Georgette Heyer Fans discussion

Which was the first book that you read by Georgette Heyer? And what was it about the book that told you that you wanted to read more by this writer?

For me, the first book was The Talisman Ring. My younger sister saw it at a bookstore and wanted it. I bought it for her for her birthday. The cover intrigued me, so I read it just as soon as she was finished.

I liked Ludovic but Eustacie ... not so much. Sarah and Sir Tristram stole the book so far as I was concerned, and it was their romance that made me eager to read more.

What about you?

Friday's Child. My mother gave it to me when I was thirteen or fourteen. She had read and loved it when she was a young woman and thought that I would too. She was right. While I wouldn't say that it's my favourite Heyer novel (it's still my mother's favourite), I am very fond of it and all the more so because it was the first one I read. Forty years later, I still get lots of pleasure from re-reading it.

The Masqueraders

I stumbled on it while rummaging through a heap of 'on sale' books. The world created, the language spoken, the adventures imagined, the characters birthed - all of them sucked me in and have not yet let me go.

And the romance! Oh the romance! How could she get it right every single time? But she did! And I'm so very thankful. :D

False Colours: It was during the ninth grade--1965? A friend had checked the book out of the school library. She had it on the bus with her one day. The cover looked interesting, and I asked her to give me the book when she finished it. Reading it, I was captivated by the time period, the language, the humour [LOL], and the characters. After finishing False Colours, I read every Heyer book I could find.
Kay

Arabella. I fell in love with Beaumaris, he is so powerful and funny and charming... and he is known as The Nonpareil (how great is that?). And this book is one of the funniest I have ever read.

I can never forget the day when i first took The Grand Sophy from the library.
I was 17 and had never read a romance book before and was kinda nervous about anything that had romance in it. I was in the usual section skimming through crime thrillers when the cover picture cotillion caught my eye. It was so pretty i started looking through other books by the author. My mom immediately suggested I try Grand Sophe and I brought it home. I have to say it took my obsession for cultures and costumes to a brand new level.
I was lured into her tantalizing world of Regency and her writing style, use of rich lexis, characterization, description, true facts and clean romance, i still can smell the lush woods at Sancia's; still feel the soft touch of satin gowns against my skin; feel the keys of some grand piano hearing myself singing a lovely song; still awed by the grandeur of the manors; still feel sitting by the bank running my fingers through the glistening stream; still feel like strolling in a shrubbery melting in the fragrances of multicolored roses; still feel like dancing in the ballroom with Nick Beauvallet; still feel the euphoria at being so close to Dominique(sigh). With her description i felt like i was inside the book. Grand Sophe was so good i became an instant fan. I wanted to read more books in the genre and had searched for & tried many novels of the same genre which cannot hold a candle to Heyer's fantastic writing. She had the ability to turn a boring era into a splendid one. Her books had strong plots and wit that it never got uninteresting.

Kay Webb wrote: "False Colours: It was during the ninth grade--1965? A friend had checked the book out of the school library. She had it on the bus with her one day. The cover looked interesting, and I asked her to..."

"False Colours" was the second one I read. I kept on reading after that because I fell in love with Kit and hoped there would be more heroes like him.

Sakura wrote: "Arabella. I fell in love with Beaumaris, he is so powerful and funny and charming... and he is known as The Nonpareil (how great is that?). And this book is one of the funniest I have ever read."

Arabella was the first Heyer book I really fell in love with, and I've read quite a few times! At the moment though, I don't own it, as I haven't been able to find it in any second hand stores.

Katherine wrote: "Sakura wrote: "Arabella. I fell in love with Beaumaris, he is so powerful and funny and charming... and he is known as The Nonpareil (how great is that?). And this book is one of the funniest I hav..."

And I totally forgot to say which my first was! I'm pretty sure it was Bath Tangle, but there's a chance it could have been Powder and Patch (which I love and understand so much better now than I did at age 13!).

