Monday, September 13, 2010

What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

I just finished The Scarlet Pimpernel. What a rollicking fun read! Thank you, all, who recommended it to me.

The Scarlet Pimpernel was a "new" read for me, so now it's time for another "old" read. A friend asked me if I thought Georgette Heyer's The Black Moth had been influenced by The Scarlet Pimpernel. Since, at the time, I hadn't read The Scarlet Pimpernel and it has been years and years (and years) since I read The Black Moth, I couldn't answer her question. Now that I'm a few pages into The Black Moth, I see what she means! Not plot-wise, but in other ways that you'd have to read both books to see for yourself. So yes, I do wonder if Georgette Heyer was a fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel. If I have an opportunity to meet her in the next life, I'll have to ask. :-)

In the meantime, here's the back cover blurb for The Black Moth, by Georgette Heyer:

Lovely Diana Beauleigh was under siege. The notorious Duke of Andover meant to have her--if not with her assent, then by force. But Diana was not about to surrender her virtue. She had already lost her heart to the man who rescued her from the Duke--a handsome mysterious highwayman.

I will share a Tuesday Teaser from The Black Moth on Tuesday.


If you'd like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, it's not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us!

The Black Moth

6 comments:

Donna Hatch said...

I LOVED the Scarlett Pimpernell, and I have the Black Moth on my TBR list, so I'm anxious to see if there is a similarity.

Joyce DiPastena said...

Donna, it's mostly in the way the characters talk and their mannerisms, and the way the hero dresses. Those similarities will be most noticeable if you read the two books back to back. :-)

Jennifer Griffith said...

I love the Scarlet Pimpernel, but I also adore The Prisoner of Zenda. They seem like similar swashbuckling stories to me. Everyone should read both of them! :)

k m kelly said...

The Scarlet Pimpernel has been one of my very favorite books for decades. Now I'm gonna have to go read The Black Moth. I'd never heard of it before.

Tina Scott, author, artist said...

This seemed like a teaser to me. I'll have to go to the library and get them. Which one should I read first?

Joyce DiPastena said...

Jennifer - Ah, the Prisoner of Zenda! Another great movie my sister and I used to watch together. :-) I've never read the book. I'll put that on my list pronto! :-)

Tina - I'd start with The Scarlet Pimpernel, and then read The Black Moth. The stories aren't at all similar, but as I said to Donna, if you read them back to back, you'll catch a lot of the same speech patterns, manners, dress, etc, between the books. And after you read The Black Moth, you should read These Old Shades, also by Georgette Heyer. It's like a continuation of the villain's story from The Black Moth, only the author changed all the characters names for some reason in These Old Shades. But TOS is one of my very favorite, all time books!