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A delightfully light hearted romance novel with a lot of humor and a little mystery thrown in for good measure.— Christine Plaisted
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"... A long-lost family heirloom, a young heir falsely accused of murder, a band of smugglers, two utterly delightful Heyer heroines, a taciturn, but highly resourceful older gentleman - all play their parts in a tale funny enough to have you laughing aloud."
Publishers Weekly
One of Heyer's funniest Regency romances, and one of readers' favorites.
An impetuous young lady and a fugitive nobleman...
When spirited Eustacie stumbles into a band of smugglers, she is delighted to be having an adventure at last. Their leader, young heir Ludovic Lavenham, is in hiding, falsely accused of murder. Pursued by the law, Eustacie and Ludovic find refuge at an unassuming country inn.
And the delightfully sensible couple who try to keep them out of trouble...
The resourceful Miss Sarah Thane and the clear-thinking Sir Tristram Shield gamely endeavor to prevent Ludovic's arrest and Eustacie's ruin as the four conspire to recover the missing talisman ring that will clear Ludovic's name.
WHAT READERS SAY:
"A story in the manner of Jane Austen, of domestic comedy and love affairs."
Times Literary Supplement
"A sparklingly witty book that had me laughing out loud."
"A perfect blend of romance, adventure, and, especially, humor. One couple is young and brash and fun, and the other is older and more mature. Seeing the older couple's relationship grow is one of the story's highlights.
"This is a wonderfully rich novel, full of excellent secondary characters with lots of charm and wit."
"Nonstop laughter from cover to cover... probably because there are two heroes and two heroines, and their chemistry with each other is just sparkling!"
"Hilarious! A hallmark of most of Georgette Heyer's works is her sense of humor... her wit and comedic timing are at their best."
Excerpt from Chapter One
Sir Tristram Shield, arriving at Lavenham Court in the wintry dusk, was informed at the door that his greatuncle was very weak, not expected to live many more days out. He received these tidings without comment, but as the butler helped him to take off his heavy-caped driving-coat, he inquired in an unemotional voice: 'Is Mr Lavenham here?'
'At the Dower House, sir,' replied the butler, handing the coat and the high-crowned beaver hat to a footman. He nodded austere dismissal to this underling, and added with a slight cough: 'His lordship has been a little difficult, sir. So far his lordship has not received Mr Lavenham.'
He paused, waiting for Sir Tristram to inquire after Mademoiselle de Vauban. Sir Tristram, however, merely asked to be conducted to his bedchamber, that he might change his dress before being admitted to his great-uncle's presence.
The butler, as well aware as everyone else at the Court of the reason of Sir Tristram's sudden arrival, was disappointed at this lack of interest, but reflected that Sir Tristram, after all, had never been one to show what he was thinking. He led the way in person across the hall to the oak stairway and went with Sir Tristram up to the Long Gallery. Here, on one side, portraits of dead Lavenhams hung, and, on the other, tall, square-headed mullioned windows looked south over a well-timbered park to the Downs. The silence of the house was disturbed by the rustle of a skirt and the hasty closing of a door at one end of the Gallery. The butler had a shrewd suspicion that Mademoiselle de Vauban, more curious than Sir Tristram, had been waiting in the Gallery to obtain a glimpse of him. As he opened the door into one of the bed-chambers he cast a glance at Shield, and said: 'His lordship has seen no one but the doctor, sir - once, and Mamzelle Eustacie, of course.'
That dark, harsh face told him nothing. 'Yes?' said Shield. It occurred to the butler that perhaps Sir Tristram might not know why he had been summoned into Sussex. If that were so there was no saying how he might take it. He was not an easy man to drive, as his great-uncle had found more than once in the past. Ten to one there might be trouble.
Sir Tristram's voice interrupted these reflections. 'Send my man up to me, Porson, and inform his lordship of my arrival,' he said.
