stavely intending thereby to break a trust that limits his access to the money he needs to bail his mother out. But on the eve of a party meant to introduce Denville to Cressy's relatives, especially to her redoubtable grandmother (whose consent is essential), Evelyn is nowhere to be found, and Kit takes his place. How will Kit manage to find his missing brother, keep his flyaway mother from sinking under her debts, and avoid falling in love with Cressy? These questions are answered in a book overflowing with effervescent conversation, Regency humor, and some surprisingly poignant character developments.
(Mild spoiler) The only quibble I have with this lovely book is that a very significant character related to Evelyn never appears, which I found very unsatisfying. In fact the end seems a bit abrupt, partly for that reason. However, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this novel--almost totally enjoyable.
Book Review: The Best of the Betas!
Summary: 4 Stars
Kit is a good-looking man, but not drop-dead gorgeous. As a younger son, he is also not titled or unbelievably wealthy. But he is a quick-witted young man, with a terrific sense of humor, a kind heart, a deep sense of loyalty to his missing twin brother and a lot of love and tolerance for his erratic mother - all of which lands him in a scrape, when he takes his brother's place at an engagement party. It was meant to spare Cressy any embarrassment; this lady had gathered all her relatives to meet the Earl of Denville, her fiance. But Denville is missing, so Kit fills in...and then has to continue the masquerade, when Denville remains at large.
In short, Kit is a perfect Beta hero. Cressy is not the best of Heyer's heroines, partly because Kit's mother steals the limelight whenever she appears, along with her snuff-stained and very fat admirer. Not all of the secondary characters are as well-developed as one might wish, so I would not consider this among Heyer's best books, but it is very charming and the resolution of everyone's problems is extremely entertaining.