Heyer Titles Breeding
I'm a big fan of Georgette Heyer and belong to the Heyer list, an e-list for discussing Heyer's works. Recently, some of us came up with cross-bred titles based on Heyer's novels, and here they are. If you'd like to send in a title for the collection, please e-mail me.
With thanks to everyone on the Heyer list who contributed titles, to the lady patronesses and in particular to The Incomparable Sherrie, who started the whole thread.
Pistols for Kate (Pistols for Two and Cousin Kate)
A homeless young woman improves her financial position by taking to highway robbery.
The Quiet Wind (The Quiet Gentleman and No Wind of Blame)
Investigations into the murder of a young ne'er do well who was highly unpopular for his habit of eating beans for breakfast every day.
These Old Gentlemen (These Old Shades and The Quiet Gentleman)
Elderly heroes reminisce about the good old days.
Footsteps in the Tollgate (Footsteps in the Dark and Tollgate)
A mysterious ghost haunts an out-of-the-way tollgate.
Devil's Daughter (Devil's Cub and Faro's Daughter)
The wild daughter of a peer turns London on its ear when she kidnaps a bookish young parson in her parish, mistakenly thinking he is the parson's rabble-rousing older brother.
*Sherrie*
They Found Him a Butler (They found him Dead and Why Shoot a Butler)
Two bright young things marry and move to the country but you just can't get the staff these days. Especially in creepy old houses.
Why Shoot Casca (Why Shoot a Butler and Envious Casca)
The bright young things get up amateur theatricals. It seemed such a good idea to play Shakespeare in modern dress. Alas, someone swaps the guns around and the ammo is the real thing.
Poison Penhallow (Behold here's Poison and Penhallow)
Poison pen letters are flying in all directions. Who is to blame.
*Phyllis*
MUSLIN ARMY (Sprig Muslin & An Infamous Army)
A group of headstrong girls decide to band together and join their lovers on the battlefield.
DUPLICATE SHEEP (Duplicate Death & Black Sheep)
This has to be a romance about two clones falling in love.
THE UNKNOWN BUTLER (The Unknown Ajax & Why Shoot A Butler)
The Superior Butler replacing a murdered family retainer turns out to be the missing heir.
WHY SHOOT REGENCY BUCK? (Why Shoot a Butler & Regency Buck)
This is a do-it-yourself mystery, with the story developing differently depending upon which of the offered pages you choose to read.
BRIDE FOR TWO (The Spanish Bride & Pistols for Two)
An extremely torrid tale, including exotic settings, violence, nights in sinister inns, big misunderstandings and (of course) bigamy. Not for the faint-hearted!
BATH, POWDER & PATCH (Bath Tangle & Powder & Patch)
A Regency Guide to the Art of Ablution.
*Deb*
A Grand Army (AIA and TGS)
Napoleon's army solves the entire continent's relationship problems in a happy way before falling at Waterloo.
*Tim*
Velour (Venetia and False Colours)
Tells the tragic tale of a twin whose terrible sense of taste and materials haunts him, he later assumes his older and more sophisticated twins identity to "make it" with the ladies - a terrible case of misidentity is prevented when he falls for a dissolute countess who has moved to the next door estate and retires happily to the country
Pensimon (or Pentsimmon in modern speak - Penhallow and Simon the coldheart)
A medieval knight returns to his castle in Cornwall where he is harassed by relatives - he achieves solace by planting a cottage garden to offset the castle's panoramic sea vistas and provide a softening effect against the unrelieved stone facade.
Civillian (A civil Contract and Cotillion)
A young man is forced to make a choice - join a crack cavalry regiment and therefore dress with suave sophistication - or save his estates by becoming *gasp* a Civillian
*Anne*
"These Old Blinds" and "These Old Drapes"
The further adventures of the Alastair family and their offspring
Carnavale
The further adventures of the Masqueraders as they attend carnavale in Venice......
Black moth to a flame
His grace of Andover finally meets the woman who melts his heart and leads him a merry chase before they settle down and tie the knot....
The Somesuch
The story of Sir Waldo's heir...
*Jane*
The Sheepish Moth (Black Sheep and The Black Moth)
A battered moth with bent antennae and shredded wings limps home after spending a wild night trying to beat out his brains on the neighbor's porch light. ***OR*** A large moth falls in love with the heroine and kidnaps her, but once he gets her home he doeesn't know what to do with her because . . . well . . . he's a moth.
These Old Brides (These Old Shades and Spanish Bride)
A bunch of elderly Heyer heroines get together for tea and complain about their husbands.