The butler bowed and withdrew. Sir Tristram walked over to the window, and stood looking out over the formal gardens to the woods beyond, still dimly visible through the gathering twilight. There was a sombre frown in his eyes, and his mouth was compressed in a way that made it appear more grim than usual. He did not turn when the door opened to admit his valet, accompanied by one footman carrying his cloak-bag, and another bearing two gilded candelabra, which he set down on the dressing-table. The sudden candlelight darkened the prospect outside. After a moment Shield came away from the
window to the fireplace and stood leaning his arm along the high mantelshelf, and looking down at the smouldering logs. The footman drew the curtains across the windows and went softly away. Jupp, the valet, began to unpack the contents of the cloak-bag, and to lay out upon the bed an evening coat and breeches of mulberry velvet, and a Florentine waistcoat. Sir Tristram stirred the logs in the grate with one top-booted foot. Jupp glanced at him sideways wondering what was in the wind to make him look so forbidding. 'You'll wear powder, sir?' he suggested, setting the pounce-box and the pomatum down on the dressing-table.
'No.'
Jupp sighed. He had already learned of Mr Lavenham's presence at the Dower House. It seemed probable that the Beau might come up to the Court to visit his cousin, and Jupp, knowing how skilled was Mr Lavenham's gentleman in the arrangement of his master's locks, would have liked for his pride's sake to have sent his own master down to dinner properly curled and powdered. He said nothing, however, but knelt down to pull off Sir Tristram's boots.
Half an hour later Shield, summoned by Lord Lavenham's valet, walked down the Gallery to the Great Chamber, and went in unannounced.
The room, wainscoted with oak and hung with crimson curtains, was warmed by a leaping fire and lit by as many as fifty candles in branching candelabra. At the far end a vast four-poster bed was set upon a slight dais. In it, banked up with pillows, covered with a quilt of flaming brocade, wearing an exotic bedgown and the powdered wig without which no one but his valet could ever remember to have seen him, was old Sylvester, ninth Baron Lavenham.
Sir Tristram paused on the threshold, dazzled momentarily by the blaze of unexpected light. The grimness of his face was lessened by a slight sardonic smile as his eyes took in the magnificence and the colour about him. 'Your death-bed, sir?' he inquired.
A thin chuckle came from the four-poster. 'My death-bed,' corroborated Sylvester with a twinkle.
This is one of the few Heyer novels I managed to skip over when I bought the rest of her works. Don't ask me why I skipped it, I don't know. I do things that surprise me at times.
I really loved this novel. It had it all...comedy, mystery and romance. It was as perfect as perfect can get without becoming obnoxious. The characters were awesome. I especially loved Sir Tristram Shield and Miss Sarah Thane. I had such a crush on Tristram. Tristram was so much smarter than everyone else. He was always at least ten steps ahead of all the other characters. If I was Eustacie, I would have married him in a split second. I also really liked Sarah. She was so smart. She had her head firmly on her shoulders. I really love strong, intelligent female characters. The dialogue was sharp and witty. Without giving anything away, the proposal scene at the end was hilarious. This was a great hybrid... regency romance mixed with mystery mixed with comedy. I found that those three elements really worked together well.
I did find, however, that the story got a bit weak at times. Not often but enough that I noticed it and only for a chapter or two. I found that this generally happened when Ludovic and Eustacie were the main focus. I couldn't stand Eustacie. She was so flighty and insipid. Definitely not my sort of character. I didn't like Ludovic either but I didn't want to bash my head into a wall when he was around. This couple did not have the charm or grace that Tristram and Sarah had.
The Talisman Ring would be a great for a Heyer fan that has already exhausted the other Heyer Regency romances and is looking for something a bit different. This might not be the best intro to Heyer but for a veteran, it's a great read.
Sourcebooks also does a great job of re-issuing these Heyer books. The cover design is really pretty and reflects the novel perfectly.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.kazbels
Posted November 11, 2009
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This is one of my favorite books, not just by Georgette Heyer, but altogether. I love the sense of fun that romps through the book, the characters that jump off the page, the clever plot. This is not just another romance; there's intrigue and mystery. But it's the characters that make this a must-read; no confusing Estacia and Sarah for the mindless damsels found in many other books. This book doesn't miss a step. I've read it again and again and highly recommend it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 12, 2000
I had to buy this reissue when I heard how much praise has been given to Heyer - now I know why. This book is her best, the witty dialogue and wonderful characters really jump out and have the most wonderful chemistry going on. I've read nearly all of her books now and this one is my favorite for it's well spun romance and the added mystery that her others didn't have. Well worth the investment!
