What do you do when you've read every Georgette Heyer novel--suggestions, please!

I've read all of Georgette Heyer's Regency stories several times each. I've tried Clare Darcy, and her stuff is good, but I want more. Does anyone have any suggestions for other authors?

Have you tried Barbara Metzger? I think she does a really nice job; worth reading in my opinion. I liked her so much I started collecting. And, of course, Marion Chesney.

Also, Alison Lane, Nancy Butler, Carla Kelly, Loretta Chase. I assume you have also read the bigger names, Jo Beverley, Mary Balogh, Mary Jo Putney.

I have found some really great books by going to the romance award winner lists.

Hi! My name is Archie (or you can call me PLite, take your pick) and I read Georgette Heyer becuz Im weird. Har. My favourites are THESE OLD SHADES, DEVILS CUB, THE MASQUERADERS and I find FRIDAYS CHILD and ARABELLA the sweetest. I dont really read any other Regencies becuz Im weird enough as it is.

PS. I dont like Mary Balogh becuz all her plots sound alike and she tries to get by by sexing it up. Katherine Mansfield is best after Georgette Heyer, but Carla Kelly & Sandra Heath are also very good. Whutever happened to Joan Wolf?

I haven't read Clare Darcy. Which book would you recommend.

I don't remember reading a Katherine Mansfield. I think I've read Sandra Heath and Joan Wolf in anthologies. Which books to start with?

Mary Balogh is really good, but I agree that sometimes the sex overtakes the story. Stephanie Laurens does that too. Actually, way too many authors think that sex and will they/won't they, do they/don't they, make a story. I've learned to skim over the sex looking for plot, read, skim, etc.

Favorite Heyer: Hard to say. I love A Civil Contract and Sprig Muslin. I like them all! There is one about twins that sticks in my head too.

THE MASQUERADERS is about twins, I think, but they're boy & girl twins. Perhaps you are talking about PISTOLS FOR TWO? But its been a long time since I looked at it, and I dont think I liked it.

Im not sure if Ive read A CIVIL CONTRACT. The title kinda puts me off. Sometimes Georgette Heyer suffers from the overplotted unromantic syndrome. Accck, I just remembered that I also really like THE CONVENIENT MARRIAGE wid Lord Rule & stuttering Horatia WInwood.

Excellent Katherine Mansfields: A REGENCY CHARADE, THE FROST FAIR, THE MAGNIFICENT MASQUERADE, but they're all quality really.

Just in case youre wondering how I got into Regencies, my mum loves Regencies but since she doesnt like going to bookstores, I go and pick them out for her. So I am now an Expert becuz I have to be. Har.

I liked all the girl name Heyer's too, Arabella, etc. The Masqueraders is my niece's favorite and it was okay. It took me three tries to get past the first three pages, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I don't care much for impersonation stories, pirates, or practical jokers. So I didn't think I would like it. I guess that's why it is surprising I liked that twins one! False Colours, I think.

Did you read Something about Emmaline by Elizabeth Boyle? That was a nice read.

Yes, the twins story by Georgette Heyer was False Colours.

My favorite Heyer is The Grand Sophy, but I also love Arabella, Venetia, These Old Shades, Cotillion, and The Masqueraders.

As for Clare Darcy, I'd have to go check the few books of hers I've got--all of the titles I own are women's names, and I can't remember any of them! I read them years and years ago. At the time they struck me as very derivative of Heyer, (which is, of course, not surprising!) but in a good way.

Thanks for the recommendations. I haven't read any Regency romances that have been sexed up, and I'd like to keep it that way. I simply can't imagine it, after having read and enjoyed Georgette Heyer so much over the years. She'd never do that. Not with the patronesses of Almack's looking over her shoulder. ;)

Suggestion for Poppisima: do some research on the period, and then go back and re-read the Heyer books. Miss Heyer was very careful to be accurate on the period details, and I find that the more I know, the more interesting and entertaining I find her books.

Another suggestion: get yourself a detailed road map of England (including country roads), and re-read the books that have chases through the countryside, following the chases on the map. I've done this with Frederica and with Sprig Muslin, and it was a lot of fun.

Hi Lydia,
Thanks for pointing me to Almacks, even though I'm certainly not dressed for it!!

I used to have shelves and shelves of Regency novels...back in the 70s you could get them at any grocery store or drug store. Then Harlequin took over and decided that, as someone said, authors could do away with plot and dialog and just use sex. Too bad.

Anyway, at some point, I realized that Heyer had done it all the best, and got rid of all the rest...yet for some reason, I hung on to The Wayward Governess by Vanessa Gray. I'll have to reread it to decide if it should be kept.

