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The Black Moth Introduction of the ebook: The Black Moth
Đánh giá : 3.70 /5 (sao)
An earl’s son turned highwayman…
A spirited young society beauty who is kidnapped…
A sinister duke, known as ‘The Black Moth’…
Set in the eighteenth century at Georgian England. Disgraced Jack Carstares, now rightful Earl of Wyncham, left England seven long years ago, sacrificing his honour for that of his eldest brother when he was accused of cheating at cards. But he An earl’s son turned highwayman…
A spirited young society beauty who is kidnapped…
A sinister duke, known as ‘The Black Moth’…
Set in the eighteenth century at Georgian England. Disgraced Jack Carstares, now rightful Earl of Wyncham, left England seven long years ago, sacrificing his honour for that of his eldest brother when he was accused of cheating at cards. But he is determined not to claim his title and instead turns highwayman. Now he is back, roaming his beloved South Country in the disguise of a highwayman. Not long after his return, he encounters the Black Moth, his old adversary, the notorious Lord Tracy Belmanoir, Duke of Andover, just in time to dispute at the point of his sword the attempted abduction of dark-haired lovely Diana Beauleigh. Once more Jack’s noble impulse to save the day landed him in trouble, but not before sending the villainous duke scurrying. Diana took her gallant rescuer in and nursed his wounds, and soon truer emotions grew between them. But Jack couldn’t stay, for a lady and an outlaw would make a scandalous pair. And the libertine Duke was foiled once, but the society beauty was under siege. The Duke of Andover meant to have her–if not with her assent, then by force. But Diana was not about to surrender her virtue. She had already lost her heart to the handsome mysterious highwayman who rescued her from the Duke. Torn between his tarnished past and the hope for Diana’s hand, Jack had one dangerous chance to reclaim his honor — by defeating the Black Moth for good! …more
Review ebook The Black Moth
The Black Moth was Georgette Heyer’s first novel, and it shows. It’s fun, but very lightweight.
It’s got a HIGHLY melodramatic plot, centering around one Lord John Carstares (our hero, Jack) who’s been accused of cheating at cards – the SHAME! especially since he only confessed to protect the real cheater, his spineless younger brother – and is now a highwayman (cheating at cards with your noble friends somehow being far more shameful than highway robbery), though he doesn’t rob old men or women The Black Moth was Georgette Heyer’s first novel, and it shows. It’s fun, but very lightweight.
It’s got a HIGHLY melodramatic plot, centering around one Lord John Carstares (our hero, Jack) who’s been accused of cheating at cards – the SHAME! especially since he only confessed to protect the real cheater, his spineless younger brother – and is now a highwayman (cheating at cards with your noble friends somehow being far more shameful than highway robbery), though he doesn’t rob old men or women who are on their own, and he gives most of his ill-gotten goods away to the poor. SO IT’S ALL GOOD. Jack is so unbearably self-sacrificing that it bugs, but otherwise he’s an enjoyable main character.
There’s also a dastardly duke who’s a master manipulator, a kidnapping or two, a couple of duels, grave injuries, thwarted love, and all kinds of fun and crazy stuff like that. Jack’s younger brother Richard has a lovely wife who is the most spoiled rotten lady imaginable … and her brother is the cold-hearted dastardly duke, so, trouble for the Carstares clan. The Duke is also the “black moth” of the title.
Personally I don’t find that a particularly compelling simile, but he’s also called “Devil” by both friends and foes, and that, at least, is easy to believe. When the Duke and Jack fall for the same lady, the lovely Diana, trouble compounds, with interest.
This is Heyer’s very first book, published in 1921 when she was only 19 years old. So old, it’s out of copyright and you can download a free copy on Gutenberg.org (or pay Amazon 99 cents if you prefer). Anyway, it shows its age and Heyer’s youth and newbie author status. Despite the fairly fast pace and all of the action and adventure, Heyer’s trademark witty dialogue is pretty much missing in action here, and is sadly missed. And the characters are pretty shallow, stock ones in general: the lovely and sweet heroine, the social butterfly, the wicked duke, his loyal friend who tries to encourage the good in him, and so on. But you can see, in embryo form, the skills that will make Heyer such a popular author later on. For a book written by a 17 year old to amuse her brother, it’s an admirable achievement.
I enjoyed it when I first read it several years ago … and, I have to admit, on my second read as well, despite its limitations as a literary work, and despite the fact (or maybe because?) I had forgotten some of the plot twists. I swallowed it whole on this second read, reading it in one day and staying up late to finish it, even if I was rolling my eyes pretty hard more than a few times. And hey, for a freebie, it’s worth a read, at least if you have any fondness for old-fashioned historical romances. …more
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