My mother introduced me to Georgette Heyer when I was about thirteen. She always bought the latest Georgette Heyer the moment it came out and, apart from enjoying the stories, I also admired the covers. I quickly realized that they were a pastiche of Regency prints – we had a number of prints by Rowlandson at home, and my mother had a copy of Batsford’s plates from the Gallery of Fashion 1790-1822, which is now mine, so I recognized the sort of clothes Heyer’s characters would have worn. Illustration from the ‘Gallery of Fashion’ I don’t know what happened to all my mother’s first editions of Georgette Heyers, unfortunately. I bought my own paperback copies, some with awful covers, like this 1962 cover of The Corinthian. The Pan Books 1962 cover of ‘The Corinthian’ Fortunately, some, like the 1963 Peacock cover by Victor Ambrus, a well-respected book illustrator, are rather good. (Peacock was a Penguin Books imprint which, age-wise, came between Puffin Books for children, and Penguin Books for adults.) The Ambrus pictures have energy and movement which captures the restlessness and impetuosity of the young hero, Dominic, and the excitement of the story, perfectly. And, big plus, he'd obviously actually read the book. Devil's Cub front cover by Victor Ambrus Victor Ambrus's back cover for Devil's Cub I did manage to buy some hardback Heyers in second hand bookshops, a number of which were first editions – but, as one of her early books, These Old Shades, sold over 190,000 copies in hardback when it came out in 1926, first editions are not particularly rare. Her books were automatic bestsellers, after all. Georgette Heyer’s ‘Friday’s Child’, 1944, cover by Philip Gough A number of Heyer’s early novels had books covers by Philip Gough, and I particularly like his cover for Friday’s Child’ with the heroine gazing out of the window. We cannot see her face and do not know what she’s looking at so intently, but it draws us in. I already had a paperback copy of the book, but I happily upgraded it for this nice edition with the original cover. Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer, cover design by Arthur Barbosa I value my Georgette Heyers – they have given me a lot of pleasure over the years. I have been known to buy a second hand hardback copy of a Georgette Heyer simply for its cover, for example, Sprig Muslin. My own copy was a first edition hardback but it was coverless. I bought this copy for £4.99 – not expensive, put the new cover on it, and donated the book I’d just bought, now coverless, back to the Charity Shop. 'Sylvester' by Georgette Heyer, book cover by Arthur Barbosa I did the same thing with Sylvester, which has another Barbosa cover. I was particularly pleased with this purchase because I didn’t know what the original cover looked like, so I was thrilled to find it. I’d be very surprised to find that I’m the only Heyer fan to do such a thing! It just goes to show that a classy cover really can sell a book. And the continuing popularity of Heyer's novels. Georgette Heyer, photo by Howard Coster, 1939 A closing note This is my last post for the Historical Romance UK Blogspot and I’d like to thank all of you who have followed me. I hope you have enjoyed the posts – I certainly enjoyed writing them. I shall continue to blog every Sunday on my Elizabeth Hawksley website and I hope that you will visit me there. http://elizabethhawksley.com/blog/ I also Tweet whenever I put up a new post. @Hawksley_E I have recently expanded my list of Categories which has a number of areas of interest to readers of Historical Romance, for example: Castles (including Stately Homes); Exhibitions (King Charles II and Power Dressing; or historical royal toys at Buckingham Palace); Exploring London (Behind the scenes at the Royal Mews); Fashion (History of Underwear exhibition at the V & A); Jane Austen and her World (posts about Georgette Heyer are listed here); Royal Connections (from sexy John of Gaunt to a Medieval Queen’s bathroom at Leeds Castle); Notable People (Lord Byron, Georgette Heyer) There are eighteen categories in all and posts appear in more than one category. You are welcome to browse. Click on Blog, then on Categories. There is a Comments box, if you wish to share your thoughts. You will need to give me your email address but no-one else will see it, and you don't have to give your full name. I have a friend who comments as 'Eleanor' - a name she wishes she had! If you'd like me to notify you by email of a new post, please tick the follower box. I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2019. Elizabeth Hawksley
From the desk of Keira Soleore: Dear Readers, when I first set sight on the cover of Kingscastle, I knew I had to read it. I was pleased to see that the story lives up to the promise of Lee Avison’…
A beautiful young woman who becomes the toast of society in her season in London sounds like a standard subject for Heyer, but also being Heyer there is a twist in this social comedy romance…
Georgette Heyer is best-known for her frothy Regency romances, set during the early nineteenth century (in the days of Jane Austen). She began her career, however, with a series of winsome tales of…
Georgette Heyer is hugely popular historical romance novelist. But with over fifty novels to choose, here's the 10 best Georgette Heyer books
Georgette Heyer is a British historical romance and detective novelist who began writing in the 1920s. Her meticulous attention to detail is even reflected in the beautiful cover art on each dust...
Filled with sparkling wit, frothy romance, and impeccable period details, every single one of Georgette Heyer’s Georgian and Regency novels has something to recommend it. There are runaway balloon…
“An impetuous flight… Tiffany Wield’s bad behavior is a serious trial to her chaperone. “On the shelf ” at twenty-eight, Ancilla Trent strives to be a calming influen…
False Colours, by Georgette Heyer, has an exciting treat in store for the reader: 2 different Allan Kass covers! The first, by Fawcett, is a 1977 printing, while the Signet is dated October 1984. Cressida Stavely is a young heiress with a dilemma: which brother to choose? She has accepted Evelyn, the Earl of Fancot but is enamored with his brother, Kit, after he masqueraded as Evelyn and fell in love with her! The Fawcett cover shows our two brothers, dressed identically, glaring at each other over the chair of the heroine. What strikes me as interesting is the lack of any detail on this cover, other than the people and the chair. It's very unusual for an Allan Kass cover. The Signet version shows more detail to our heroes and heroine. We see our identical brothers but one leads away the heroine while she glances at the other. Her yellow gown is richly embroidered and decorated. I love her headpiece! Note the detail of the room in which they stand. I hope you like seeing two different illustrations by Kass for the same book! It's apropos, I believe!!
Georgette Heyer is best-known for her frothy Regency romances, set during the early nineteenth century (in the days of Jane Austen). She began her career, however, with a series of winsome tales of…
This is my first Georgette Heyer novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Convenient Marriage is a standalone Regency romance although Heyer wrote many historical romances and detective fiction; some…
Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer was published by Signet in August 1992. Annis Wynchwood is happy being a Bath spinster until she helps out Oliver Carleton's niece, Lucilla, and realizes that there may be more to life than being a maiden aunt! This cover by Allan Kass is just beautiful. I love everything about it: the colors, the couple, and the detail. The couple look just as I imagined them to be and I like the blue/gray color of the heroine's dress, which blends into the blue painted room. The orange flowers give an exotic look to the cover.
I do love Georgette Heyer. Yes, sneer if you must, but I get more enjoyment out of her novels than I do from any other author. Consistency and quality are certainly traits to be admired, even if …
Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer is a Fawcett novel published in May 1976. Orphan Kate Malvern is invited to live with her aunt because she wishes Kate to marry her son, Torquil. However, Torquil isn't quite sane and his cousin Philip is more attractive.... Allan Kass's cover is one of his best. Our heroine is exceedingly elegant and the hero seems pensive as he gazes down at her. They sit in a richly decorated room with the painting over the fireplace being the focus. I really like how the heroine plays with her strand of pearls and her lilac dress is ethereal.