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I've recently discovered Georgette Heyer--I have no idea why I didn't find her earlier, when I absolutely devoured anything remotely Austen-like, but I'm glad I found her now! The Talisman Ring is a thoroughly delightful story in her classic style. It has mystery, romance, and absolutely wonderful characterization. I don't know how she did it, but all of Heyer's books that I have read have totally unique characters in them; not a single cookie cutter in the bunch. Sir Tristram Shield and Miss Sarah Thane have become two of my all-time favorite fictional characters. Their chemistry and clever repartee is brilliant! I especially loved how Sarah deals with the often overly dramatic and always French younger heroine, Eustacie. Although the novel initially starts off slow, once the plot gets going you won't want to put it down. I'll definitely be adding this to my "must reread again, and often" list.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 4, 2013
One of my favorite heyers.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 3, 2013
Tonu?
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.flyhawk
Posted June 4, 2010
I Also Recommend:
One of my favorite authors, I've been reading and re-reading her Regency romances since high school 35 years ago. My older sister read this book first and said "you have to read this!" I've been hooked since then.
I admit I'm old fashioned. I enjoy reading a ROMANCE novel, not a few pages of instructions on sexual technique. Romance is about love, not lust, and respect. And I REALLY don't care about anyone else's sex life!)
The characters are enjoyable, the plot is classic. One heroine is fiesty and dramatic, the other practicle with a sense of humour. The wronged hero, and his exasperated cousin - and which character is really the bad guy? The difference in reading a book in my teens, and now in my 50's is with which character do I sympathize more!
A different time, place and culture lets me suspend judgement on their behaviour. (When reading the "modern" romances in my teens, I realize quite a few were actually in mentally abusive relationships (he starts out hating her and behaving badly and ends up "loving" her - yeah, right..., and now they're more about the sex than the relationship.)
This is a book to enjoy, not dissect. Enough suspense for a good time, but not too much, so you can put it down and get some sleep. I read it again and again, when I feel like smiling, and want the sense of satisfaction of a happy ending.
A_Chris
Posted February 24, 2010
I Also Recommend:
It is too bad that the categories to rate the book do not include "humorous" because that is the characteristic of the book that I love most. This is romantic comedy set in Sussex, England at the time of the revolution in France. The two romantic pairs are different in age and temperament, which leads to a great deal of amusing dialogue.
Our younger heroine, Eustacie de Vauban, longs for adventures, and finds one when she runs away from the engagement arranged by her recently deceased grandfather to Sir Tristram Shield, whom she deems to be without romance or sensibility. Captured by a set of smugglers, she learns that their leader is her cousin Ludovic Lavenham, who has been in hiding after being accused of murdering a man some years before. When he is wounded, they go to hide in the inn where the brandy was to be delivered.
There we meet my favorite fictional heroine, Sarah Thane, who appears to enter into all of Eustacie's feelings, and in fact becomes her chaperone during the adventure. She is able to sense the humor underneath Sir Tristram's sober manner, and pulls him in with delightful teasing remarks and her intellegent approach to life. Lots of fun side characters and events as they search for the real murderer and Ludovic's missing talisman ring.
ChrisandMaya
Posted April 13, 2009
A witty period piece, ideal for a rainy afternoon.
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Overview
"... A long-lost family heirloom, a young heir falsely accused of murder, a band of smugglers, two utterly delightful Heyer heroines, a taciturn, but highly resourceful older gentleman - all play their parts in a tale funny enough to have you laughing aloud."
Publishers Weekly
One of Heyer's funniest Regency romances, and one of readers' favorites.
An impetuous young lady and a fugitive nobleman...
When ...