This collection includes 25 essays about the inimitable Georgette Heyer. Inspired by her love of Jane Austen, Heyer penned period romances of her own and ended up creating the Regency romance genre that is still widely popular today. The essays in this anthology treat on Heyer’s influences, intelligence, idiosyncracies, and immortal achievements. Some of my favorite essays include:
- Georgette Heyer’s Literary Genius, by Jennifer Kloester
- A Most Excellent Influence: Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, by Susannah Fullarton
- Gambling in Heyer, by Rachel Hyland
- Heyer’s Heirs: What to Read After Georgette, by Amanda Jones
As is usual in anthologies, the quality of the essays vary, and there were a few essays that found me skimming along rather rapidly to the next one. While Heyer is overall the recipient of much praise, there were a few essays critical of the narrowness of her societal scope and the mores of the time in which she wrote. The end of the anthology provides the contributors’ favorite and least favorite Heyer titles, heroes, and heroines, a fun walk down memory lane.
This anthology is best appreciated by those who already have experience with the Heyer canon. It is a great companion piece to Jennifer Kloester’s must-have work, Georgette Heyer’s Regency World.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Rosanne E. Lortz 