Old Buck (These Old Shades and Regency Buck)
the story of a faithful dog who rescues Timmy from the well, saves Grandpa from a charging bull, herds a flock of orphan ducklings to safety on the other side of the road, runs over a mile (and on an injured leg) to bark frantically at his master and drag him by the sleeve all the way home where his master arrives just in time to put out a fire before any damage is done (using pails of water carried from the stream by Buck). The dog's last heroic act is to die under the wheels of a runaway carraige after he pushes a little girl out of harm's way. Then every evening the family sits around the fire talking about what a great dog old Buck was.
Such a Reluctant Army (The Nonesuch, The Reluctant Widow, An Infamous Army)
A bunch of dandies join the same regiment so that they can sport their flashy military duds, but when it comes time to fight, they are seriously put out because fighting is such a sweaty business and besides, they'll get their new uniforms all dirty.
Don't Shoot the Army (Don't Shoot the Butler, An Infamous Army)
sequel to Such a Reluctant Army. The dandies waste a lot of time worrying about the destructive effects of bullet holes and powder burns on fine wool uniforms.
Shoot the Spanish (Don't Shoot the Butler, Spanish Bride)
sequel to Don't Shoot the Army. The dandies are upset when Spanish soldiers sneak into their encampment at night and steal all their snowy white neckcloths. Enraged, the dandies charge after the Spaniards and threaten to shoot them if they don't return their neckcloths.
My Envious Army (My Lord John, Envious Casca, An Infamous Army)
sequel to the above army books. Another army regiment becomes jealous of the dandy regiment and threatens to rebel if they don't get lacy cravats and gold toothpicks, too.
My Wicked Butler (My Lord John, Sylvester or the Wicked Uncle, Don't Shoot the Butler)
the story of a butler who sneaks nips of the master's brandy, puts marbles in the dish of buttered peas, chases the maids while snapping distowels at their bottoms, puts molasses in the toes of the footman's boots, makes kissing noises when he sees a pretty lady on the street, picks his nose in public, and hawks loogies onto the sidewalk where elderly ladies are walking.
Infamous and Envious (An Infamous Army and Envious Casca)
a novel featuring all the secondary female characters who are mean-spirited, selfish, and temperamental. They spend all their time plotting ways to harass the hero or heroine and also how to kill each other off because they cannot stand the thought of someone as beautiful as they are.
*Sherrie*
DEATH IN BATH TANGLE(Death in the stocks - Bath Tangle)
Two quarrelsome lovers in bath, after finally deciding to get married, actually makes every ones expectations come true, bringing the death of each other by crossing their swords ( fangs claws) and tongues (xxxxx;) (alternatively)from dusk to dawn; While the discarded lover and the evil step mom remains the passive (but gleeful) standbys
*Kiran*
Cousin Contract - (Cousin Kate and A Civil Contract)
Two cousins get married and their son has a bit part in Cotillion...
or 'Faro's Bride' (Faro's Daughter and The Spanish Bride)
Card-sharping mummy terrorises the battlefields of Europe..
*Caitlin*
"Quiet Tangle"
where Lady Serena gets a job in a library and spends all her time glaring mutely at Ivo, who comes in just to taunt her.
"Regency Sheep"
where Mr. Beaumaris decides to make a sheep the height of fashion, and is aided by a delighted Arabella. They dress it up, give it a quizzing glass and take it to parties with them.
In fact, there could be a sheep series, with a sheep theme, "Bath Sheep," "Friday's Sheep," "Powder and Sheep," "An Infamous Sheep."
"The Grand Venetia."
Venetia having a wonderful time in society after her marriage. Wouldn't it have been nice to see how she and Damerel got on with their rehabilitation?
*Lynne*
BLACK SIMON
A blackhearted villain who kidnaps our heroine and locks her in the top story of his mansion. When the servants hear her cries for help he tells them it's only his mad aunt locked in the attic for her own protection.
*Phyllis*
"These Old sheep"
In which a disturbingly familiar, darkly satanic, mature ram sets the whole pedigree flock in an uproar when he becomes completely besotted with a spirited, irrepressibly curly and even more strangely familiar young ewe.
*Karen*
Regency Muslin
with its sequels
Devil's Daughter
Which concerns the manner in which the Duke of Andover's brief liaison with the heroine of the first book comes back to haunt him
An Infamous Bride
In which she succeeds in marrying into the nobility, but quite fails to alter her conduct
The Convenient Widow
Which charts her course through the later years of the Regency -- but what did happen to her husband? Was it really her father who killed him in a moment of absent-minded fury, or was he framed? And how did she manage to inherit everything from both of them?
These were pseudonymous bodice-ripper/thrillers written to pay the tax-bill, and perhaps to prove that GH could out-do her imitators in that field as well as in her own.
The Reluctant Corinthian
Less of a best-seller but far funnier, concerns a studious young man whose ambition to marry is laughed to scorn by the object of his adoration, who proclaims that she can't marry anyone whose thighs don't ripple at least slightly -- he takes a crash course in the sporting arts, with hilarious consequences.
