Georgette Heyer (1902–1974) was an English author particularly known for her historical romance novels set in the Regency and Georgian eras. A best-selling author, Heyer's writing career saw her produce works from a variety of genres; in total she published 32 novels in the romance genre, 6 historical novels, 4 contemporary novels, and 12 in the detective fiction genre.[1][2]
| Georgian novels↙ | 8 |
|---|---|
| Regency novels↙ | 26 |
| Other historical novels↙ | 6 |
| Contemporary novels↙ | 4 |
| Detective novels↙ | 12 |
| Essays↙ | 2 |
| References and footnotes | |
Born in Wimbledon, London, the nineteen-year-old Heyer published her first novel, The Black Moth, in 1921 from a story she had written for her haemophiliac younger brother Boris.[3][4] The Georgian novel, which featured an earl who turns to outlawry in the 18th century, set the template for many of her future stories – romance, a historical setting, characters from the nobility, and a "saturnine" male lead.[5][6] The Black Moth was popular with readers and Heyer continued to publish more Georgian novels until the release of Faro's Daughter in 1941.
Heyer's fame stemmed mainly from her Regency novels, which made her a household name.[7] The first, Regency Buck, became a best-seller when it was published in 1935, and featured a wealthy heiress from the English countryside, whose sense of independence causes her to clash with London's social norms, but eventually conform to them – qualities seen in many other Heyer heroines.[8] Gradually, Heyer developed a "distinct, light-hearted" style, and her 1940 Regency novel The Corinthian established elements common in her future works: clever plotting, light comedic elements, and a writing style reminiscent of the Regency era.[9] After 1940 her output consisted mainly of Regency novels,[9] a collection of works that totaled 26 by the time of her death in 1974.[10]
Heyer was noted for the thorough historical detail she invested in her works – unlike her literary predecessors, who typically lived in the eras they wrote about, Heyer had to enliven the past for her contemporary readers; she thus endeavoured to research every available aspect of her chosen plot settings.[3][11] Despite the popularity of her romance novels, Heyer did not consider herself a romance writer and had ambivalent feelings towards the genre, once dismissing her stories as "another bleeding romance."[12][13] Heyer published historical novels such as The Conqueror (1931), which depicted the early years of William I. The careful detail found in her 1937 historical romance, An Infamous Army, attracted critical acclaim. Her other novels never reached this level of positive critical opinion and have been largely overlooked by scholars.[7][14] Heyer aspired for many years to produce "the magnum opus of my latter years," a medieval trilogy featuring the House of Lancaster. This project failed to come to full fruition, as she faced pressure from eager readers to continue publishing her popular romance novels; the tax liabilities she dealt with were also a factor.[15][16] Heyer's only instalment of the Lancaster trilogy, My Lord John (1975), went unfinished and was published a year after her death.[17]
Early in her career, Heyer experimented with other literary genres, resulting in the release of four serious contemporary novels between 1922 and 1930,[9] all of which enjoyed multiple reprints though were not as successful as her historical novels of the time, and were later suppressed by the author.[18][19] With the help of her husband George Ronald Rougier, who devised the murder method in most of her detective novels,[12] Heyer also delved into works of contemporary detective fiction such as Footsteps in the Dark (1932) and They Found Him Dead (1937).[3] In total she published 12 in the genre between 1932 and 1953, when her final detective novel Detection Unlimited appeared.
