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Beauvallet Georgette Heyer Books

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Beauvallet Georgette Heyer Books

Loved this book!

This is a medieval tale, one of Heyer's earlier works, which she did not wish to see republished, but I am glad her family overrode her wishes.

Simon of Beauvallet, the H, is - well, he is inexorable. This is not a quality that makes one easy to be around, and not the type of personality I would typically be jumping to spend time with, but Heyer's development of his character is the chief strength of the novel and I absolutely loved getting to know him. And he *is* a lovable character - Heyer brilliantly pulled that off.

We know little of Simon's early life, save that he is the illegitimate son of a peer - Malvallet - who does not acknowledge him - and he is raised by his mother. After her death, he remains with a relative until he realizes that what he wants from life he will not achieve without striking out on his own. So, the novel begins at that moment, as we see a somewhat cocky, focused, arrogant teenage boy present himself [by marching through the front door!] to Fulk, the Earl of Montlice.

Fulk is bombastic, the father of a dreamy youth whose personality could not be more at odds with his own. He loves his wife. He is entirely captivated by Simon: by his confidence (which, coupled with his stoicism, spills over to be perceived as arrogance); his intrepid approach to achieving his life's goal; and his stoic acknowledgment of who he is, without self-pity or pessimism.

This early work of Heyer's shows considerable skill. As the novel unfolds, one can read into Simon's actions something of his past, of what makes him tick. We get to enjoy the friendship of a trio of young men: Simon, Fulk's son Alan [the dreamer], and Simon's half-brother, Geoffrey, whom we meet early in the novel.

We see Fulk's love and esteem for Simon grow, but we also see the mellowing of Fulk, which is a delight all its own.

Where I think Heyer's inexperience as a novelist may show through is in the last third of the book. It loses a bit of its snap and crackle, but not enough for me to dock a star or to even feel bothered by it. But it does deteriorate a bit toward the end. Perhaps this is why she was reluctant to see it re-published.

Finally, there is a romance here - well, a couple of romances - and they are delightful, but written in such a way that I would call this Historic Fiction with a touch of romance rather than a full-fledged Historical Romance.

Highly recommended

** a couple comments [very marginally spoiler-ish]

I read many reviews, here and elsewhere, and some did not like the old-style language in which this is written. That did not bother me; in fact, it added a lot to the telling.
Some were annoyed at the sexism - well, this depicts life in the 15th C., fully 600 years ago! - I think the portrayal is realistic, and, actually, the h is a woman who has a great deal of responsibility and status.
There is even an intimation from a reviewer that Simon is a pederast. Geez!! That Simon loves and esteems children indicates that his heart is not so cold, after all, and indicates to me a desire to provide to others what was missing in his own early life.


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Beauvallet Georgette Heyer Books Reviews

This is one of Heyer's earliest books. The language is very dense and true to the Elizabethan period, and thus somewhat more difficult to read than her later pure romances. I always wonder what Heyer had read to be able to pick up the period colloquialisms and speech rhythms so well? Certainly Shakespeare and other playwrights of the period, but I think she must have had access to other works, too. I enjoyed Beauvallet but it was a bit of a slog.
Set in 1586 in England, France and (mostly) Spain and the waters off their coasts, this is an early work of the classic author, Georgette Heyer, a swashbuckler with an English aristocrat, Sir Nicholas Beauvallet. “Mad Nicholas” prefers sailing his ship and troubling the Spanish galleons to enjoying the wealth he has gained and the family estate in England.

On one of his excursions, Nick captures a Spanish galleon carrying Doña Dominica de Rada y Sylvan, a young maiden returning to Spain with her ailing father. Instantly he is in love with Dominica, who is quite a brat at first, and vows to return her and her father to Spain. But Nick tells Dominica he will reclaim her within a year. She protests but is secretly thrilled. The man to whom her aunt would wed Dominica is loathsome to her.

Nick was well loved in England. Queen Elizabeth adored him and his friends included many notables, such as Sir Francis Drake. But to his enemies, he was the "Scourge of Spain".

This story is all about the hero and his noble (and quite funny) valet, Joshua. Though Nick is quite full of himself, he is charming in his conceit, and apparently, his conceit is justified.

Enjoyable romp with Heyer’s unusual witty banter.
Beauvallet is set in 1586 during the reign of Elizabeth I. This is just one way it differs from Heyer's usual Regency era tales, another being that it's about a hero traveling into enemy territory to claim his love.

Having won a sea battle with a Spanish galleon, Sir Nicholas Beauvallet finds that Don Manuel de Rada y Sylva, the late governor of Santiago, is aboard with his daughter Dona Dominica. Don Manuel is ailing and if he goes with the vanquished Spanish crew on the long boat, he may have to wait months for another ship to take him to Spain, so Nicholas promises that he will deliver the two there himself. En route he falls for the feisty and independent-minded Dominica, who is initially aloof but gradually comes to love him as well. When Nick pledges that he will come into Spain before the year is out in order to claim her, she wants to believe him but doubts that even Mad Nicholas would be mad enough to do such a thing.