*Miranda*
Blame the Old Widow (No Wind of Blame, These Old Shades, The Reluctant Widow)
Authorities dig up the coffins of an old woman's previous 9 husbands and discover that she was instrumental in their deaths.
Devil's Sprig (Devil's Cub, Sprig Muslin)
The adventures of Vidal's firstborn child.
These Old Butlers (These Old Shades, Why Shoot the Butler)
The trials and tribulations of running a home for retired butlers.
No Clue (No Wind of Blame, The Unfinished Clue)
Belinda the Airhead goes to London and doesn't know how to act in polite company.
Black Powder (Black Sheep, Powder and Patch)
A nabob fresh from India returns to England and opens a gun store that specializes in black powder muskets.
Heeeeere's Johnny! (Behold Here's Poison, My Lord John)
A late night talk show host passes through an innocuous looking door and ends up in Regency England. He encounters a man named Rod Serling, who is puzzled by the large man who keeps leaping out from behind bushes and buildings, pointing at the talk show host and shouting, "Heeeeere's Johnny!"
Devil's Poison (Devil's Cub, Behold Here's Poison)
Dominic and Rupert dabble in a wine making partnership which they call Vidal's Vinos. After much trial and error, they produce an excellent port that they name "Devil's Poison."
Poison Pen (Behold Here's Poison, Penhallow)
Investigations into the identity of the author of a series of highly disturbing letters.
Unlimited Stocks (Detection Unlimited, Death in the Stocks)
A down-on-his-luck earl repairs his riches by playing the stock market and hitting paydirt.
Powder and Pistols (Powder and Patch, Pistols for Two)
A governess, fed up with the lecherous advances of her young charge's older brother, opens a shooting school for women.
Behold the Child (Behold Here's Poison, Friday's Child)
3 wise men with nothing better to do are out riding their camels one night when they discover a baby lying in a pile of straw in a manger. This so inspires the wise men that they race home on their camels and write a novel called Three Men and a Baby.
*Sherrie*
"A Civil Tangle?"
Ivo and Serena's titian-haired offspring and the Honorable Giles Jonathan Deveril contract a secret bethrothal, all the while unaware that the beautiful, incredibly well-dowered young Miss Rotherham has been promised to ANOTHER since her infancy.
*Diane*
"Black Ewe"
A respectable young man living in Bath with his hypochondriac older brother, and rich nephew. He meets a Rich buy Naughty woman who once eloped with his brother-in-law, and who's fortune-hunting niece is making eyes at the Hero's nephew.
*Kathy*
Infamous Colours (An Infamous Army and False Colours)
A barque of frailty with an overpowering mother leaves England after an abortive attempt at blackmail and tries her luck in Brussels instead.
A Convenient Cotillion
A young woman is forced to dance with a man she doesn't know in order to save her family from destitution. Amused by her original steps, the gentlemane discovers there is more to the cotillion than convenience.
The Venetian Ring; (The Talisman Ring and Venetia)
A bookish young man comes across a reference to a valuable ring and is drawn into a remarkable escapade which shows him there is more to life than study.
The Spanish Nonesuch; (Beauvallet and The Nonesuch)
A spoilt beauty finds herself transported back in time and learns to behave, under the tutelage of a dashing Spaniard.
The Powdered Widow (Powder and Patch, The Reluctant Widow)
A country girl finds a secret passage that leads to Vauxhall Gardens.
Bath Muslin
A pair of young lovers argue in the elegant spa town.
And, as a sequel to These Old Gentlemen: These Old Masquerading Gentlemen (These Old Shades, Masqueraders and The Quiet Gentleman)
Even more elderly heroes reminisce about the good old days.
And mirror image Heyers -
"Frederick".
Frederica turns out to be a man in drag, but Alverstoke loves her/him anyway.
"Regency Doe"
A handsome rich young man who is not at all spirited, but seems to be because he is bad-tempered and contrary, falls in love with -er- a fashionable lady.
*Kathy Williams*
Simon the Warmheart
Warmhearted Simon spends his life patting the heads of cherubic children and rescuing adorable puppies.
Angel's Cub
a mild mannered gentleman finds he has mistakenly driven across the the country with a lady in his carriage and takes her home again.
The Happy Widow
Glad to escape an unfortunate marriage, the happy widow takes fashionable London by storm . . . (Hm, sounds familiar . . . )
True Colours
A pair of twins retain their own identities
The Inconvenient Marriage
A middle aged man, exhausted by his young bride's escapades, divorces her and settles down with a wealthy middle aged woman instead.
The Lostling
The beautiful Belinda goes for a walk in the woods and is never seen again.
The White Sheep
Miles is the good boy of the family. He goes to bed early, rises with the lark, and always eats his greens.
Sink Tangle
A novella.
These New Shades
A notorious rake replaces his sunglasses.
*Me*