Heyer's romance novels sold in huge numbers (one million a year in paperback in the 1970s) and had been translated into more than 10 languages by the time of her death. She is mostly remembered for these works, rather than for her efforts in other literary genres.[12][20][21] Heyer has been credited with "virtually invent[ing]" the Regency romance novel and its "comedy of manners," a literary form in turn influenced by Jane Austen. Heyer described herself as "a mixture of [Samuel] Johnson and Austen,"[22][23] and according to the scholar Mary Joannou, Austen's influence on Heyer is clear: both wrote of the Regency era and focused on marriage to drive the plot.[10] Pamela Regis cites Heyer's influence in every historical romance novel published since 1921,[24] and Elizabeth Spillman adds that because Heyer wrote romances for five decades, "her writing career spans the emerging of the romance as a publishing category and she was influential in shaping that genre."[25] Widely read today, most of Heyer's works are still in print[26] and adaptations have been made on film, television, stage, and radio.[3][19]
Georgian novels
edit| Title | Date of first publication |
First edition publisher | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Black Moth | 1921 | Constable (London) | [3][27] |
| The Transformation of Philip Jettan (later republished as Powder and Patch) |
1923 | Mills & Boon (London) | [28][29] |
| These Old Shades | 1926 | William Heinemann (London) | [30] |
| The Masqueraders | 1928 | William Heinemann (London) | [31] |
| Devil's Cub | 1932 | William Heinemann (London) | [32][33] |
| The Convenient Marriage | 1934 | William Heinemann (London) | [34] |
| The Talisman Ring | 1936 | William Heinemann (London) | [35] |
| Faro's Daughter | 1941 | William Heinemann (London) | [3][36] |
Regency novels
edit
Other historical novels
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| Title | Date of first publication |
First edition publisher | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Roxhythe | 1922 | Hutchinson (London) | [70] |
| Simon the Coldheart | 1925 | William Heinemann (London) | [3][71] |
| Beauvallet | 1929 | William Heinemann (London) | [3][72] |
| The Conqueror | 1931 | William Heinemann (London) | [73] |
| Royal Escape | 1938 | William Heinemann (London) | [74] |
| My Lord John | 1975 | The Bodley Head (London) | [3][75] |
Contemporary novels
edit| Title | Date of first publication |
First edition publisher | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instead of the Thorn | 1923 | Hutchinson (London) | [76] |
| Helen | 1928 | Longmans and Co (London) | [77] |
| Pastel | 1929 | Longmans and Co (London) | [78] |
| Barren Corn | 1930 | Longmans and Co (London) | [79] |
Detective novels
edit| Title | Date of first publication |
First edition publisher | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Footsteps in the Dark | 1932 | Longmans and Co (London) | [80] |
| Why Shoot a Butler? | 1933 | Longmans and Co (London). Serialised in British newspapers as Suspected! in 1933 | [81] |
| The Unfinished Clue | 1934 | Longmans and Co (London). Serialised in British newspapers as One Woman Who Knew in 1934 | [82] |
| Death in the Stocks | 1935 | Longmans and Co (London) also published as Merely Murder (U.S.) | [83] |
| Behold, Here's Poison | 1936 | Hodder & Stoughton (London) | [84] |
| They Found Him Dead | 1937 | Hodder & Stoughton (London) | [85] |
| A Blunt Instrument | 1938 | Hodder & Stoughton (London) | [86] |
| No Wind of Blame | 1939 | Hodder & Stoughton (London) | [87] |
| Envious Casca | 1941 | Hodder & Stoughton (London) also published as A Christmas Party | [88] |
| Penhallow | 1942 | William Heinemann (London) | [89] |
| Duplicate Death | 1951 | William Heinemann (London) | [90] |
| Detection Unlimited | 1953 | William Heinemann (London) | [91] |
Essays
edit
| Title | Date of first publication |
First edition publisher | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Books about the Brontës" | 31 March 1954 | Punch | [92] |
| "How to be a Literary Critic" | 28 April 1954 | Punch | [93] |
Short stories
edit| Title | Date of first publication |
First appearance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| "A Proposal to Cicely" | 4 September 1922 | The Happy Magazine | [94] |
| "The Bulldog and the Beast" | March 1923 | The Happy Magazine | [95] |
| "Linckes' Great Case" | 2 March 1923 | The Detective Magazine | [96] |
| "The Horned Beast of Africa" | 22 June 1929 | The Sphere | [97] |
| "Runaway Match" | April 1936 | Woman's Journal | [98] |
| "Lady, Your Pardon" | 3 April 1937 | The Australian Women's Weekly | [99] |
| "Incident on the Bath Road" | 29 May 1937 | The Australian Women's Weekly | [100] |
| "Pursuit" | 1939 | The Queen's Book of the Red Cross | [101] |
Pistols for Two, which contains:
|
1960 | William Heinemann (London) reissued in 2016, with three additional stories, as Snowdrift | [102] |
Acting on Impulse - Contemporary Short Stories by Georgette Heyer, which contains:
|
2019 | Overlord (Melbourne) with commentary from Jennifer Kloester and Rachel Hyland | [103] |
References
edit- ^ Fahnestock-Thomas 2001, p. 3.
- ^ Lennard 2010, p. 86.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Womack 2004.
- ^ Stade & Karbiener 2009, pp. 234–35.
- ^ Trodd 1998, p. 127.
- ^ Stade & Karbiener 2009, p. 235.
