Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Best Seller

Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Best Seller

by Jennifer Kloester

I received this lengthy biography for Christmas. I believe it was purchased through an Amazon reseller.

Miss Heyer was born in 1902 to an upper middle-class British family. She loved to watch the stage coaches come rolling down the street, an image which stayed with her for the rest of her days and helped her Regency world come to life. A bright and imaginative child, her parents allowed her imagination to run free and her father encouraged and influenced her story telling. At the age of 19 she published her first book, written to amuse her invalid brother Boris. She published one or two novels a year almost every year for the rest of her life. Her early marriage to George Ronald Rougier and the birth of her son Richard did not hamper her career. Her husband was supportive and even helped shape the plots of her early mystery novels. Miss Heyer's early novels were contemporary and dealt with the issues of a woman's place, marriage and other topics of the day. Her fun mystery novels paid the bills and allowed her the freedom to research for her historical novels. History was her true passion and by the 1930s, she was writing nearly exclusively Regency novels. Miss Heyer was notoriously reserved and very private. She almost never gave interviews and was very demanding in regards the the publication of her books. She was conservative, snobby and prejudiced by modern standards though she was very much a product of her upbringing in that time and place. She admired and idealized the Regency era and drew her world from her own memories of the Edwardian era and extensive research. Her attention to detail and ability to bring characters to life made her books instant best sellers. Her death from lung cancer in 1974 was a great tragedy in the world of literature.

Ms. Kloestner built on a previous work by Joan Aiken Hodge to create a complete picture of the life of one of the 20th century's most prolific and beloved authors. Ms. Kloestner interviewed Miss Heyer's son, friends and others who knew Miss Heyer well. The biography is also drawn from archival sources (my favorite!) such as private correspondence and publishing records. The biography is well-written and the writing style is accessible to anyone. Though it is long, it moves along quickly, at least if one doesn't ready every word! The book goes into great depth, almost too much at times, about the life of Georgette Heyer and those who were close to her. Ms. Kloestner quotes extensively from Miss Heyer's correspondence and the back of the book includes lists of Heyer's novels, short stories and Ms. Kloestner's sources and acknowledgments. There is even a section of photographs, many never before seen from private family archives. I am very impressed by Miss Kloestner's research and think this is a wonderful biography. Short of any new information that comes to light in the future, there can never be another book about Georgette Heyer equal to this one. I highly recommend it to those who want to know more about their favorite author.