I've recently been buying the new hardback reissues of Heyer. They don't seem have reissued them all, but the ones they have are on acid-free stock and I can keep them forever. Who knows, perhaps I'll have a granddaughter who will want them!

Favorite: Right now it is Reluctant Widow. It has it all: good, improbable plot that leads to fun humor, romance, and intrique. I'm looking to find Behold here's Poison. I have only read a few of her mysteries. I don't think her contemporary pieces very great, but I keep hearing good things about that one.

Mary Fahnestock-Thomas wrote Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective a critical review of all of Heyer's works, including newspaper reviews. I was glad to read it. Right now I'm reading Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester. Interesting, though I haven't gotten too far.

Not a lot of action here but hopefully, if you still want suggestions as to who to read after Georgette Heyer, you'll check in - Elizabeth Mansfield is an excellent choice. Someone also mentioned Barbara Metzger who is also excellent. Carola Dunn is said to be another excellent choice although I've only read one of her books and that was quite awhile ago.

I've always had great difficulty finding any books LIKE Heyer's... There are many other historical romance and regencies that one can read (and I do!), but the are never comparable, I think. It's best to just understand that Heyer is Heyer and everyone else is not the same--but if one likes the period, then there are some that may be acceptable (although none that really stand out in my mind, sadly).

I've had some fun joining in on-line groups who are doing group reads. It's fun to explore the books more in-depth and with others. There are MANY Heyer on-line resources to explore, too.

I used to belong to a large Heyer group and those of us who were local would sometimes meet up in person--having High Tea at various places, which was just wonderful.

There are also Regency Dancing groups in some areas and certainly at some SF conventions (Westercons and Worldcons), where one can learn the dances and occasionally dress up more formally.

Austen (JASNA) groups will do this too.

I really enjoyed the Pamela Aidan trilogy about Mr. Darcy. Fan fiction has always seemed odd to me, but I guess I really hadn't tried it. Anyway, I liked the way this series related back to Jane Austen.

There's Jude Morgan (Indiscretion) who, for some reason, seems to be identified as contemporary fiction rather than out and out romance. She's, um, actually I found her kind of bland but I think I'm being overly harsh. The book is genuinely well-crafted and delicately written - it has the style right, I think - and often quite witty but, for me, it just lacked the Heyer charm (but then so does everything). Also it's got a self-consciously detached air to it. I guess I'm sentimental but I tend to like my romance a bit more, err, gushy.

Mary Balogh has already been mentioned - she's quite hit and miss although Slightly Dangerous (the very last of a series but you don't need to read the whole series to get what's going on) seems to have a rather Heyerish feel to it.

Otherwise you just have to plunge into the world of the regency romance and hope for the best. I don't think anyone will surpass Heyer.

I must have missed this group when I joined and looked around - I guess there aren't an awful lot of posts. Anyway, delighted to have found you, as I am a huge GH fan. The first book I read was The Black Moth when I was eight. I found it when we were visiting friends, and it got my mother hooked too. Between us, I think we own every title.

Thanks for the suggestions above: I have put Passing Fancies on my wishlist at once!

Edited to get touchstones working and correct grammar

If you want lots of breathless adventure, Patricia Veryan is another excellent author. Most of her books are series and some take place in Georgian times rather than Regency - but then so do some of Heyer's.

Of course, there is no comparison to Georgette Heyer but the other authors mentioned are excellent in their own right.

The link takes me to a page with no books! And one three star rating. Is the spelling correct?

edit: There are two records, spelled the same. I can't seem to combine them. All this new programming. The link is here .

Why is all the type in italics?

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I put the end tag, let's see if it works.

Edit: yes, it worked. It is funny, that if somebody starts to write in italics and forgets the end tag, the messages after that are in italics, too.

Oops!

How do you type in italics? Or bold? Or strike through? Please share.

I finally got Patricia Veryan combined!

Testing typing in italics

Okay, wasn't sure what they used on this board.

To type in italics: at the beginning of what you want in italics, type the letter "i" in between the greater than and less than signs (no quotes). When you're done, end the same way only insert a "/" before the "i".

To bold, you would use a "b" instead of the "i". As far as strike through, that I don't know.

http://www.geocities.com/toniaizu/r/121.html

This site gives you the order in which you should read her books. I've read all of the Sanguinet Saga - very good with lots of adventure. That site also states that she's no longer writing. Too bad for us!

I'm not sure how easy it is to find her books. Perhaps on eBay or Amazon but I've had trouble finding them at used book stores but I still keep bringing my trusty list along just in case. :)

I do love Patricia Veryan's books, and was also recommended them when looking for something more Heyeresque. I still don't think they ARE very Heyer-like, however. But Veryan's Dedicated Villain is one of my all-time favorite romances!

