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The Private World of Georgette Heyer

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Jane Aiken Hodge wrote the first critical perspective of Heyer's books, and it is one of the most useful books. Not only is it an insight into Georgette Heyer's world, but also a glimpse into her own life. Hodge had access to her diary's and notebooks, a privilege not extended to anyone else until Mary Fahnstock Thomas did her critical perspective. (Also very good)

The Private World of Georgette Heyer should be put into perspective. It shows the development of Heyer's writing, from the first episodic book she wrote for her brother (Black Moth) and published at the age of 17, to her experiment with modern novels (all suppressed) to her experiments with writing mysteries, historical novels, her movement into her most famous genre, Regency Romances, and finally to the works she considered her most eponymous - that is of Medieval fiction. Her last work was left unfinished, and was published as such. It is perhaps her most disliked by her modern readers.

Heyer is also perhaps not necessarily recognised by the wider public as the woman who spawned the Regency Romance genre. She was badly copied by the likes of Barbara Cartland, but as Heyer's fans know, Heyer did hours of painstaking research on her subjects. Hodge does an excellent job of showing this in this book. Some of the illustrations Heyer copied from books and magazines in the British Library are reproduced, but more usefully, Hodge goes through each book and allows a chapter for it and Heyer's life at the time. Usually there is a struggle with the Inland Revenue involved as Heyer seemed to have to write to pay the tax bills more often than not.

There are occassional lapses where Hodge makes minor mistakes on books etc, these are pretty forgiveable in a book of this scope and they usually don't affect the understanding of Heyer and her books too greatly.

For anyone wishing to understand Heyer, or get a greater understanding of the period of history she was writing about (or living in) this is an excellent work. If nothing else just flick through and look at the pictures. An extraodinary woman, and a very private life well illustrated.

The private world of Georgette Heyer was always firmly and politely closed to her reading public; she denied all interviews, was reluctant even to be photographed, and limited her publicity work to writing blurbs for advertising campaigns. Surviving family, friends, and the literary estate continue to honor the author's preference, leaving only open records, publisher correspondence, and the books themselves to speak for their creator. Hodge's book is the better for this; the private world of the title relates to the literary world that Heyer created, and Hodge tells the story of the author's literary career, offering only a broad sketch of the events of Heyer's life and limiting her speculation into emotional states. Hodge's careful reading of the Heyer ouevre and Heyer's correspondence surrounding the creation and marketing of her books allows fans (and literary scholars) to eavesdrop on a lifelong literary career, offering insights into a woman with a keenly intelligent mind, passionate opinions, fastidious manners, and highly ambivalent views about her own work and its readers. The portrait is drawn without judgment (Hodge leaves that to the reader) and her prose is clear, well-structured, and as readable as Heyer's own. In a tone both fond of and perceptive about its subject, without requiring any recourse to gossip, scandal, or salacious tidbits (which Heyer herself would have no doubt abhorred!), Hodge's biography is both an interesting overview of the Heyer canon and a respectful portrait of the woman who created it. I particularly enjoyed the illustrations that brought the private world of Heyer's beloved Regency romances to light.

I have enjoyed reading books by Heyer for many years now and have read all of her Regency books. Therefore, I was very interested to read this biography. If you are a Heyer fan you will find many things of interest throughout the book. I especially liked the pictures from her journals showing her meticulous research into all matters of fashion of the day. I also enjoyed that the author, Jane A. Hodge, wrote with affection for the Heyer books and presented insight into what was happening in the life of the author when she was writing them. If you enjoy reading the Heyer books, you will enjoy reading Hodge's informative biography.

I have read Heyer off and on growing up and rediscovered them a while ago. Surfing the local library catalogue, I bumped into this book and found it fascinating. The world Heyer built was charming and perfect, where manners and propriety is must and wit is romance. Its the world I like to escape into and Hodge does homage to both the creator and the works respectful of Heyer's sentiments. Her style of analysing and studying the books chronologically makes a splendid approach to following Heyer's life and work as an author. However, while doing so she does not reveal much about the plot itself, but definitely does let you in on what it must have taken - research and otherwise - for Heyer to have produced it.
It is well written and exposes Heyer only as much as she herself might have allowed. I thought it a novel way to write about an author who put so much of herself (essence of herself rather) in her books. Through out the book, you see Heyer herself evolving, as you see her family grow and surround her.
I would recommend this book - in fact go so far as to say it is a must - for any Heyer fan. The other author it made me think of is Edgar Wallace. In fact, I found a curious reference to him in the book - his daughter was Mrs.Frere, a close friend of Heyer.

I relished finding a copy of this book as I had been on the look out for years and anxiously delved into it-expecting to find the Georgette Heyer I had fondly imagined for many years instead of her being the antithesis of who she really was. Upon closer scrutiny I realised I may have been mistaken. Although my first impression is of a large and intimidating woman, I read between the lines to realise that a possible shyness is responsible for the refusal to let the adoring public into her life. For this and for the hours of joy I have had and will have as long as I can read, I will continue to think her one of the best authors the 20th century ever produced.
I was certainly more interested in what her own personal favourites were and what was her motivation in writing certain stories than I was with her private life at the time of her writing them. This is not so much mentioned in the book. And perhaps this is why I am less appreciative than I might otherwise have been of Miss Hodge's efforts....

