Classic Regency Romance Introduction: Georgette Heyer

When I was fourteen, I snuck into my grandma's room for a new book to read and saw The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer on her nightstand. As a lover of mystery, the back blurb of attempted murder intrigued me, but I thought Grandma might be mad if I stole the very book she was reading. So I read the backs of another five or six Heyer novels until I found another one that sounded interesting and fled to my room to illicitly read. The book was Arabella and I was immediately sucked in to the setting, wit, and glamor of Heyer's world, even though I had to keep my dictionary close because I was coming across words I'd never encountered. (Honestly, if I haven’t read Heyer in a while I still need a dictionary.) Thank goodness for context clues for the rest! I stole two more books before I got up enough courage to confess to Grandma and ask for more recommendations of Heyer novels to enjoy. I devoured most of her books over the next year, enjoying my conversations about favorites with my mom and grandma and then recommending them to my friends.

For the next couple of years I had a list of twenty-two Heyer novels that I would constantly re-read and quote from, exasperating my high school friends with antiquated phrases that I loved. I would tell choir friends that I was "sick as a cushion" and enemies, "The prospect is naturally alluring, but even these treats in store don't tempt me" conveniently leaving out the rest of the line "to matrimony." Eventually, I decided to branch out from Heyer (the acknowledged queen of the genre) but had a hard time finding clean Regencies written in the last twenty years. Then I had the great fortune to discover thenonesuch.com (which unfortunately no longer exists) which categorized 'classic Regencies' by author, plot lines and tropes, location, and general review. I raided my local used bookstore and purchased another 100-200 books over the next few years.

Luckily clean romance has had a resurgence in the last decade and readers are all clamoring for the latest releases from Sarah Eden, Sarah Ladd, Sally Britton, and many others. But I've found as I've spoken with many fans of current Regency authors--and even a few of these authors themselves--that they don't know where to start looking for classic Regencies to read. Over the next few weeks I hope to write a few posts to help Regency Romance fans discover (or re-discover) old favorites that remain timeless clean reads for enthusiastic lovers of the genre.

So what continues to set Georgette Heyer (pronounced Hay-er or Hair) apart from her modern competition? First of all, her wit is what grabbed my attention from the first. Overt or tongue-in-cheek, Heyer is hilarious to read. You will laugh out loud at the antics of her lively characters, the roguish impertinence of her thieves, the daft beauties of the beau monde, and the sparkling repartee and comebacks from the dashing heroes and heroines. Aside from Shakespeare, few authors have so many brilliant insults in their repertoire! I would venture to say that of the current (clean) Regency authors, the one that comes closest to Heyer’s wit would be Sarah Eden, which is why I was drawn to her immediately.

Another thing that makes Heyer a joy to read is her complete accuracy in historical events, modes of address and hierarchy, popular styles of dress, and the language of the time. Her personal shelves were filled with hundreds of reference books and she became the proclaimed expert on the era. For one who has read Heyer for so long, it’s easy to spot problems in current Regencies and firmly wish these authors had done such research! If you also want to better understand the times and her extensive knowledge about it, you can read Georgette Heyer’s Regency World.

Aside from her wit, vocabulary, and impeccable historical accuracy, the one thing Heyer does that I can’t find an equal for in all of my voracious reading is her ability to create a world and amazingly real heroes and side characters to inhabit it. While it may be hard for readers of modern romance to wait for the meet-cute, so many Heyer novels have longer expositions, truly immersing the reader in a world for her characters. The setting and thoughts of all characters are integral to the storytelling and your understanding of the plot. Few of her creations are flat characters--they all breathe with vibrancy and life. Unless modern authors are creating a series based upon characters in the same setting, most side characters are made disposable and unmemorable. Not the case with Heyer! Even persons present for ten pages are fascinating and relatable.

As for my top ten list (in fluid order):

Devil's Cub

Venetia

The Nonesuch

Frederica

These Old Shades

The Quiet Gentleman

The Corinthian

Arabella

The Masqueraders

The Toll-Gate

All-time favorites from fellow Heyer-ites also include:

Sylvester, The Unknown Ajax, Cotillion, and The Grand Sophy.

To read Heyer novels you can visit your local library, check out Heyer’s list on Goodreads, or purchase from Amazon and B&N: Georgette Heyer is always in print! If you prefer your books on the Kindle, you can currently pick up three great novels for $2.50 on Kindle (normally $10 each) or $2.99 on Nook.

For more information on Georgette Heyer you can visit the Wikipedia page here or her fan website here.

To join the conversation of the Facebook fan club, click here.

You can also read two biographies published about her: Georgette Heyer by Jennifer Kloester and The Private World of Georgette Heyer by Jane Aiken Hodge.