Georgette Heyer

by Jennifer Kloester

Overview

The groundbreaking biography of one of the world's best-loved and bestselling authors

Who was the real Georgette Heyer?

Georgette Heyer famously said, "I am to be found in my work."

Who was this amazing writer who was so secretive about her personal life that she never gave an interview? Where did she get her ideas? Were there real-life models for her ultra-manly heroes, independent-minded heroines, irascible guardians, and clever villains? What motivated her to build a Regency worldso intricately researched that readers want to escape there again and again?

Heyer's Regency romances, historical novels, and mysteries have surprised and delighted millions of readers for decades, while the woman behind the storieshas stayed hidden...Until now!

With unprecedented, exclusive access to Heyer's notebooks, papers, and early letters, Jennifer Kloester uncovers both the complex life of a private woman anda masterful writer's craft that will forever resonate in literature and beyond.

"A wonderful entertaining biography—a readable and lively account of this beloved writer."—Eloisa James, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Required reading for all lovers of Regency novels."—Mary Jo Putney, New York Times bestselling author of No Longer a Gentleman

"A superb portrayal of one of my all-time favorite writers."—Anne Gracie, award-winning author of Bride By Mistake

"An engaging, intriguing, absorbing, read!"—Stephanie Laurens, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Praise for Georgette Heyer's Regency World:

"Meticulously researched yet splendidly entertaining ... a must-have."—Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Detailed, informative, impressively researched. A Heyer lover writing for Heyer fans."—Times Literary Supplement

"Kloester's lively book will delight died-in-the-wool Regency readers." —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402271762
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	01/01/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	533,307
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Jennifer Kloester is the foremost expert on Georgette Heyer. A professional writer for more than a decade, Jennifer was granted unlimited access to Georgette Heyer's private papers by her son, Sir Richard Rougier. She also had exclusive access to the newly discovered archives of Georgette Heyer's early letters. Meticulously researched, Jennifer's groundbreaking biography provides a wealth of new and intriguing insights into one of the world's most reclusive bestselling authors. Jennifer has travelled widely researching Georgette Heyer's life and writing and is a sought-after speaker on Heyer and the Regency. Jennifer lives in Melbourne, Australia.

During the extensive study and research of Georgette Heyer’s work for her PhD thesis, Jennifer Kloester had access to private papers and other information through the generosity of Georgette Heyer’s estate, discovering a wealth of new material on the immensely private author. Kloester lives in Victoria, Australia.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Illustrations

Author's Note

Part I: The Young Edwardian 1902–1919

Part II: "First Crack Out of the Bag" 1920–1930

Part III: A New Life: The Sussex Years 1930–1942

Part IV: Albany: The Golden Years 1942–1966

Part V: Lady of Quality 1966–1974

Afterword

References to Published Sources

Georgette Heyer's Novels (UK First Editions)

Georgette Heyer's Novels (USA First Editions)

Georgette Heyer's (Known) Short Stories

Heyer-Related Archives

Permissions

Acknowledgments

About the Author

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A superb portrayal of one of my all-time favorite writers. As engaging as a novel to read and containing a wealth of fascinating new material, I found the Heyer biography utterly engrossing." - Anne Gracie, award-winning author of Bride By Mistake

"Kloester has opened the door on one of the most private literary icons of the past century, one whose works made and continue to make a lasting impression on readers worldwide. Meticulously researched and supported, Kloester's study is both sympathetic and exact, and paints a finely detailed portrait of the woman behind the books. An engaging, intriguing, absorbing read-history is rarely this entertaining!" - #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens

"A vivid and highly readable portrait of a woman whose wit and keen social insight reshaped twentieth century fiction. As a writer whose work has been powerfully influenced by Heyer, I loved reading about her, her professionalism, and her own lasting real life romance. This biography should be required reading for all lovers of Regency novels." - Mary Jo Putney, New York Times bestselling author of No Longer A Gentleman

"With rare access to Heyer's private papers as well as the newly identified letters, Kloester perceptively analyzes Heyer's novels... This well-written, thoroughly researched biography is more detailed than Jane AIken Hodge's The Private World of Georgette Heyer. Heyer enthusiasts and readers interested in popular romantic historical fiction or the Regency period of English literature will enjoy this." - Library Journal

"meticulously reserached..." - Kirkus

"The result is an absorbing and enlightening biography, a must-read for Heyer fans and all who cherish Regency romances." - Booklist

"Heyer's devotees will be charmed by this engaging tour of the author's world. Kloester wisely allows all facets of Heyer's personality to emerge, depicting a feisty, humorous, accomplished woman who is more interesting than her own fictional characters. " - The Washington Post

"If you are a fan of the Regency period, and/or of Georgette Heyer, you will find this biography interesting and informative. Perhaps, like myself, you will be reading or re-reading Georgette's novels upon finishing Kloester's work." - A Garden Carred in the Pocket

"A well-written look at one of the 20th century's most beloved authors.
" - Scandalous Women

"An admirably unmelodramatic tour through a life and work." - The Wall Street Journal

Editorial Reviews

…meticulously researched…a thoughtful portrait of an author whose long-running popular success failed to draw critical acclaim…Heyer's devotees will be charmed by this engaging tour of the author's world. Kloester wisely allows all facets of Heyer's personality to emerge, depicting a feisty, humorous, accomplished woman who is more interesting than her own fictional characters.

