Georgette Heyer

Georgette Heyer

Georgette Heyer was an English novelist and short story writer. She wrote in both the historical romance and detective fiction genres. Her Regencies were inspired by Jane Austen. Her detective novels were praised for their wit and comedy. She died of cancer at the age of 83 in 1974.

About Georgette Heyer in brief

Summary Georgette HeyerGeorgette Heyer was an English novelist and short story writer. She wrote in both the historical romance and detective fiction genres. Her Regencies were inspired by Jane Austen. Her detective novels were praised for their wit and comedy. Her success was sometimes clouded by problems with tax inspectors and alleged plagiarists. In 1966 she sold the company and the rights to seventeen of her novels to Booker-McConnell. Heyer continued writing until her death in July 1974. At that time, 48 of her novel were still in print; her last book, My Lord John, was published posthumously. She was named after her father, George Heyer, who served as a requisitions officer for the British Army in France during World War I. She died of cancer at the age of 83 in 1974. She is survived by her husband, George Rougier, and two sons. She also had a daughter and a son-in-law, both of whom have died in recent years. She had no children of her own and was married to a mining engineer. Her novels were published between 1921 and 1929. Her husband often provided basic outlines for the plots of her thrillers, leaving Heyer to develop character relationships and dialogue so as to bring the story to life. She refused to grant interviews for the rest of her life, telling a friend: \”My private life concerns no one but myself and my family. Some critics thought the novels were too detailed, others considered the level of detail to be Heyer’s greatest asset.

Her meticulous nature was also evident in her historical novels; Heyer even recreated William the Conqueror’s crossing into England for her novel The Conqueror. For part of her childhood, the family lived in Paris but they returned to England shortly after WWI broke out in 1914. Although the family’s surname had been pronounced ‘higher’, the advent of war led her father to switch to the pronunciation ‘hair’ so they would not be mistaken for Germans. For more information about Georgette and her novels, visit her website: http://www.georgetteheyer.com/. For more about her son, Frank, visit his website: www. georgette-heyer-stories.com. For her daughter, Barbara, visit www.georgette-sheyer.co.uk. For her sons, Frank and George Boris, visit their website:http://www.-georrette.com/Frank-Heyer-The-Black-Moth-A Proposal to Cicely. In 1921, when she was 17, Heyer began a serial story to amuse her brother Boris, who suffered from a form of haemophilia and was often weak. Her father enjoyed listening to her story and asked her to prepare it for publication. His agent found a publisher for her book, and The Black Moth, about the adventures of a young man who took responsibility for his card-cheating brother, was issued.