[.ca] Black Moth (ISBN 0749305193)

A great debut - but not a great Heyer:
Let's be rational. Heyer wrote this book when she was only 17. In that case - the book is WONDERFUL, an amazing product for a teenager to have written. But let's consider what the author went on to produce - and how can you compare this debut - awesome though it is - to Heyer's other major swashbuckler - These Old Shades, which is by far the greater novel, widely believed to be a reworking (but NOT a sequel - that is an urban myth) of the themes explored in Black Moth. Let's take Black Moth. In its favour, we have a good, old fashioned D'Orczy-type swashbuckler, with silk coats and lace ruffles, a scary villain, and a beautiful heroine who doesn't really have very much to do - in marked contrast to Heyer's wonderful female leads in later novels. She is really just there to be rescued. It has moments of Heyer humour too, but Heyer was not at her best when using the stilted "Ecod!" language of the traditional 18th century swashbuckler. The female characters are strangely weak and border upon the two-dimensional, the male characters are not much better. As juvenilia, this is a masterpiece. As a mature novel, it seems faintly mediocre - but it is very readable and amusing. If you love Heyer, you MUST read this book, and see where it all started. You may even fall in love with it! it is not so unknown, after all. But if you, like me, dislike stilted pseudo-18th century language sprinkled with "ecods!", "t'were" and "t'was"; and like more gumption and character in your heroes and heroines, this book may prove slightly disappointing.

A Stunning Debut, That Still Stands Up Today:
Granted, Heyer's first book did not achieve the smooth sophistication of her later work, however, I feel that this book must be taken in context. She was so young to be able to plot, develop characters - not just the main characters but all of the peripheral characters as well, right down to the horse, create atmosphere, understand all of the complex adult feelings, actions and reactions that she bestowed upon her main characters, the understanding of timing, the wit, and so much more... how can anyone look at this book objectively and take it out of its context? It was a first book, a book that stands up today - the better part of a century later - and a truly remarkable achievement by a very young author who only got better and better as the years went by. She was not much more than a child when she wrote this, and deserves the admiration and most of all, the recognition from all of her readers and fans for the brilliance she demonstrated in this book.