My first Heyer was Frederica. I was 16 and staying with a group of schoolfriends in a seaside caravan after exams and there were some books there one of which was Frederica.I loved it.

I think any of these books (except Pastel and Instead of the Thorn, which I've not read) could have hooked me if they'd been the first. It would be hard to go wrong, though. I think that if I were to count the Heyer books I've read and didn't like on the fingers of one hand, I'd still have fingers left over.

My first was The Reluctant Widow (after more than one friend had recommended Heyer to me) and it's still a sentimental favorite for that reason. (Also for lines like, "You have found a skull. How delightful it is, to be sure!" :)

My first attempt at Heyer was The Convenient Marriage, but I didn't finish it the first time I checked it out. A while later, I tried her again and really enjoyed The Nonesuch, so I think of that as my first Heyer. I found her completely by accident, just browsing the shelves at the library. So serendipitous :)

Cotillion or Sprig Muslin and whichever it was I was in tears laughing and completely hooked.

My first Heyer was Arabella. I found it in Barnes & Noble and loved the cover art. I loved this book mainly because of Beaumaris. He's so funny and sweet. The scenes with the dog and Beaumaris hooked me on Heyer for life :)

Aconnol wrote: "My first Heyer was Arabella. I found it in Barnes & Noble and loved the cover art. I loved this book mainly because of Beaumaris. He's so funny and sweet. The scenes with the dog and Beaumaris hook..."

Hahaha me too! That's exactly what happened to me =D

My first Heyer was The Convenient Marriage, but from there I read the rest of her medieval, Georgians, and Regencies in under a year. Loved her books- all the tangled hilarious situations and gentle love.

Mine was Lady of Quality and I just finished that a few months ago and I have bought 3 more and am going to start Cousin Kate after I finish Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester.

Oh, Nicole, if you've just started reading Heyer, you have so much pleasure ahead of you! I could envy you reading her books for the first time, except that most of them are so re-readable.

My first Heyer book was Venetia. I've heard of many recommendations for Heyer over the past three/four years but for some reason I just never got around to reading her stuff. The plot for Venetia caught my attention so I decided to check out that book first. That was a few months ago and since then I've been picking up her books every so often for my eReader. I absolutely love her stuff, it's a nice break from some of the heavier stuff I've read recently and they're so hilarious and wonderful =)

My first Heyer was The Corinthian. I loved the interaction between Pen and Sir Richard. I can always picture her climbing out of her window and literally falling into his arms. And the ride on the Stage or Mail and one of the villain's in a catskin waistcoat. One of the few books that had a murder and such a mystery. I was hooked of course.

My first Heyer was Powder and Patch. I was looking for a clean romance novel when I was recommended Powder & Patch by an elderly lady at the resthome I worked for at the time. She had a bookcase full of these old worn out Heyer paperbacks. She would start at one end and read them all and then start again! I'm not sure what it was about Powder & Patch that I liked that kept me reading Heyer (Powder & Patch is not among my favourites now) but over the next year or so I read every Heyer I could get my hands on! I think I read Heyer exclusively for a year. I now have my own bookcase full of worn out Heyer paperbacks I found treasure hunting through old bookstores.

Nicole wrote: "Mine was Lady of Quality and I just finished that a few months ago and I have bought 3 more and am going to start Cousin Kate after I finish Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester."

That was my first book too! After finishing it in one night, I was hooked.

My first Georgette Heyer novel was Sophie, een liefde zonder angst, a Dutch translation of The Grand Sophy. It was a paperback I bought at a sale and I was sixteen at the time. Just like Leslie, I was hooked after this first book :-). There weren't (and still aren't) all that many Dutch translations available but I bought all Dutch titles I could lay my hands on and still have them even though I am now the proud owner of English hardback editions of all of Heyer's historical romances. It's as Li said earlier on, Georgette Heyer's historical romances make a nice break from the heavier stuff I normally read. The Grand Sophy, by the way, is still my favourite.