Title: Private World of Georgette Heyer

It's an interesting look at the life of the woman who founded the Regency Romance genre. All others in the genre owe a lot to this woman who did some serious research to ensure she had her details correct in the stories. I would have loved to see her library before it was dispersed.

This looks behind the scenes at the life of this intensely private woman, a woman who supported her family and ensured that her husband was enabled to study and become, eventually, a judge, but also a woman who hated paperwork, disliked change, had a lot of impatience with others of her gender and disliked stupidity of all sorts.

She also wrote well, and had such a passion for the era that it showed. This book looks at some of the minor errors she comitted but is also lavishly illustrated with some of her sketches in her notebook. I would have loved to know who the imitators/plagarists alluded to in the book were.

All in all a very interesting biography that rekindled my enthuaism for re-reading the stories by this interesting woman.

I recently found this in my basement and re-read it. I was almost immediately reminded why it was in my basement. Setting aside that it's quite skimpy on the "biography," Ms. Hodge didn't do even basic research. There are several egregious errors, e.g. a paragraph where she mentions that the heroine of *Pastel* is jealous of her "elder" sister. This is not a forgivable lapse, as another reviewer would have it; this is a slap in the face when writing about an author whose books were so meticulously and lovingly researched.

Ms. Hodge seems to have had either too little or too much affection for Ms. Heyer and I think it shows. The biography is lavishly illustrated and she mentions each of Heyer's works by name, but the rest of it is oddly lacking, and overall disappointing. Far better to curl up with a good Heyer book than to waste your time with this.

I found this book a good read about one of my favorite authors. It told about Miss Heyer's research and writing habits in a clear and concise manner along with her private life and how it fit together. I would recommend this book to any one who wants to know about Georgette Heyer.

Georgette Heyer was a very private personage. She had to be to keep up with her voluminous writing and family responsibilities. It takes time to write and do it well, which the legions of Ms. Heyer's fans will attest.
Jane Aiken Hodge used the private letters, interviews, current readings of all her books to interweave a biography through the author's work. The excellent index allows a reader to discover what was happening in Ms. Heyer's personal life when a particular book was published.
The British system of taxation almost destroyed Ms. Heyer career, but it gave readers many delightful stories as she struggle to meet its demands.
A must volume for any Heyer fan, who still enjoys a wide readerships over thirty years after her death. "The Private World of Georgette Heyer" is both scholarly and intimate, a difficult achievement for any author.
Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Sins of the Fathers."

Everyone who knows Regency romance knows Georgette Heyer. The bare bones of her life are there for all to see, but not much more. She disliked the cult of author as celebrity and rarely gave interviews. Jane Aiken Hodge's biography, THE PRIVATE WORLD OF GEORGETTE HEYER, sheds light about the life of someone so well known and at the same time so well hidden.

A compulsive writer, Ms. Heyer (pronounced "hare") published her first novel in 1921 when she was nineteen. Then, for the rest of her life, with a few exceptions, she wrote one and sometimes two novels a year. She wrote mainly historical romances, but also historical fiction, thrillers, contemporary novels and one collection of short stories, fifty-seven works in all. A monumental output for any author.

She was born on August 16, 1902. Her father encouraged his children to read, and she was a voracious reader as she grew up. She was tall, good looking, intelligent, and never hid her light under a bushel. And on top of it, she was a successful novelist, which scared away many men. But not Ronald Rougier, whom she married in 1925, and they remained married for almost fifty years, until her death in 1974. They had one child, Richard, who became a barrister like his father.

Ms. Hodge uses common knowledge, as well as Ms. Heyer's letters and interviews with people who knew her, to paint a picture of a woman of contradictions. She loved to write, but in her early career, she had to write. She was the main breadwinner for her mother and brothers after her father's death, and also in the first years of her marriage. Later, as her success increased, she raged on and on about how she paid too much in income taxes, but she couldn't be bothered to track deductible expenses that would have reduced her burden. She wrote stories read mainly by women, yet she was not domestic. She spent most of her life around men and preferred their company. She lived in the public eye, but since her novels sold so well, she deemed interviews unnecessary and actively discouraged them.

As rabid as she was about maintaining her privacy, she was also rabid about historical accuracy. Her books are treasure troves of historical detail, both the thrillers, which were contemporary in the 1930's when she wrote them, as well as the novels set in the Regency, Georgian and earlier eras. Ms. Hodge gives a fascinating view of the context in which Ms. Heyer's novels were written, and a chronological list of all her books.

Love Georgette Heyer's novels or hate them, she, along with Jane Austen, remains one of the icons of regency romance. If you want to know more about this fascinating woman, THE PRIVATE WORLD OF GEORGETTE HEYER is the book for you.

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