303:. The Duke displays LĂ©on before the Comte's wife and his son and heir. He notes the resemblance of the son, Henri, to LĂ©on's brother, Jean Bonnard, a tavern keeper. He also notes that the boy, LĂ©on's age, prefers rural life, and wants to be a farmer. After this excursion to Versailles, the Comte becomes greatly interested in LĂ©on and attempts to purchase him. Meanwhile, both Avon and his friend, Hugh Davenant, have realised that LĂ©on is actually a girl, LĂ©onie. LĂ©onie is wildly devoted to Avon, seeing him as her saviour from a life of abuse, rather than as dissolute and scandalous, as the rest of the fashionable world views him.
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Fortune favours Justin
Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon, casting in his way, one Paris night, the means to revenge himself on his enemy, the Comte de Saint-Vire. Avon literally collides with an abused boy, LĂ©on Bonnard, whose red hair, deep blue eyes and black eyebrows proclaim him a child of the
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The Duke journeys into
Champagne, where LĂ©onie grew up, to meet a childhood mentor, the village priest who educated her. This discussion confirms for Avon what he had suspected: LĂ©onie is the legitimate child of the Comte and his wife and was switched at birth with the Bonnard's newborn son, who has
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Once in France, the Duke introduces LĂ©onie into
Parisian society, where she makes a big splash. A rumour comes to Léonie's ears that she is the Comte's illegitimate child—the family likeness is very striking. The Comte then persuades Léonie that her illegitimacy is destroying the Duke's reputation,
310:
The dissipated Avon has come to care for LĂ©onie so while he continues his scheme of revenge on the Comte, he takes LĂ©onie to
England with him where he announces his intention to make her his ward. He teaches her to be a lady, while letting her be known as LĂ©onie de Bonnard. The Comte has become
311:
increasingly desperate and kidnaps her and carries her to France. LĂ©onie escapes from him with the help of the Duke's younger brother, Lord Rupert. The party is then joined by Fanny
Marling, the Duke's sister, and her husband, Edward Marling.
547:, Heyer determined that publicity was not necessary for good sales, thenceforth refusing to grant interviews. As she told a friend: "My private life concerns no one but myself and my family."
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was a melodrama and a sequel per se would not work in with the plot, she decided to make the new novel stand alone, renamed many characters and made them 'shades' of their former selves.
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been raised as the Comte's heir ever since, as the Comte feared his wife would not bear any other children and he was eager to prevent his younger brother Armand from becoming his heir.
322:. This breaks her mother, whose open grief betrays the Comte's guilt. Knowing he is ruined in society, the Comte shoots himself. His despised brother becomes the new Comte.
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This event spurs Avon to complete his revenge. At a large party, he tells the true story of LĂ©onie's life, then embellishes it by adding that she has drowned herself in the
407:
with the adventures of Avon's and LĂ©onie's son
Dominic, a shockingly selfish and indulged young man who elopes with a poor relation of one of his father's friends.
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Not knowing the exact relationship between the boy and Saint-Vire, Avon purchases him from his brother, a tavern keeper. He takes the boy as his
267:. 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
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as society views her as his lover. Her distress at this leads her to flee to live with the kindly village priest of her childhood.
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LĂ©on
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582:"Georgette Heyer: biography of a bestseller", Jennifer Kloester, William Heinemann 2011.
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Avon reunites with LĂ©onie, they express their true feelings, and they marry.
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Jane Aiken Hodge, The
Private World of Georgette Heyer (London 1984) p.70
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Henri de Saint-Vire, the Comte's supposed son, approximately 19 years old
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was itself originally intended to be a sequel to Heyer's first novel
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is said to be about 20 years old. However, she also refers to
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Justin "Satanas" Alastair, Duke of Avon, age approximately 40
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Jean
Bonnard, a tavern-keeper, LĂ©on's supposed older brother
435:(1921), which would redeem the devilish Belmanoir. But as
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49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
349:Armand de Saint-Vire, younger brother of the Comte
340:Hugh Davenant, the Duke's friend, in his early 30s
380:Lord Rupert Alastair, the Duke's younger brother
135:1927 edition (with same cover as first edition)
543:became popular despite its release during the
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393:'s epilogue poem to his collection of essays
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373:Harriet Field, the Duke's cousin, a widow,
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453:Tracy "Devil" Belmanoir, Duke of Andover
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
456:Justin "Satanas" Alastair, Duke of Avon
441:
556:
504:Lady Merivale (née Jennifer Beauchamp)
461:Lady Lavinia Carstares (née Belmanoir)
367:Lady Fanny Marling, the Duke's sister
7:
47:adding citations to reliable sources
741:The Transformation of Philip Jettan
545:1926 United Kingdom general strike
464:Lady Fanny Marling (née Alastair)
370:Mr Edward Marling, Fanny's husband
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509:Jack Carstares, Earl of Wyncham
493:Harriet Fleming (née Belmanoir)
389:The novel's title is taken from
214:Print (hardback & paperback)
23:
34:needs additional citations for
949:Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle
566:"Eighteenth Century Vignettes"
1:
496:Harriet Field (née Alastair)
16:1926 novel by Georgette Heyer
395:Eighteenth Century Vignettes
263:written by British novelist
1072:Heinemann (publisher) books
469:The Hon. Richard Carstares
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528:Frederick, Lord Colehatch
275:as actively involved with
1062:Historical romance novels
1052:Novels by Georgette Heyer
417:. It is also a sequel to
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805:The Convenient Marriage
564:Dobson, Austin (1894).
512:Anthony, Lord Merivale
485:Lord Andrew Belmanoir
501:Miss Diana Beauleigh
488:Lord Rupert Alastair
733:Instead of the Thorn
43:improve this article
1067:Fiction set in 1755
1057:1926 British novels
901:The Quiet Gentleman
869:The Reluctant Widow
674:Simon the Coldheart
525:Sir John Fortescue
472:Mr. Edward Marling
361:Walker, the Duke's
355:Gaston, the Duke's
343:Comte de Saint-Vire
273:Madame de Pompadour
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666:The Great Roxhythe
261:historical romance
58:"These Old Shades"
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203:Publication place
187:William Heinemann
151:Cover artist
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765:The Masqueraders
757:These Old Shades
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606:These Old Shades
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517:Frank Fortescue
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415:An Infamous Army
410:An Infamous Army
405:These Old Shades
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403:(1932) follows
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32:This article
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283:Plot summary
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
1013:Cousin Kate
1005:Black Sheep
925:Bath Tangle
797:Devil's Cub
789:Barren Corn
400:Devil's Cub
245:Devil's Cub
1046:Categories
941:April Lady
682:Beauvallet
329:Characters
297:Versailles
259:is a 1926
69:newspapers
997:Frederica
909:Cotillion
535:Precedent
377:to LĂ©onie
183:Publisher
99:June 2023
885:Arabella
423:(1935).
301:Louis XV
299:held by
277:Louis XV
173:Georgian
161:Language
957:Venetia
551:Sources
385:Sequels
288:Comte.
177:Romance
164:English
83:scholar
1032:(1972)
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781:Pastel
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728:(1921)
709:(1975)
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693:(1931)
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677:(1925)
669:(1923)
647:Novels
539:After
375:duenna
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222:352 pp
141:Author
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773:Helen
357:valet
320:Seine
219:Pages
169:Genre
90:JSTOR
76:books
293:page
198:1926
62:news
649:by
45:by
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39:.
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