These Old Shades (1926) is a historical romance written by British novelist Georgette Heyer. The novel is set around 1755: Heyer refers to the Duke of Avon's participation in the 1745 uprising as ten years previous; in addition the Prince of Condé is said to be about 20 years old. However, she also refers to Madame de Pompadour as actively involved with Louis XV, whereas her relationship with the King ended at about 1750.
1927 edition (with same cover as first edition)
Georgette Heyer was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story conceived for her ailing younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. The couple spent several years living in Tanganyika Territory and Macedonia before returning to England in 1929. After her novel These Old Shades became popular despite its release during the General Strike, Heyer determined that publicity was not necessary for good sales. For the rest of her life she refused to grant interviews, telling a friend: "My private life concerns no one but myself and my family."
Georgette Heyer
Heyer claimed that every word uttered by The Duke of Wellington in her novel An Infamous Army was spoken or written by him in real life.
William the Conqueror, depicted in this statue on the West Front of Lichfield Cathedral, was featured in Heyer's first novel of historical fiction.
Edmund Blair Leighton painted "On the Threshold (of a Proposal)", now in Manchester Art Gallery. It depicts a courtship in Regency England, similar to those described in Heyer's historical romances.
