Powder and Patch book review

Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer

This book is one of the first by GH, and I wasn't expecting something great. First books rarely are. But I was pleasantly surprised. Powder and Patch, or The Transformation of Philip Jettan is light-hearted, well written, and fun.

Philip Jettan is the son of an English aristocrat, but he acts more like the son of a country squire. His speech is blunt and awkward (but honest), his appearance is rough and unkempt, but he has a strong sense of morals and a good nature (àla Hareton Earnshaw). Unfortunately, this is the age of both the dandy and the gentleman (late 1700s), and Philip has made the fatal error of mistaking roughness with manliness, and gentleness with weakness.

He loves Cleone, but she thinks him a brute, and when he asks for her hand, she declares that she prefers Bancroft, the fashionable nitwit. Since Philip is noble, he decides to swallow his mistaken ideas about manhood, and go to France for sometime to learn gentility. When Bancroft comes to France later, he finds Philip well-dressed (but not over the top) and gently spoken (a true gentleman), but without the loss of his strong character. Philip still despises dandies, but has made friends with the true gentlemen, and is the favorite of every one, "Petit Philippe" The plot starts twisting when Philip, realizing that Cleone was right but wondering if she truly likes nitwits, goes back to England and decides to play the fop (àla Sir Percy Blakeney) to see how she takes it. What follows is a trademark Georgette Heyer plot: with hilarious twists, confusions, and misunderstandings, and a happy ending.

Powder and Patch may not have an earthshaking moral, but the underlying theme, that being gentle does not make you less manly, is quite nice.