Nick can seem boastful but I see it more as certainty and confidence in his own abilities - he has never failed to achieve whatever feat he set out to accomplish. His self-confidence is hardly surprising, he learned his craft from Sir Francis Drake as part of that noteworthy's expedition around the world and he's had many successful ventures of his own since then. He's obviously brave, he's skilled with a sword and fluent in a number of languages. But more than that, he's audacious and can think on his feet. He's a master at using deception and charm to lull his opponents into complacency and then seizing on whatever opportunities present themselves. His men trust his "madness" because it has been profitable for them and they know from experience that he will never lead them into disaster. As his ship's Master says, he is "bird-eyed for opportunity, and blind to danger, and he laughs his way out of every peril..." He succeeds because he dares and because, like the deceptions achieved by Robin and Prue in the Masqueraders and Kit in False Colors, what Nick does is unexpected and, therefore, it's unlooked for.

Dominica took a little warming to because she was so obviously drawn to Nick even while she was still giving him the cold shoulder. Some of this was no doubt pride but some of it was circumspection, as when she replied in the negative when her father asked her opinion of Beauvallet, remembering how eager she had always been to hear of his exploits. She is in a pitiable position having grown up in the relative freedom of Santiago's more relaxed social customs, her independent spirit will find no welcome in Spain where stifling rules and etiquette prevail for women. Even more dangerous are the Lutheran leanings she has secretly acquired, which place her at mortal risk should they become known in Spain where the Inquisition is in full swing.

To secure the fake papers he'll need to travel into Spain Nick seeks the aid of a distant French cousin, an old friend who accompanied Nick on his European ramblings in younger years. Nick gets what he needs but his typical good fortune leads him to something even better - after besting a Frenchman who was trying to steal his horse near the Spanish frontier, he discovers the man was the Chevalier de Guise, a courier for the powerful de Guise family who carries a secret, encrypted message to King Phillip in Spain. Nick doesn't hesitate to adopt the identity, papers and mission of the dead man, and they're off!

Dominica shows her own mettle and wits in holding off her ruthless aunt and guardian, who plans to marry her son to Dominica's extensive fortune, but her despair and feeling of aloneness are almost palpable before Nick shows up. At the same time, her fears about actually placing her life and future into Nick's hands and taking that irreversible plunge into a strange new world are realistic and understandable.

Nick and Dominica have some nail-biting adventures, alone and together, before their final nick-of-time escape. An entertaining tale from start to finish, with Nick's enterprising servant Joshua Dimmock providing invaluable support and Joshua's running commentary on his and Mad Nick's antics providing comic relief.
Loved this book!

This is a medieval tale, one of Heyer's earlier works, which she did not wish to see republished, but I am glad her family overrode her wishes.

Simon of Beauvallet, the H, is - well, he is inexorable. This is not a quality that makes one easy to be around, and not the type of personality I would typically be jumping to spend time with, but Heyer's development of his character is the chief strength of the novel and I absolutely loved getting to know him. And he *is* a lovable character - Heyer brilliantly pulled that off.

We know little of Simon's early life, save that he is the illegitimate son of a peer - Malvallet - who does not acknowledge him - and he is raised by his mother. After her death, he remains with a relative until he realizes that what he wants from life he will not achieve without striking out on his own. So, the novel begins at that moment, as we see a somewhat cocky, focused, arrogant teenage boy present himself [by marching through the front door!] to Fulk, the Earl of Montlice.

Fulk is bombastic, the father of a dreamy youth whose personality could not be more at odds with his own. He loves his wife. He is entirely captivated by Simon by his confidence (which, coupled with his stoicism, spills over to be perceived as arrogance); his intrepid approach to achieving his life's goal; and his stoic acknowledgment of who he is, without self-pity or pessimism.

This early work of Heyer's shows considerable skill. As the novel unfolds, one can read into Simon's actions something of his past, of what makes him tick. We get to enjoy the friendship of a trio of young men Simon, Fulk's son Alan [the dreamer], and Simon's half-brother, Geoffrey, whom we meet early in the novel.

We see Fulk's love and esteem for Simon grow, but we also see the mellowing of Fulk, which is a delight all its own.

Where I think Heyer's inexperience as a novelist may show through is in the last third of the book. It loses a bit of its snap and crackle, but not enough for me to dock a star or to even feel bothered by it. But it does deteriorate a bit toward the end. Perhaps this is why she was reluctant to see it re-published.

Finally, there is a romance here - well, a couple of romances - and they are delightful, but written in such a way that I would call this Historic Fiction with a touch of romance rather than a full-fledged Historical Romance.

Highly recommended

** a couple comments [very marginally spoiler-ish]

I read many reviews, here and elsewhere, and some did not like the old-style language in which this is written. That did not bother me; in fact, it added a lot to the telling.
Some were annoyed at the sexism - well, this depicts life in the 15th C., fully 600 years ago! - I think the portrayal is realistic, and, actually, the h is a woman who has a great deal of responsibility and status.
There is even an intimation from a reviewer that Simon is a pederast. Geez!! That Simon loves and esteems children indicates that his heart is not so cold, after all, and indicates to me a desire to provide to others what was missing in his own early life.