4 Stars because it's a Georgette Heyer. - Rated 
I've given this 4 stars because it's a Georgette Heyer but in truth it's not one of my favourites. I just don't think it has the charm and wit of Ms Heyers later novels.
Whilst I could happily fall in love with the Duke of Avon, I think that Leonie is seriously irritating and don't like her at all. I'm not that impressed with Rupert or Fanny either. The attitudes and beliefs of the characters towards the lower classes leave you in no doubt as to why the guillotine became popular and all in all, I'd have to say that they're not that nice a bunch of people.
I do find a lot of the novel very amusing though perhaps not for the right reasons.
The first chapter where our hero 'minces' along in his high red heels, buys a page boy 'body and soul', and they both generally act like a Dom/slave couple in a gay S&M novel is hysterically funny. I doubt that Ms Heyer meant it that way though. (Or perhaps she was seriously ahead of her time, who knows?).
As I said, not one of my favourites, but if you're a Georgette Heyer fan, you'll probably want to read it anyway.
A Perfect Romance - Rated 
From the very opening scene, the reader is captivated - a perfect love story with witty and enchanting characters with none of the insipidness that unfortunately so typicalises the many romances available today. I highly recommend to any georgette heyer fan, or indeed a beginner - you will be hooked immediately! The sequel 'Devil's Cub', is also funny, enthralling and of course, wickedly romantic. Neither book should be missed!
My favourite - Rated
I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not falling in love with Georgette Heyer's style of writing.
Many other reviewers have explained the storyline of this novel beautifully, so I won't repeat what they've already said.
'These Old shades' is my favourite of all Georgette Heyer's novels. I've owned a copy for many years and it has become dog-eared from multiple readings.
If you haven't read any of her writing, give yourself the gift of starting now. :-)
Georgette Heyer - an overview - Rated
Like many other reviewers, I too came to Heyer in my teens, when I was ill and my neighbour loaned me her original hardback copies, and I have re-read them many times. And I ask myself, why? Essentially these are sub-Austen, the stories are improbable - or perhaps Shakespearean with all these girls impersonating boys, and in The Masqueraders, a boy impersonating a girl - and the characters privileged beyond belief in a society where most of us would have been agricultural labourers.
However, we are in good company. Antonia Fraser once wrote she knew she could have tamed the Duke of Avon, Stephen Fry reads them. I think it is because the history is good (although sometimes her timelines are a bit askew, as anyone who has worked out how Lady Barbara Childe can be in her late 20's in 1815 will have realised)and the language impeccable.
These Old Shades and Devil's Cub are the great sweeping stories; Venetia may be better, An Infamous Army more heartbreaking, but the Alastair family are the people she came back to, and seemingly so do her many readers.
This is a wonderful, plot - Rated
and character-driven book; indeed, it is the Tom Jones of romance fiction. Like Tom Jones, it is densely written and it is intricate. The plot is not merely a structure for explaining how and why the characters fall in love. Instead, the love story is a natural element of the overall plot. The story is subtly developed, like a good mystery; clues are dropped throughout and the big climax scene is stunning. When I read that scene as a teenager, I was so amazed, I re-read it and then re-read the entire book to that point to figure out why I hadn't picked up on what was going to happen. Unpredictability is such a relief. The relationship between the hero and the much-younger heroine is developed slowly. He is urbane and dry, she charming and playful. Despite their age difference, it becomes clear that they are well-suited. She balances him, and makes him human rather than the cold and arrogant man he is at first. Another important element is that the dialogue often resembles the dialogue in a Jane Austen book; the formalities and conventions of rank and address are respected. Finally, the supporting characters are well-drawn and entertaining, and the villian is truly disturbing. Since I read this book many years ago, I do not think I have ever read a better romance novel!!! And if you missed Tino Georgiou's--The Fates--I strongly recommend reading it.
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