The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer The Nonesuch – Laura’s all-time favourite Although Heyer was undoubtedly reflecting the tropes of the era, it’s a shame as it marrs what otherwise would be a perfect read. With a pleasingly mutli-layered plot that ticks along like clockwork, this novel would be a delight from start to finish, except for the troublingly anti-semitic passages where Sophy encounters a Jewish money-lender. Before long she is putting the world to rights, making sure the right people fall in love with one-another and convincing the reluctant Charles that his carefully ordered existence is perhaps not what he really wanted all along. Instead they discover Sophy not only knows everyone, and how to behave with every nuance of social distinction, she also has a very effective way of managing the people around her, including her overbearing cousin Charles. Brought up by her military father following the Duke of Wellington on the campaign trail Sophy returns to London to live with her cousins who are expecting an ingénue. Sophy is an unforgettable character and something of a feminst triumph although who knows how much of that Heyer had in mind. It’s the one I would give to a friend who hadn’t read her before. There are Georgette Heyer novels and Georgette Heyer novels – some are better than others and to my mind The Grand Sophy is the very best. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer The Grand Sophy – Kate’s all-time favourite If you’re thinking of dipping in, here’s our rundown of the best: Historical romances might not be your thing, but a few hours spent in the company of Heyer’s sparkling heroines and dashing Regency bucks may change your mind. She is generally credited with having invented the genre of the Regency Romance, and readers lapped up her meticulously plotted novels, still sought out today as the perfect form of escapism by readers in-the-know. The book was published and became a success, and Heyer began to write follow-ups.
Georgette Heyer wrote her first book, The Black Moth, when she was 19, to amuse her brother who was recovering from an illness. There are also some problematic scenes for contemporary readers: consider yourself warned and skip to the bottom if you want to know which novels to avoid. Laura’s cousin, who she was sure would love them, said ‘Laura, there’s far too many cousins marrying cousins for me!’ Fair enough. It has to be said, they are not for everyone. Having outed ourselves we thought it a good idea to put together a list of our favourites.
In our latest Bookshelf show ( episode 78), we got happily lost in a tangent about the time we both spend secretly reading Georgette Heyer novels. What is the best Georgette Heyer novel? Read on, read on.
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