I love Mary Balogh's books as well. Still not Heyer-like, to me.

I think Pamela Aidan's Darcy books are brilliant--easily the most true-to-Austen of the plethora of P&P-inspired books that have been written. But... not enough like Heyer... *sigh*

Frankly, I've just given up!

Good reminder that some html code works in these messages! Thanks.

I've never read any Patricia Veryan and they seem quite hard to get hold of in England (at least, I looked them up on Amazon and you can only get them for slightly excessive amounts of money via the marketplace). Are they worth it?

I haven't investigated this site to see if they ship outside of the US but they have her books for the best prices I've seen so far: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Veryan%2C+Patricia&sts=t&am...

This site has prices all over the place: http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?author=Veryan%2C+Patricia

These are definitely NOT Heyer, but if you enjoy both Heyer and Science Fiction, the Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are an unexpected cross of space opera and regency fiction, with good stories and a nice sense of humor as well. In a way they remind me of Georgette Heyer's books, although they are nothing like them.

Thank you Jannief - I am just a minimum research kind of person; besides although I'm happy to pay for shipping from the US, it tends to be so unreliable I'd rather not take chances. Perhaps I'm just cynical. I just investigate more carefully in future.

Speaking of Heyer and SF--there's Lois McMaster Bujold's A Civil Campaign--(and her other Vokosigan series books--I'd recommend people read them all!)--I think she dedicates it to "Georgette" as well as Dorothy Sayers (two of my favorite authors) and others. Again, I can see the influence, rather like I can see Austen in Patrick O'Brian, but really the differences still stand out to me in all these comparisons. (Not that I mind authors not being much like Heyer, really. It would be strange if they were!)

Mary Balogh - not sure if only available in Britain.

Mary Balogh is definitely not only available in Britain!

I do enjoy her books. They're much more in line with current Historical Romances, however.

Favorite Heyers: These Old Shades, The Grand Sophy, The Unknown Ajax, and Black Sheep. Plus all the others!

Every other Regency romance I've read seems to be a pale and poor imitation. But I suppose I should keep an open mind!

Oh--LT recommended Jane Aiken Hodge, and I did enjoy her books. More romance, less humor, though.

mrkgnao: "I've never read any Patricia Veryan and they seem quite hard to get hold of in England (at least, I looked them up on Amazon and you can only get them for slightly excessive amounts of money via the marketplace). Are they worth it?"

Veryans are hard to get ahold of... that was true even years ago when I tried finding them when I was actually looking for something Heyeresque (now I've given up on that, really). I wouldn't try and hunt them down... but if you do happen to come across some of the older ones, they aren't bad reading... I used to find some older editions in libraries.

Has anyone here tried Jo Beverly? I recall her writing an introduction to the Harlequin edition of one of my favorite Georgette Heyers, The Unquiet Gentleman. Some time afterwards I was in a bookstore and spied one of Beverly's books, and it certainly looked like it was a Regency novel. I didn't buy it, I was too afraid it'd turn out to be pap (is that an old fart word or a made-up word I heard on TV? I can't recall). Anyway, anyone given her a whirl?

I've read some of Beverly's, and while they are Regency romances, there's more sex and less humor than in Heyer's books. I think Heyer is simply unique--it's not just the time period, and the fact that she seems to know things like the slang as though she had lived then, but also the characters and her way of poking fun at them--when I think of that characteristic, I think of Austen (though she poked with a sharper stick, in my opinion). Heyer's silly characters are mostly quite lovable, whereas it's difficult to love Mr. Collins or Sir Walter Elliott.

I guess this is why I keep rereading my Heyers--there's just no-one like her.

Too bad about Jo Beverly--my local library doesn't seem to carry Elizabeth Mansfield. Your comments about Heyer's uniqueness are true for a lot of authors--I've spent quite a bit of time trying to find a book that makes me feel as cheery and cozy as The Pickwick Papers , but of course there's no one quite like Dickens (or Austen, or Collins, or...). I agree that Austen's stick was much sharper, though from the little I've read about Heyer, she was pretty feisty herself. Most of her cheer seems to have gone into her work, and even there those who spend their time wallowing in self-pity are apt to receive a literary slap. In fact, in Lady of Quality, Heyer uses the term "tyranny of the weak" to describe such passive-aggressiveness. Not that I don't think there's plenty of that sort of thing going around, especially nowadays, but Heyer certainly didn't seem to suffer fools gladly! Really too bad that there's nothing to come close, given how many bodice-rippers come tumbling out of publishing houses these days. I will have to track down that Mansfield character, I reckon.

