anenko's review of These Old Shades
These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer
anenko's review
rating:
bookshelves:
crossdressing-and-genderfuck,
romance
status:
Read in March, 2008
Overall, I liked this book.
I had two major problems with the story, though.
The class issues made me deeply uncomfortable. One's birth parents (wealth and nobility, or lack thereof) have more impact upon a person's wit, grace and manners than the environment in which they were raised. A peasant's son is always a peasant at heart, and a noble's daughter is always a lady, no matter her upbringing. I'm sure it's historically accurate, but the ease with which the characters dismissed the poor and working class' concerns irritated me (Rupert's theft of the horse treated as a joke; Leonie's rough upbringing is horrifying only because she's actually a lady).
I'm not opposed to age differences in romance, but the twenty year gap between Avon and Leonie left me a bit uneasy (as a pet name, "my infant" leaves something to be desired). The power imbalance was a bit too extreme for my taste, as well. Avon is wealthy, older, knows secrets about Leonie that she doesn't e...more
I had two major problems with the story, though.
The class issues made me deeply uncomfortable. One's birth parents (wealth and nobility, or lack thereof) have more impact upon a person's wit, grace and manners than the environment in which they were raised. A peasant's son is always a peasant at heart, and a noble's daughter is always a lady, no matter her upbringing. I'm sure it's historically accurate, but the ease with which the characters dismissed the poor and working class' concerns irritated me (Rupert's theft of the horse treated as a joke; Leonie's rough upbringing is horrifying only because she's actually a lady).
I'm not opposed to age differences in romance, but the twenty year gap between Avon and Leonie left me a bit uneasy (as a pet name, "my infant" leaves something to be desired). The power imbalance was a bit too extreme for my taste, as well. Avon is wealthy, older, knows secrets about Leonie that she doesn't e...more
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