Intrigue, romance, loyalty and wit!

Any additional comments?

Thank you Naxos for another unabridged Georgette Heyer audio book. I was thrilled when I found this and "Venetia." Glad tidings for her legions of fans. Thank you Audible for making these available for your listeners.

This is a highly entertaining story with all the usual hallmarks that make Heyer's books so exceptionally wonderful. There is no one to match her clever plotting, vivid characters, witty dialogue, and humorous scenes

The narrator was perfect for the book. Her voice is clear and pure and captured Peter's (Prudence's) lovely personality, courage and loyal heart while handling the male characters with equal skill.

An exciting story set before the Regency, I highly recommend this delightful book.

33 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Swashbuckle City!

Most of Georgette Heyer's best known romances are set in the fairly sedate English Regency period at the beginning of the 19th century, but "The Masqueraders" takes place a couple of generations before that. The Hanoverian King George I has recently defeated the Stuart line of Bonny Prince Charles, so the politics are more unsettled and dangerous at this point in time. The French Revolution is 50 years in the future, so English aristocrats still emulate their continental counterparts in lavish dress, speech, and exaggerated manners. Duels are common and pretty much tolerated in a fairly permissive society.

Add to this exotic setting a couple of young adventurers, Prudence and Robin, who assume gender-bending disguises to obscure their politically- and socially-suspect past. Confused prospective lovers, a couple of duels and carriage chases, and an oh-so-eccentric father add complications and hijinks galore.

The story and characters are alternately charming and frustrating, as is the somewhat antiquated language assumed by the author. I believe that Ruth Sillers does a wonderful job of presenting this hodgepodge of French-accented and mannered English without often resorting to an overly arch tone.

I still prefer the Regencies, but "The Masqueraders" does offer some memorable characters, stirring action sequences, and a change in style and tone.

14 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Difficult to follow as an audio book

If you were expecting to find the clever repartee of Heyer's usual dialogue you will be disappointed. This is more of a farce than a whimsical romantic comedy. I am delighted by most of Heyer's stories but this is a forgettable and confusing tale.

27 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Early Heyer not up to Later Works

I don't especially like Georgette Heyer's early works compared to her more mature books, and I hesitated to buy this one when it became available. My low expectations were met. I might have liked it better, but I took an instant dislike to the narrator's reading, and it took me several attempts to get beyond the first couple of pages. My favorite character in the book is the twin's father, and unfortunately the narrator turned him into the buffoon. The narrator overall was annoying -- a little too sticky sweet, and actually hard to differentiate among the characters.

In fairness, I rank Heyer's mystery/adventure romance books like this one, Talisman Ring, The Toll Gate and others below her character-driven romances like Cotillion, Friday's Child, and The Unknown Ajax. But if you like a heavy dash of implausible adventure mixed with romance but with less depth of character and humor, this may be the book for you.

30 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Lots of Flaws In This One

Definitely not Heyer's best. Weird plot, with a brother and sister on the lam from British authorities because their father imprudently involved them in the Jacobite uprising of 1745. Sister Prudence is disguised as Peter while brother Robin dons petticoats as Kate.

Unlike "The Corinthian" and "These Old Shades," two other Heyer romances featuring young heroines who disguise themselves as boys, this one just made my eyes roll. I liked Prudence's swordplay and her romance with Sir Anthony, though both were over-the-top unbelievable. Robin's romance with the nitwit Letitia was totally absurd.

Add to that, I disliked "the Old Gentleman," the father whose actions and preemptory orders precipitate and drive the farce. His supposed charm was totally lost on me. The only real point of interest I found was Heyer's almost certainly unwitting but nevertheless accurate portrayal of a man suffering from what today would probably be diagnosed as mania, the "up" aspect of bipolar disorder. I suspect she may have modeled the Old Gentleman on someone she knew personally.

11 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Story is a wonderful one. Very wrong narrator.

What disappointed you about The Masqueraders?

The narrator, you just want to strangle her. Grating, awful men's voice. The voice of the "old gentleman" is so bad. . . ouch.

What other book might you compare The Masqueraders to and why?

April Lady by same author. Good story (although not as good as The Masqueraders) but again a disappointing narrator. To check contrast, try listening to a bit of both versions of "The Convenient Marriage" the better narrator is Richard Armitage and although I dislike abridged versions of books, it was an easy decision to choose the more suitable narrator. I can grit my teeth only for so long.

How could the performance have been better?

Narrators/performers Richard Armitage, Cornelius Garrett, Michael Drew and Tony Britton would all have done the book more justice.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

A good book spoiled.

Any additional comments?

Please get someone else to narrate and I'll buy the book again.

28 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Romantic, funny romp

The Masqueraders is set earlier in time than the Regency novels for which Heyer is best known. This fun romp of a book follows a brother and sister who had been involved in the unsuccessful "rising" of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and then and their father are now hiding with their lives at risk. Instead of fleeing to France, they change their appearance and hide in plain sight in the midst of fashionable London society. Sword fights, kidnapping, and plots of all sorts abound. This book is a lot of fun, closer in some ways to the Scarlet Pimpernel than to Jane Austen.

I had never listened to Ruth Sillers read a book before, but she does a great job of telling this story, making it easy to distinguish characters and capturing the feeling of the tale.

I highly recommend this!

22 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Classic Story. Wrong Narrator.

The story is a classic, and one of my favorite GH novels - I have read them all many times. It is set in the mid eighteenth century rather than the typical regency period of the early nineteenth, which is a nice change. As always, it is full of romance and wit and comedy, with sumptuous descriptions of the characters, the locations and the clothing.

However, I think the narrator, although very good, was the wrong choice for this audiobook. Her voice is wonderfully clear, but very young and feminine sounding. In my opinion, she was unable to make any of the male characters sound even remotely authentic. Particularly the male lead, who is described as a "mountain" - her teenage girl sounding voice just did not fit the visual image. In addition, I did not care at all for her characterization of Lord Barham - she made him sound like a ringleader performing in a circus. Yes, he is described as being bombastic and conceited, but her narration was just way too over the top for me. Also, she made the villains of the story all have very nasal voices, which made me think of Snidely Whiplash of the cartoons. Just too unrealistic, particularly since the character Letitia was initially supposed to have been in love with one of them. Not likely with THAT voice!

But despite my disappointment regarding the narrator, I still recommend it - absolutely ANYTHING written by Georgette Heyer is worth listening to!

28 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Wonderful

I find that sometimes there are parts to each book by GH that I find unnecessary to have been mentioned since they add nothing to the story. In addition, this book does not explain how the father knew certain details at the end when being questioned for verifying his identity. The story also lacks in passion, which is a GH signature. None of these issues just mentioned, however, will make me reduce my rating from a 5 star. This is wonderfully written book and very well developed characters. The story is so very funny in parts especially when considering the brother dressed as a woman and flirting outrageously with the men when he is in love with a woman. There were some absolutely hilarious moments. I highly recommend this book.

12 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Georgette at her most delightful.

Any additional comments?

A masterful mix of plots, schemes and romance, including disguised siblings, abductions, lost heirs, and highwaymen, all orchestrated by the egocentric father of our disguised brother and sister. This unique Georgette Heyer offering, takes place not in her usual Regency Period, but an earlier time just after the Jacobite Uprising, and as a result is a less familiar background to most of us. I have read this novel many times over the years, and snapped it up in audio as soon as it appeared. I found it a delightful listening experience, and look forward to visiting with these old friends often in the future. Narrator Ruth Sillers is new to me, and I thought she did and excellent job of bringing each of these characters to life.

12 personnes ont trouvé cela utile