Suddenly thought of Jane Aiken Hodge . . . I really enjoyed several of her books, including Savannah Purchase and Marry in Haste, and looking around just now, I find that she wrote about both Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. Her books are less humorous than Heyer's, but I'd say they were more romantic and adventurous.

Okay--just realized I said virtually the same thing above. My mind is like a steel . . . sieve.

Carla Kelly is an excellent author as well.

I just read a book by Edith Layton and it was very good.

Georgette Heyer is definitely in a class by herself. If this has been stated already, I apologize. I didn't go back and read all the posts again. But I believe part of the reason for her uniqueness (is that a word?) is due to when she wrote her books. The world was a different place and not preoccupied with sex (at least not as preoccupied as it is today). Althought written in the Regency era, the influences of the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's are definitely there. Many of today's Regencies (or now they're calling them Historical) have too much sex in them to really be considered Regencies, IMO. The authors I choose to read and have mentioned above, don't really have that in their stories (at least not descriptive).

What to do when you've read them all?

1. Reread them all in the order they were written. You get a feel for how the author developed her gift and a sense of what she was thinking as she moved from one plot to the next.

2. Read them in historical context. She gives you great clued about a particular year in which many of the books were set--between battles of the Peninsular campaigns, during the career of Beau Brummell or the Prince Regent. A lot of the places are real, not just in London or Bath but the countryside as well. Even some of the pubs and post houses are real places. Google Earth is a great tool. You can also try to figure out which characters from different books would have crossed paths on the same evening at Almack's!

Its also great fun to find the placenames she used for surnames! I can't bring it mind now, but I noticed the name of one of the gentlemen's valets somewhere in west Norfolk - Crickleshank or something like that. I know there are many more too.

Edited to add: I just remembered - its Crimplesham. Can't remember which book he was in.

Guess you've read all of Austen too? She must be the pattern for Heyer :)

I've got a nice number of regencies in my list. I'm making a note to take a peek and get back to you on ones that were worth the time :)

I'd be interested in how you'd answer that question now that you've received all this feedback and have, presumably, sampled other regencies in a quest for something readable.

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LOL Just found myself in my books and there was a small stack of regencies right there. I found these tolerable to very enjoyable and liked them well enough to keep for a re-read:

The Heart's Companion by Holly Newman (Charter/Diamond)
The Husband Hunt by Bess Willingham (Zebra)
Ruled by Passion by Lois Menzel (Fawcett)
A Comfortable Wife by Stephanie Laurens (Harlequin)
A Grand Deception by Elizabeth Mansfield (Charter)

I you dont mind if the books are not Regency, you might try Angela Thirkell. Her books are set in the English country side in the 1930's-1960s, and have the same delightful frothy silliness and wit and style. Different from Heyer but as good in their own mannered way. There are dozens and dozens of them. They are set in Barsetshire, Trollope's fictional county, but a few generations later, and she uses some of the same family names and history, to good effect. Delightful.

Have you read any Carola Dunn? I'm going through all of her regency novels right now digitally through my local library and Kindle. She now writes a female detective book series but there are plenty of her regency novels to choose from. I've liked every one of them, they have plot, romance, mystery, likable characters...and no long passages of sex that you have to skim over!

Barbara Pym is very good. Not regency, mostly 1950s I think, but very carefully drawn characters, and inhead thinking. And Angela Thirkell as mentioned. For something a bit different I love the Frost in May quartet of books, particularly the first one. By Antonia White.

I'm not going to take time to reread the thread, but a woman who died too soon, Kate Ross, wrote four very good mystery novels about a Regency dandy/sleuth named Julian Kestrel. Our kind usually love him.

Has anyone read Anne Gracie? I have loved each and every one of her novels. They are not exactly like Georgette Heyer in terms of historical information but they are just as amazing in the character drawing and story telling. You should like them.

Yes, I enjoy Anne Gracie's novels but they are a bit 'tougher' in subject than Heyer's.

I love a list! Thanks Suslyn. I'm going to make my way through it.

My favourite non-Heyer to date is Lord Of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase. Clever, good dialogue and amazing sexual tension...warning: it's not clean, does that matter?

Fav: The Talisman Ring. I've probably re-read this 15 times and it still makes me laugh. runners-up The Reluctant Widow and Grand Sophy. Best thing about ebooks is I can keep Georgette on my phone at all times; a fix is never far away.

Moekane, I'm looking for the "like" button! I'd put The Grand Sophy among my favorites, too, along with The Unknown Ajax and These Old Shades.