- ^ a b Westman 2003, p. 167.
- ^ Hughes 1993, pp. 117–22.
- ^ a b c Spillman 2012, p. 85.
- ^ a b Joannou 2012, p. 75.
- ^ Joannou 2012, p. 76.
- ^ a b c Sage, Greer & Showalter 1999, p. 317.
- ^ Fletcher 2008, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Spillman 2012, p. 84.
- ^ Devlin 1984, p. 390.
- ^ Rougier 1975, p. 2.
- ^ Hodge 1975, p. 857.
- ^ Hodge 1984, p. 18.
- ^ a b Westman 2003, p. 166.
- ^ Ramsdell 2012, p. 235.
- ^ Schaub 2013, p. 10.
- ^ Fletcher 2008, p. 53.
- ^ Sage, Greer & Showalter 1999, pp. 317–18.
- ^ Regis 2003, p. 125.
- ^ Spillman 2012, p. 87.
- ^ Ramsdell 2012, p. 283.
- ^ "The Black Moth. A romance, etc". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Bannon 1968, pp. 218–19.
- ^ "Powder & Patch. The transformation of Philip Jettan, etc". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "These Old Shades". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ The Masqueraders. WorldCat. OCLC 219996422.
- ^ Devil's Cub. WorldCat. OCLC 2658185.
- ^ Hodge 1984, p. 38.
- ^ "The Convenient Marriage". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "The Talisman Ring". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Faro's Daughter". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Regency Buck. WorldCat. OCLC 560210720.
- ^ Rowland 1994, p. 357.
- ^ An Infamous Army. WorldCat. OCLC 818818765.
- ^ "The Spanish Bride". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ The Corinthian. WorldCat. OCLC 900093565.
- ^ "Friday's Child". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "The Reluctant Widow". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ The Foundling. WorldCat. OCLC 560209264.
- ^ Arabella. WorldCat. OCLC 4910218.
- ^ The Grand Sophy. WorldCat. OCLC 900093790.
- ^ "The Quiet Gentleman". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Cotillion". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ The Toll-Gate. WorldCat. OCLC 8604926.
- ^ Bath Tangle. WorldCat. OCLC 560208233.
- ^ Sprig Muslin. WorldCat. OCLC 488551382.
- ^ April Lady. WorldCat. OCLC 609561874.
- ^ "Sylvester; or, the Wicked uncle". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Venetia. WorldCat. OCLC 152521110.
- ^ Rowland 1994, p. 363.
- ^ "The Unknown Ajax". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Rowland 1994, pp. 363–64.
- ^ A Civil Contract. WorldCat. OCLC 317836481.
- ^ The Nonesuch. WorldCat. OCLC 240321335.
- ^ Rowland 1994, p. 364.
- ^ "False Colours". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Rowland 1994, pp. 364–65.
- ^ "Frederica". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Rowland 1994, p. 365.
- ^ Black Sheep. WorldCat. OCLC 1310120.
- ^ Cousin Kate. WorldCat. OCLC 38860.
- ^ Charity Girl. WorldCat. OCLC 130171.
- ^ Rowland 1994, p. 366.
- ^ "Lady of quality". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ The Great Roxhythe. WorldCat. OCLC 752681922.
- ^ "Simon the Coldheart". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Beauvallet". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ The Conqueror. WorldCat. OCLC 2658137.
- ^ Royal Escape. WorldCat. OCLC 900093791.
- ^ "My Lord John / Georgette Heyer". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Instead of the Thorn. WorldCat. OCLC 560209502.
- ^ "Helen". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ "Pastel". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ "Barren Corn". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ "Footsteps in the Dark. A novel of mystery". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ Why Shoot a Butler?. WorldCat. OCLC 560211649.
- ^ The Unfinished Clue. WorldCat. OCLC 560211576.
- ^ Death in the Stocks. WorldCat. OCLC 560208550.
- ^ Behold, Here's Poison. WorldCat. OCLC 6036847.
- ^ They Found Him Dead. WorldCat. OCLC 560211499.
- ^ A Blunt Instrument. WorldCat. OCLC 23861425.
- ^ "No Wind of Blame". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ Envious Casca. WorldCat. OCLC 13696255.
- ^ Penhallow. WorldCat. OCLC 2619842.
- ^ "Duplicate Death". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ Detection Unlimited. WorldCat. OCLC 4903612.
- ^ Fahnestock-Thomas 2001, pp. 49–51.
