Georgette Heyer: Difference between revisions
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If anything good can be said to have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, it is that people once again turned to reading as a past-time, and grown women, falling back on what surely had been a teenage comfort, began to make a big noise about '''Georgette Heyer''' (1902-1974). Heyer was a prolific English historical novelist (targeting mainly the English Regency period, 1811-1820)<ref name=WhenSheWroteAbout />, who always had a loyal following among women, who arguably created the Regency romance genre exploited by dozens of lesser later writers, and whose works quietly flew under the radar for decades after her death. She gave no interviews during her lifetime, although at least one of her books, ''The Foundling'', was reviewed in 1948 by the New York Times, which stated, "Miss Heyer writes cheerful and highly unorthodox historical novels about Regency England, in which people never lose their lives, their virtue or even their tempers"<ref name=Obit />. But the tide has turned; by 2022, Vox had headlined her ("When will Hollywood discover Georgette Heyer?")<ref name=Vox />, public libraries finally noticed that her books are not only still in circulation but often have a waitlist<ref name=FallBackInLove />, and there is even a Georgette Heyer podcast. | If anything good can be said to have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, it is that people once again turned to reading as a past-time, and grown women, falling back on what surely had been a teenage comfort, began to make a big noise about '''Georgette Heyer''' (1902-1974). Heyer was a prolific English historical novelist (targeting mainly the English Regency period, 1811-1820)<ref name=WhenSheWroteAbout />, who always had a loyal following among women, who arguably created the Regency romance genre exploited by dozens of lesser later writers, and whose works quietly flew under the radar for decades after her death. She gave no interviews during her lifetime, although at least one of her books, ''The Foundling'', was reviewed in 1948 by the New York Times, which stated, "Miss Heyer writes cheerful and highly unorthodox historical novels about Regency England, in which people never lose their lives, their virtue or even their tempers"<ref name=Obit />. But the tide has turned; by 2022, Vox had headlined her ("When will Hollywood discover Georgette Heyer?")<ref name=Vox />, public libraries finally noticed that her books are not only still in circulation but often have a waitlist<ref name=FallBackInLove /><ref name=YonkersLibr>, and there is even a Georgette Heyer podcast. | ||
Inspired by the social setting of the Jane Austen novels, Heyer wrote more than two dozen historial "romances", mostly set in England's Regency period (18?? to 18??), and a few ever earlier. The predictable social rules of Heyer's fictional world, mostly set in England's Regency period (18?? to 18??), provide a stable backdrop for her wildly inventive tangles of household and familial relationships. Each Regency novel has a female lead and a male lead who, sooner or later, marry and at some point are lucky enough to develop mutual respect and affection. Each book is filled with colorful language, cant spoken by someone in the lower classes, and descriptions of clothing and cultural pursuits specific to the period. But beyond that, each story is entirely unique and the best ones detail a complex plot, often about relatives struggling to control children and children struggling for independence, which still resonates with anyone today. | Inspired by the social setting of the Jane Austen novels, Heyer wrote more than two dozen historial "romances", mostly set in England's Regency period (18?? to 18??), and a few ever earlier. The predictable social rules of Heyer's fictional world, mostly set in England's Regency period (18?? to 18??), provide a stable backdrop for her wildly inventive tangles of household and familial relationships. Each Regency novel has a female lead and a male lead who, sooner or later, marry and at some point are lucky enough to develop mutual respect and affection. Each book is filled with colorful language, cant spoken by someone in the lower classes, and descriptions of clothing and cultural pursuits specific to the period. But beyond that, each story is entirely unique and the best ones detail a complex plot, often about relatives struggling to control children and children struggling for independence, which still resonates with anyone today. | ||
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<ref name=FallBackInLove> | <ref name=FallBackInLove> | ||
[https://www.nileslibrary.org/how-i-fell-back-in-lovewith-georgette-heyer/? How I Fell Back in Love...with Georgette Heyer], essay on the Niles-Maine District Library website, Niles, IL, Oct. 2, 2020. | [https://www.nileslibrary.org/how-i-fell-back-in-lovewith-georgette-heyer/? How I Fell Back in Love...with Georgette Heyer], essay on the Niles-Maine District Library website, Niles, IL, Oct. 2, 2020. | ||
</ref> | |||
<ref name=YonkersLibr> | |||
[https://www.ypl.org/author-recommendation-georgette-heyer/ Author Recommendation: Georgette Heyer] reminiscent essay by Yonkers, NJ public librarian Shana Rosenfield, last access 1/3/2023. After finding her first Heyer novel, she says: "I promptly picked up the other and proceeded to borrow all that the library had, and buy any that the local bookstore had in paperback." | |||
</ref> | </ref> | ||
Revision as of 16:00, 4 January 2023
If anything good can be said to have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, it is that people once again turned to reading as a past-time, and grown women, falling back on what surely had been a teenage comfort, began to make a big noise about Georgette Heyer (1902-1974). Heyer was a prolific English historical novelist (targeting mainly the English Regency period, 1811-1820)[1], who always had a loyal following among women, who arguably created the Regency romance genre exploited by dozens of lesser later writers, and whose works quietly flew under the radar for decades after her death. She gave no interviews during her lifetime, although at least one of her books, The Foundling, was reviewed in 1948 by the New York Times, which stated, "Miss Heyer writes cheerful and highly unorthodox historical novels about Regency England, in which people never lose their lives, their virtue or even their tempers"[2]. But the tide has turned; by 2022, Vox had headlined her ("When will Hollywood discover Georgette Heyer?")[3], public libraries finally noticed that her books are not only still in circulation but often have a waitlist[4]Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
</references>
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWhenSheWroteAbout - ↑ 2.0 2.1 [https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/06/archives/georgette-heyer-is-dead-at-71-wrote-regency-england-novels-cheerful.html Georgette Heyer Is Dead at 71: Wrote Regency England Novels]. New York Times obituary, July 6, 1974.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 She was the Agatha Christie of romance novels. You’ve probably never heard of her. When will Hollywood discover Georgette Heyer? by Aja Romano in [Vox Mar 11, 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 How I Fell Back in Love...with Georgette Heyer, essay on the Niles-Maine District Library website, Niles, IL, Oct. 2, 2020.
- ↑ Author Recommendation: Georgette Heyer reminiscent essay by Yonkers, NJ public librarian Shana Rosenfield, last access 1/3/2023. After finding her first Heyer novel, she says: "I promptly picked up the other and proceeded to borrow all that the library had, and buy any that the local bookstore had in paperback."