>55 ejj1955: Agreed. My favorites are These Old Shades, The Grand Sophy and Friday's Child. I'm also very fond of A Civil Contract, though it's not in her usual style.

I was surprised when a Jewish acquaintance said she found The Grand Sophy to be anti-Semitic. On re-reading, I will admit that the money-lender character is pretty much a stock Jewish stereotype of the day. It's a minor part of the story, and was a widespread prejudice of the day, so I can live with it, but I can see how people could be sensitive about it. I don't think Heyer was being deliberately anti-Semitic, but she was reflecting the prejudices of her era and class.

Tealadytoo . . . yes, that does make sense. I think it's useful to read things from the past and reflect on the changes (one hopes) since then, rather than try to sanitize things. A book I love is The Scarlet Pimpernel, but the way the treatment of the (supposedly) Jewish man is portrayed is so distasteful that attempts to dramatize the story always change the whole story to avoid that, which I think is kind of a pity.

Oh, well! I went back to re-read The Unknown Ajax again over the past couple of days--still as delightful as ever. Heyer never disappoints!

Having gone through my complete collection of GH novels between 3 and 5 times (depending on my preference for the book), I too wondered what other similar authors were to be found.

Luckily I stumbled on the book "An Accomplished Woman" by Jude Morgan. I don't think there is any other Regency romance novel so like the works of the great GH, but in its own way, unique, witty, and charming as this. This book too I have now read 5 times.

This book would also ably serve as a primer to the works and world of GH.
I truly hope you get the chance to enjoy "An Accomplished Woman" as much as I have.
Vandafield

Like everyone I am searching for authors similar to Georgetter Heyer I came across Sylvia Thorpe quite by chance and so far liking her. I have read 5 of her books and enjoyed 4 - those were The Scapegrace, Romantic Lady, The Silver Nightingale and the Varleigh Medalion (which if I had to pick would be my favourite so far). The one I didn't enjoy was the Mistress of Astington, started off OK but I just lost interest in the characters. There is no sex I'm pleased to say just interesting characters and story lines with a slight adventure in them,
I've read a few of Carola Dunns' books (Daisy Dalrymple murder mystery books) and enjoy them so I think I will give her Regency Romance a try too.

Over these several decades, other than Heyer and Austen, I have read and enjoyed any number of novels set in the Regency and Georgian periods (along with a few other eras). In no particular order, here are some of my favorite authors of those novels (bearing in mind that I have *no* interest in the more modern approach to historical romances, with the boring emphasis on sex--usually badly written sex, at that:

Clare Darcy (Mary Deasy)
Sheila Walsh
Alice Chetwynd Ley
Elizabeth Neff Walker (aka Elizabeth Walker, aka Laura Matthews, but really Elizabeth Rotter)
Laura London (Sharon and Tom Curtis)
Patricia Veryan
Norma Lee Clark
Mary Ann Gibbs
Madeleine Brent (Peter O'Donnell)
Catherine Fellows
Frances Murray
Dinah Dean
Mary Ann Gibbs
Elsie Lee (Elsie Cromwell, Norman Daniels, Jane Gordon, Lee Sheridan, but really Elsie Lee Sheridan)
Mira Stables
Grace Ingram (Doris Sutcliffe Adams)
Joan Smith (aka Jennie Gallant)
Sylvia Thorpe
Madeleine Robins
Elizabeth Mansfield (Paula Schwartz)

And I say that these are only *some* of my favorite romance authors because likely I am forgetting someone. A couple of these authors also wrote contemporary (as in, modern setting) romance novels.

Good to have found this chat.
Have read every Heyer book (excluding the mysteries which I didn't really enjoy) as one reviewer says... "to ragged shreds". I usually keep a list of the most recent ones with the date so that I don't read a book again within a couple of years. Favourites are Arabella, Venetia, Devil's Cub, Reluctant Widow, Faro's Daughter and more. Have read alot of Daphne du Maurier, Mary Stewart, Josephine Tey and they are terrific, but no humour.
Can't find any author that is such a joyful read, so I keep going back to her. There are many times with GH that I just burst out laughing as I'm reading. Her writing is so witty with great depth to her characters. And stories such as A Civil Contract, not a lighthearted book, but a beautiful read.
So still looking for a joyful alternative to the incomparable GH.
Appreciate all the suggestions. Will see where I get to with them.

>61 Billy471: You are absolutely right: it's not just the romance or the historical setting with Heyer, it's the humor! (Currently re-reading These Old Shades.) I have exactly the same issue with those who claim filmmakers are like Alfred Hitchcock because of the suspense/romance elements but lacking the humor Hitchcock usually employed (Psycho may be the exception).