Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ride ventre á terre to your Heyer supplier for this!, June 16, 2000
The Talisman Ring is a marvellous piece of comedy, high drama, farce, romance and wit. If you find Regency drawing-room dramas slow-moving, but enjoy the beautiful writing, and want something to set your pulse racing and your excitement on end - buy The Talisman Ring. If you love mystery, this book is considered by some to be Heyer's masterpiece from her mystery writing career - probably because it is not a mystery in the strict sense of the word. It is a late 18th century story of snowdrifts, misunderstandings, disguises, humour, murder, and stolen rings. The book is very romantic, with one of Heyer's most likeable casts - Eustacie de Vauban, the romantic, strong-willed French refugee, Ludovic, Lord Lavenham, refugee of justice, smuggler and rogue, Miss Thane, as sensible as she is romantic and inventive, and Sir Tristram, one of Heyer's sardonic dark heroes. With Basil Lavenham, the oily dandy, a charming innkeeper, his deaf sister, a couple of bumbling Bow Street Runners, and Hugo Thane, Justice of the Peace, this is a happy, very fast-moving novel full of the sort of corruption that the reader can forgive, and it is just the right length for a beginner. Younger readers, in particular, should thoroughly be recommended to read this book to introduce them to the world of Heyer and its high drama, stylised manners and wonderful language.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comedic and romantic Romp in eighteenth century England, July 7, 2002
Heyer really enjoys herself in this tightly woven tale of comedy, adventure and a touch of mystery thrown in. There are all the main elements of an eighteenth century bodice ripper - only no bodices get ripped and it is much more satisfying. Heyer knows how to play with characters and the elements to get the best out of it all. Her characters are wonderfully light and witty and the whole tale is just so difficult to put down.First off there is Eustacie who is an escapee from the French Revolution (although well before there was any danger thus breaking her romantic heart that she wasnever a romantic figure going to her death in a Tumbril). She is being set up for an arranged marriage with her cousin Sir Tristram - whose greatest wish is not to marry her at all. To escape this marriage she flees at night (despite terrible tales of the headless horseman which roams the nearby woods). In her flight she comes across a band of smugglers and her 'romantic' cousin Ludovic. There is the missing 'Talisman Ring' of the title of this book which will release Ludovic from years of exile as an accused (but naturally innocent) murderer. This book has one of my favourite Heyer heroines, the unshakeably prosaic Sarah Thane who steps in to help Eustacie clear her cousin Ludovic of murder and thus make them able to at last marry. In the meantime Sarah must work around the even more prosaic Sir Tristram. Heyer manages to turn the most ordinary events into wonderfully farcical situations. She has a coterie of secondary characters to support this - for instance the two sincere but bumbling Bow Street Runners, as well as Nye (the inn owner) and his deaf daughter. There is also a lovely turn by Sarah's self-contained brother who, despite being a stern upholder of the law being a JP, only cares seem to be food and good smuggled wine. The trouble with writing reviews is it never captures the essence of the humour and it is high in this one - I think Talisman Ring is one of Heyer's best. It was written in 1936 just before Heyer began her obsession with Regency Drawing room comedies - but this has the lightness of touch which her later Regency's such as Frederica, and The Grand Sophy have. It is all light and airy good fun. If you haven't read this one, then add it to the top of your Must Read list.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My first Heyer, and still my favorite!, April 10, 2000
By A Customer
My mother read this to me when I was a young girl back in the late 60s. I'd had minor surgery, and she picked this to read to me during my recovery. Even at such a tender age, I fell in love with this book and cannot remember how many times I have read it. Heyer was a master at creating unforgettable characters, and those in The Talisman Ring are no exception. Eustacie is a hoot. She wants a life of adventure, putting me in mind of Austen's Catherine Morland. However, Eustacie is not quite as naive nor as humorless as Miss Morland. She is lucky enough to have fallen in with Sarah Thane, one of the more delightful characters I have "met" over the years (she actually reminds me of an older Lizzy Bennet). Ludovic's earnestness and desire to clear his name are adorable, and Sir Tristram's maturity and level-headedness still make this old heart of mine go pitter-pat. Basil is wonderfully smarmy, and the completely befuddled Sir Hugh never fails to put a smile on my face. I must confess that I didn't guess the identity of the murderer right away, but was not surprised when his identity became known. All in all, this is a wonderful, entertaining read.
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