The Black Moth

Georgette Heyer wrote this Georgian adventure when she was still a teenager, and it launched the career that would define historical romance. Set in 1751, it follows Jack Carstares, an earl who took the blame for a card-cheating scandal to shield his brother and now rides the roads as a gentleman highwayman. His path crosses that of Diana Beauleigh, whom he rescues from the clutches of the sardonic Duke of Andover, a black-hearted rake who becomes the story’s most memorable figure. Between duels, abductions, and questions of wounded honor, Heyer sketches the manners and menace of the age with surprising assurance. Andover would later resurface, reworked, as the hero of These Old Shades. Free to read as a PDF and EPUB edition.