Georgette Heyer Novels
An Introduction
The recent Netflix’s series, Bridgerton, set in Regency England, sent me on a mad dash to find my Georgette Heyer novels. Though she may not be a familiar name, Georgette Heyer essentially established the historical romance genre and subgenre of Regency romances. Her first novel, The Black Moth, published in 1921, was written for her younger brother, who suffered from a form of hemophilia.
I discovered Georgette Heyer as a teenager and though the author also wrote some contemporary detective fiction from the mid-1930’s onward, she is remembered for her successful Regency romances. Some favorites of mine: The Talisman Ring, Fredricka, The Nonsuch, These Old Shades and The Devil’s Cub. Inspired by Jane Austen’s “comedy of manners” novels, Georgette Heyer did meticulous research on the Regency period.
Using vocabulary and phraseology of the time, these novels are fun first-rate Regency romance literature – or as a character in Heyer’s novel might say, “Of the first stare.” I love the language! What rich imagery it conjures calling someone a “a clodpole” or “a dirty dish.”
In the future, I will review a few of the above titles. Until then, why not try them yourselves?
Review by Gwendolyn Van Hout Knechtel