The Washington Post - Kathy Blumenstock

English Regency social historian Kloester details the life of Georgette Heyer (1902–1974), the “Queen of Regency romance,” who sold her first book at age 17 and, over the next 50 years, married Ronald Rougier, bore one son, and wrote 55 books. With access to a thousand pages of new material plus full access to Heyer’s private papers, Kloester adds to, and sometimes corrects, some facts in Joan Aiken Hodge’s 1984 biography, while remaining frustratingly reticent about others. Despite the new material Kloester, like Hodge, provides scant insight into the writing process of the fiercely private Heyer, who granted a single interview and destroyed all her manuscripts and most of her personal correspondence. Kloester relies on Heyer’s early contemporary novels for clues to the author’s inner life bolstered with guesses based on quotations from correspondence, especially with Heyer’s agent and publishers. Kloester is not completely uncritical but her sympathy is obvious, often putting the best possible spin on Heyer’s snobbery and poor financial decisions. The result is a parlor portrait of this famous writer who claimed to despise her readership while craving the critical attention that eluded her. 73 illus. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"An admirably unmelodramatic tour through a life and work." — The Wall Street Journal

"A vivid and highly readable portrait of a woman whose wit and keen social insight reshaped twentieth century fiction. As a writer whose work has been powerfully influenced by Heyer, I loved reading about her, her professionalism, and her own lasting real life romance. This biography should be required reading for all lovers of Regency novels." — Mary Jo Putney, New York Times bestselling author of No Longer A Gentleman

"The result is an absorbing and enlightening biography, a must-read for Heyer fans and all who cherish Regency romances." — Booklist

"With rare access to Heyer’s private papers as well as the newly identified letters, Kloester perceptively analyzes Heyer’s novels... This well-written, thoroughly researched biography is more detailed than Jane AIken Hodge’s The Private World of Georgette Heyer. Heyer enthusiasts and readers interested in popular romantic historical fiction or the Regency period of English literature will enjoy this." — Library Journal

"Meticulously researched" — Kirkus Reviews

"Heyer’s devotees will be charmed by this engaging tour of the author’s world. Kloester wisely allows all facets of Heyer’s personality to emerge, depicting a feisty, humorous, accomplished woman who is more interesting than her own fictional characters." — The Washington Post

"If you are a fan of the Regency period, and/or of Georgette Heyer, you will find this biography interesting and informative. Perhaps, like myself, you will be reading or re-reading Georgette's novels upon finishing Kloester's work." — A Garden Carred in the Pocket

"A well-written look at one of the 20th century's most beloved authors." — Scandalous Women

"Whether you like her or not, Heyer is fascinating." — The Captive Reader

"I highly recommend GEORGETTE HEYER, by Jennifer Kloester—it’s extremely well researched and offers a wealth of info that’s fascinating to read." — Examiner.com

"A superb portrayal of one of my all-time favorite writers. As engaging as a novel to read and containing a wealth of fascinating new material, I found the Heyer biography utterly engrossing." — Anne Gracie, award-winning author of Bride By Mistake

"Kloester has opened the door on one of the most private literary icons of the past century, one whose works made and continue to make a lasting impression on readers worldwide. Meticulously researched and supported, Kloester's study is both sympathetic and exact, and paints a finely detailed portrait of the woman behind the books. An engaging, intriguing, absorbing read—history is rarely this entertaining!" — #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens

From the Publisher

Georgette Heyer published her first novel, The Black Moth, in 1921 when she was 19 years old and published her 56th and last one more than 50 years later. Heyer is recognized today as the creator of the Regency genre of historical fiction. Kloester (Georgette Heyer's Regency World) contends in this biography based on her PhD thesis that Heyer's body of work—her historical novels, crime fiction, and especially Regency novels—continues to inspire readers and writers around the world and that her significance in the literary arena endures. With rare access to Heyer's private papers as well as newly identified letters, Kloester perceptively analyzes Heyer's novels. Plots, characters, sales figures, and income are detailed as she methodically chronicles the appearance of each novel and reveals the steady progress of Heyer's rise to best-seller status. Kloester also documents Heyer's family life, her relationships with business associates, and even her luncheon with Queen Elizabeth II, who described the novelist as "formidable." VERDICT This well-written, thoroughly researched biography is more detailed than Jane Aiken Hodge's The Private World of Georgette Heyer. Heyer enthusiasts and readers interested in popular romantic historical fiction or the Regency period of English literature will enjoy this.—Kathryn R. Bartelt, Univ. of Evansville Libs., IN

Library Journal

A detailed, yet sometimes-plodding study of the life and work of Georgette Heyer (1902–1974), the best-selling British Regency romance writer. Kloester (Georgette Heyer's Regency World, 2005) spent 10 years researching this book, which draws from "new and untapped archives of [Heyer's] letters," as well as the author's notebooks and other private papers. The result is a carefully crafted, narrowly focused biography that concentrates on Heyer and her novels to the near exclusion of the times in which she was writing. The woman whom the Daily Telegraph called the "20th Century Jane Austen" was "born an Edwardian." But Kloester points out that Heyer's upper-middle-class world and many of the traditions that informed it--"servants, horses and carriages, good manners, correct speech, the right clothing and a certain level of education and cultural literacy"--were products of the English Regency. Encouraged from an early age by her literature-loving father to read widely and write, Heyer produced her first novel when she was just 17. However, it would be more than 20 years before she would focus exclusively on the Regency romances for which she is best remembered. Until that time, she dabbled in historical, contemporary and detective fiction writing and experienced modest, but steadily increasing, success with each novel she published. After her father died in 1925, Heyer supported her mother and two brothers on her literary earnings. Until her husband could practice as an attorney, she had to support her own household as well, factors that Kloester believes contributed to her all-consuming drive to write. Heyer produced more than 50 novels in her lifetime, in addition to numerous short stories. Unable to see her work as being on par with "serious" writers, she would assert that her books sold because they were historical romances "that [didn't] date." But as Kloester observes, the literary legacy Heyer could not fully own still "endures." Meticulously researched, but with limited audience appeal.

Kirkus Reviews