Beauvallet

by Georgette Heyer

Book Overview

Bestselling author Georgette Heyer, the Queen of Regency Romance, introduces the most daring and dashing hero of all.

"Mad Nicholas" to his friends, "Scourge of Spain" to his enemies, Sir Nicholas Beauvallet is one of Queen Elizabeth's most dashing buccaneers and has never been known to resist a challenge.

When Beauvallet captures the galleon carrying Do a Dominica de Rada y Sylvan and her father, he vows to return...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402219512
• ISBN13: 9781402219511
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

a perfect blend of a sweeping romance and a gripping adventure.

Beauvallet by Georgette Heyer Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Rating: 5/5 When Dona Dominica sets sail on the Santa Maria, she wonders if she will ever meet the infamous El Beauvallet, the English pirate with a reputation of being able to do anything because of witchcraft. But she does not expect her ship to be taken by him, Nor does she expect to be kidnapped by him and taken abord his ship the Venture. Sir Nicholas Beauvallet captures Dominica and her father and proclaims that he will take them home to Spain, as Dominica has demanded. But falling head over heels in love with her was never part of his plan. In order to please her, he agrees to returning her to her country, but also announces that he will wed her before the year is up. How is Sir Nicholas supposed to come back to Spain to claim fair lady as his bride if all of Spain wants his head? The answer is easily--because Beauvallet can do anything, of course. This was such a sweet story! I cannot think of words enough to describe how much I adored Beauvallet. The romance was fast-paced, the adventure was exciting, and the language was eloquent. I absolutely loved it. It was a pretty fast read and I read it in a few days. Georgette has many little surprises spread all through the story and tells amazing creative adventures of Beauvallet's wits, fights, and escapes. It was a perfect blend of a sweeping romance and a gripping adventure. The story is told in third-person omniscient, so you don't always have all the details. It was a little hard to get inside the character's heads at first, but once I learned who they were It was very easy to relate to them. A wonderful thing about Beauvallet is that when El Beauvallet falls in love with Dominica, he does not claim her as his "love" or as his "mistress" or, in our culture, his "girlfriend," he claims her as his bride. Which is really the most romantic aspect of it all. The end was so sweet I won't tell what happened but rest assured it was wonderful. I loved this story so much! I have already run out to pick up more books by Georgette Heyer, I am officially a new fan! I cannot wait to read other books by her. Content: Gloriously clean: no language, no sex. Recommendation: Boys and girls (it's such an adventure that boys would like it too!) Ages 13-Adult. It's not aimed specifically to teens or young people, and would be perfect for an adult as well. (Beauvallet was first published first in 1929. Reprint copyright to Sourcebooks: 2010)

breathtaking spanish romance

this is a novel containing war and adventure and danger and love. accuratly historical, and a personal favourite, its love story is one of the most fierce in heyer's books. a fearless but also very tender and protective hero, a beautiful, brave heroine and a love with the most impossible dangers to overcome. what a wonderful, wonderful book!

Scope of Heyer

This book has all the classic elements of a great read: adventure, mystery, heroism, romance and the qualities of generosity and forgiveness. I loved it because of all that and the very human character studies. Georgette has a flair for the grande but without losing sight of humanity.

5 Stars for a Tremendous Romance...

" `And so we came off[]. You say a miracle? Ho, we do not count such trifles as miracles in the master's service!'" says one Joshua Dimmock of the end of the adventure that is Georgette Heyer's BEAUVALLET. The `master' is Sir Nicholas Beauvallet, English noble and pirate, a personage whose feats have built him up to truly mythic proportions in the eyes of both friend and foe. The `miracle' is `Mad Beauvallet's' most recent exploit--that is, stealing away a noble daughter of England's sworn enemy Spain, Dona Dominica de Rada y Sylva, not by any circuitous route, but by coming right to her home in Madrid. Even though she herself has declared him to be the "enemy of all Spaniards," from the moment that Dominica sets eyes on the dashing Beauvallet, she begins to become infected with his `madness'. And says he: "But I have it in mind, sweetheart, to make an Englishwoman of you". And so begins this wonderful tale of a man who either has nine lives or just believes he does and in the believing makes it so. BEAUVALLET is full of twists and turns, witty repartee (sharp writing, so much so that you will want to dog-ear the pages and highlight the best lines), vivid characters and a hero like no other! I have to say that you'll find that a solid slang dictionary really comes in handy. And while Heyer may be more well-known for her work in the Regency Romance genre, BEAUVALLET isn't Regency, but Elizabethan. Heyer's great with period detail and accuracy, so if you don't know the period vocabulary very well (and maybe a little Spanish and French as well) then you will find that there is a learning curve to get over before the story can really just sink in and carry you away. But carry you away it will! A True Romance.

Delightful and different

I thought I read all of Georgette Heyers books with the exception of a few of her mysteries but I was wrong. Somehow I missed this one. It is a gem that is not to be missed. My mom turned me onto Georgette Heyer when I was a teenager and I gobbled up all of the books at the library and used-books stores. I'm delighted to see so many of them reissued with forewards by popular authors. Although I'm offended my some of the authors chosen to write the forewards because their writing in no way can be compared to the deft and light touch of Georgette Heyer, I think it's wonderful that they are being republished and brought to the attention of a new generation of readers. Beauvallet is set in Elizabethan times. I'm not aware of any other Georgette Heyer book that is set in this time, so that makes it a treasure in itself. Nick Beauvallet is a rugged charmer with an eye for a pretty lady--so different from the other Heyer books where the heros are more intellectual and less down to earth. He's a self-made entrepeneur who also happens to be a pirate for England. It's wonderful how Drake and other famous historical characters are mentioned casually as contempories of Nick. Secondary characters steal the show very much like Heyer novels set in Georgian and Regency times. Joshua, Nick's sidekick is delightful. Nick's lady love is a feisty Spanish beauty who is worth the risk that Nick takes to rescue her from an arranged marriage in Spain during the time of the Inquistion. King Philip is a baddie as are his minions who are determined to impose their un-Christian version of Christianity on the general populace (or else!) The outrageous Nick Beauvallet outwits King Philip and his posse in an exciting narrative. You'll enjoy every minute of this old-fashioned but fun book. It's a rowdy and earthy book, very different than her Georgian/Regency books, which is not a bad thing. If I were to compare it with her other books, I would say it is most like The Talisman Ring in down-to-earth tone. I was surprised and delighted to discover it.