- ^ Fahnestock-Thomas 2001, pp. 51–53.
- ^ Fahnestock-Thomas 2001, pp. 3, 5–15.
- ^ Holland, Steve (23 August 2009). "Contents Lists". British Juvenile Story Papers and Pocket Libraries Index. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Ashley 2006, p. 67.
- ^ Fahnestock-Thomas 2001, pp. 16–19.
- ^ Fahnestock-Thomas 2001, pp. 3, 20–33.
- ^ Heyer, Georgette (3 April 1937). "Lady, Your Pardon". The Australian Women's Weekly. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ Heyer, Georgette (29 May 1937). "Incident on the Bath Road". The Australian Women's Weekly. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ Fahnestock-Thomas 2001, pp. 3, 34–48.
- ^ Holland, Steve (23 August 2009). "Stories, Listed by Author". The FictionMags Index. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Heyer, Georgette (2019). Acting on Impulse - Contemporary Short Stories by Georgette Heyer. Melbourne: Overlord. ISBN 978-1925770261.
Works cited
- Ashley, Michael (2006). The Age of the Storytellers: British Popular Fiction Magazines, 1880-1950. Oak Knoll Press. ISBN 978-1-5845617-0-5.
- Bannon, Barbara A. (May 1968). "Forecasts, Fiction". In Fahnestock-Thomas, Mary (ed.). Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective. Prinnyworld Press (published 2001). pp. 218–19. ISBN 978-0-9668005-3-1.
- Devlin, James P. (Summer 1984). "The Mysteries of Georgette Heyer: A Janeite's Life of Crime". In Fahnestock-Thomas, Mary (ed.). Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective. Prinnyworld Press (published 2001). pp. 359–394. ISBN 978-0-9668005-3-1.
- Fahnestock-Thomas, Mary (2001). Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective. Prinnyworld Press. ISBN 978-0-9668005-3-1.
- Fletcher, Lisa (2008). Historical Romance Fiction: Heterosexuality and Performativity. Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-6202-0.
- Hodge, Jane Aiken (December 1975). "Book Reviews". History Today (12): 857. Retrieved 18 January 2015. (subscription required)
- Hodge, Jane Aiken (1984). The Private World of Georgette Heyer. The Bodley Head. ISBN 978-0-370-30508-0.
- Hughes, Helen (1993). The Historical Romance. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-75562-7.
- Joannou, Mary (2012). Women's Writing, Englishness and National and Cultural Identity: The Mobile Woman and the Migrant Voice, 1938–62. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-28577-4.
- Lennard, John (2010). Of Sex and Faerie: Further Essays on Genre Fiction. Troubador Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84760-173-5.
- Ramsdell, Kristin (2012). Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre. Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 978-1-59158-177-2.
- Regis, Pamela (2003). A Natural History of the Romance Novel. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-3303-2.
- Rougier, George Ronald (1975). "Preface". In Heyer, Georgette (ed.). My Lord John (2009 ed.). Sourcebooks. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-0-525-16242-1.
- Rowland, S.A. (1994). "Georgette Heyer: Overview". In Vasudevan, Aruna (ed.). Twentieth-Century Romance & Historical Writers. Twentieth-Century Writers Series (3rd ed.). St. James Press.
- Sage, Lorna; Greer, Germaine; Showalter, Elaine, eds. (1999). "Heyer, Georgette". The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66813-2.
- Schaub, Melissa (2013). Middlebrow Feminism in Classic British Detective Fiction: The Female Gentleman. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-27695-7.
- Spillman, K. Elizabeth (2012). "The "Managing Female" in the Novels of Georgette Heyer". In Frantz, Sarah S.G.; Selinger, Eric Murphy (eds.). New Approaches to Popular Romance Fiction: Critical Essays. McFarland & Co. pp. 84–98. ISBN 978-0-7864-4190-7.
- Stade, George; Karbiener, Karen, eds. (2009). Encyclopedia of British Writers, 1800 to the Present. Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-8160-7385-6.
- Westman, Karin E. (2003). "Self-Authoring Heroines of Heyer". In Strehle, Susan; Paniccia Carden, Mary (eds.). Doubled Plots: Romance and History. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-60473-251-1.
- Trodd, Anna (1998). Women's Writing in English: Britain, 1900-1945. Longman. ISBN 9780582289147.
- Womack, Kenneth (2004). "Heyer, Georgette (1902–1974)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31227. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)