My first was Arabella. I found it in my school library - the cover caught my eye (it was the newer editions with a Regency lady examining the ground, leaning on a sun dial. I loved it! The language, the characters, the back and forth between the H&H. I've been happily hooked ever since.

My first was the Convenient Marriage. I was looking at Amazon for something and I saw one of her Sourcebooks and I really liked the covers so I looked at her stuff and found that she wrote lots and lots of novels, which was great for me at the time because I was sadly lacking in things to read. I looked at the plots of her books and I liked the Convenient Marriage the best so I decided to check it out at the library. I liked it but I wasn't in love (mostly the heroines fault), so I decided I would give another of her books a chance.

So glad I did! I think I either checked out the Nonesuch or Frederica but all I remember is I fell in love and was hooked. I then decided to read as many of her books as I could and rent them all at the same time which was about thirty of them. :D

Well, I really can't remember , like so many others on this board I have read and re-read everything SO often.

Also, there was a longish period in my militant feminist days where GH's were a secret 'guilty pleasure', even an intellectual giant like Germaine Greer classing them with the dreaded Barbara Cartland. It's been many years since I was an 'out' GH fan though I still find myself having to explain and defend her to detractors, dammit!

I THINK, on reflection, The Grand Sophy might have been the first, and is still one of my favourites along with A Civil Contract, Venetia, Fredereica, The Unknown Ajax and , oh you know , heaps of them ...........

My first Heyer was also The Convenient Marriage. It was two years ago after I had decided to start reading romance as a kind of anti-stress therapy. I first went on various romance forums to see what people recommend and saw Heyer's name for the first time.

All her books are available at the library so I checked out The Convenient Marriage as the trope appeals to me. Although it was not much of a romance but it was so funny and I fell in love with Heyer's writing and knew that I would be reading her other books (at least those classified as romance).

My first Heyer I think was 'These old shades', I then went on to read 'Devils Cub', I didn't like 'Regency Buck', that much so I didn't finish it but then I think went on to read 'Sylvester', which I loved and is my favourite so far.

My first Heyer was Sprig Muslin. I was at a house party for a weekend when a good friend of mine handed it to me and said he thought I'd like it. I looked at it dubiously. "I don't really read romances, you know." "No, really, I think you'll like it," he said.

So I tried it. And sat there giggling as I read it over the weekend. I did quite enjoy it, but wasn't immediately hooked. At the same party the following year, he brought The Grand Sophy for me to read, and that did it.

I still haven't read quite all of them - I save them for either special treats or really bad days.

The first Heyer I read was The Reluctant Widow.

I know I was either in my last year of senior school or the first year of College and that it was my Mum that got it out of the library for me (which makes me think I was sick at the time.)

I'd been a fan of Jane Austen for several years before that so it wasn't a great leap, and I just couldn't put it down.

I don't know exactly what I love so much about them, except perhaps that they are real romance, and not what so often passes for it now.

The Grand Sophy. I couldn't stop then, had to have more!!!

I think the first one I read was Cousin Kate and then Reluctant Widow. I read pretty much all of the historical novels in high school back in the 70s and I feel like I learned a lot in both vocabulary and history. I decided to reread them when I found the Georgette Heyer website and I am enjoying them even more. I am even more impressed by her knowledge than the first time. I love the humor in these stories. I laugh out loud frequently when reading them.

Claire wrote: "My first Heyer was Frederica. I was 16 and staying with a group of schoolfriends in a seaside caravan after exams and there were some books there one of which was Frederica.I loved it."

Mine too

Just finished Arabella and I am officially hooked!! I loved Beaumaris espcially his relationship with his dog!!! I can't decide what to read next, but whatever I choose I'm sure I will thoroughly enjoy!!! Glad to find this group who shares my interest.

Cheryl wrote: "Just finished Arabella and I am officially hooked!! I loved Beaumaris espcially his relationship with his dog!!! I can't decide what to read next, but whatever I choose I'm sure I will thoroughly..."

Can't go wrong with Fredrica or Talisman Ring (my favorite!). Grand Sophy's good too.

I got into Heyer through her Mysteries. Much more likely I'd try a mystery than anything found in the romance section. So, first Heyer I tried was Why Shoot a Butler? (4 stars). Liked it well enough to try another mystery of hers.

So, from June to December 2009 I found, through diligent searching, all of Heyer's mysteries and read them all. Finished Penhallow (3 stars) December 15 2009, the last of the books listed as "Mystery."

I only mention that last bit there to note that I didn't try a Heyer "Romance" until June 2011 (The Foundling - 5 stars). Combination of the rest of her books hiding in the Romance section, coupled with Penhallow not being as good, in my opinion, as the other mysteries, lead me to taking such a long break.

Mike - in your opinion, which GH mystery is her best? I've never read any of them & was thinking of trying one.
How do they compare to Agatha Christie?

My favorite Heyer mystery would be They Found Him Dead, though that one is the third in Hannasyde series. My favorite stand-alone mystery by Heyer would be Footsteps in the Dark.

They Found Him Dead is a straight forward mystery, while Footsteps in the Dark mystery/ghost story type of book.

I'm not sure how to compare with Christie, as I haven't really read much of Christie's work. My favorite of hers, Christie, tended to be more like And Then There Were None. Stand-alones that are darker than the more mentally driven Poirot books.

Ah, I went to look. I've only actually read four Christie books. So I'm really not in a position to compare and contrast Christie and Heyer.

From the actual mystery angle, I'd give the highest points to A Blunt Instrument and Behold, Here's Poison. Others like No Wind of Blame have wonderful characters but implausible Rube Goldberg murder methods.

Thanks Mike & Margaret! I'll have to give a GH mystery a try :)

Mike wrote: Footsteps in the Dark mystery/ghost story type of book.

I've read some of her mysteries, but never that one. I did reread some of them recently, and found them less entertaining than the first time. Footsteps sounds intriguing though, so I will definitely look for it. Thanks for the information.

I hope you find that you like Footsteps.

I looked it up on here and another book website I frequent, and I should warn, I suppose, that the two book websites seem to agree that the book is an average rating of 3 and a half stars (out of 5). That's based on, I believe, 92 ratings on one website and 1165 on Goodreads.

It is still my sixth favorite of Heyer's books I've read though (my rating being 4.59). Of course this could be six of six books read or six of 80. Context always being important. So I'll note I've read 25 of Heyer's books so far.

I'm not much of a rereader but I might reread that one. Now that I have greater understanding of Heyer's writing. Footsteps was the fourth Heyer book I read.

Ratings can be tricky, though, because I never know to what extent other people's tastes match with my own, even when they generally like the same books. But the mystery/ghost story part sounds interesting, and maybe I can get the book through inter-library loan.

Footsteps in the Dark is my favorite Heyer mystery, although the actual "mystery" takes a back seat to the great camaraderie between the foursome and the hysterical Aunt Bosanquet. I find it more tongue-in-cheek and camp then her other whodunnits, and that's what I like about it. On the other end of the spectrum, I think Penhallow is a brilliant character study and a fine "why"-dunnit. Very dark.

Footsteps is such a funny (both odd and amusing) book. On the one hand, it's campy and sappy, but somehow it also manages to be a bit tense and scary, too. Brilliant!

Cotillion and I loved it! only one i have read so far but can't wait to read the others! as i said in the 'obligatory first post' thread, i would love some suggestions as to which of her others are great! i am talking about the romance ones (at the moment i am thinking i am going to read Arabella next...)

Arabella is fantastic! Fredrica is also very good. The Talisman Ring is my absolute favorite :)

Thank you!! All now on my Heyer list!! Is the Talisman ring more funny or more romantic?

Both. It contains two very funny romances.