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Long time blogger just moved to wordpress. Love music, theatre, movies, sport (tennis and cricket) and cooking. Two great daughters, two great granddaughters.

Georgette Heyer – Jennifer Kloesters

I am not quite sure what Georgette Heyer has done to bring down such sarcasm and dismissive reviews by the literati.  She suffered from their disparaging remarks during her life and now that this new biography has been published, they are at it again. It makes me very cross indeed and those who have accused GH of being a snob and upper class are merely showing their own version of the same faults.

This new biography by Jennifer Kloesters is obviously going to be a must have for all fans of Heyer, but cannot imagine that anybody else will have it on their wish list and it is clear from some of the reviews that this book has been given to critics who have no interest in the subject matter and are happy to diss it.

Well, I am not about to because I simply adore GH and have done since I was 13 years old. I was confined at home with German Measles, feeling perfectly well but not allowed to go to school as I was Gh highly infectious.  My sister, a future librarian, was working in the local library and promised to nip home at lunch time with some reading matter.  In the books she brought home was one title The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer.  It was one of those hideous Pan editions of the sixties with the heroines in full make up and false eyelashes, but that didn't put me off and I sat down and read it and simply loved it. My sister was ordered to bring me home as many more Heyers as she could find and that was that.  I was off and running.  I recently re-read The Talisman Ring and loved it just as much as ever.  A lovely feisty heroine, a dashing, wrongly accused hero turned smuggler, Ludovic – what's not to like? But Heyer is clever and balances out the obvious love story with that of an older couple, Sir Tristram and Sarah Thane who are far the more interesting, and funnier, of the two.

GH had a middle class upbringing typical of her time and yes, to modern eyes, she probably can appear snobbish and anti-Semitic, but we have to remember that these attitudes were widespread and she was not alone in her views.  Dame Agatha Christie and D L Sayers were also guilty of derogatory remarks about Jews and, while agreeing that this is pretty reprehensible, when reading early works the reader has to remember when they were written and not be too censorious.   You cannot edit in hindsight. So while I understand one critic's dislike of this, no point in bringing it up now.

Georgette's father died  in his early fifties of a heart attack, no warning, no signs of ill health and, as they were very close and he actively encouraged her writing and supported her, this was a huge blow. It left her bereft and also, in the long run, the financial support of her family.   GH was an Edwardian and was brought up in the usual ladylike way of waiting at home until she was married.  She was not expected to have a career, but like earlier women novelists who worked themselves to nervous exhaustion and ill health (think Fanny Trollope, Mrs Oliphant, Frances Hodgson-Burnett, Edith Wharton) she was allowed to write until she, too, had a breakdown.

She signed over the Australian rights in her books to her mother (GH was very popular in the Antipodes) which allowed her to live a relatively comfortable life in the various residential hotels she chose to live in, looked after her two brothers and when her husband Ronald Rougier decided after failing at commercial ventures, that he really wanted to read law, she supported him through all his years of studying until his qualification.  He became a most respected judge so obviously it was a calling that suited him, but it was Georgette's writing that made all this possible.

Alongside the Regency novels GH also write a series of detective stories and flirted with other genres in her early writing days until she finally settled into the period of history that was to become her own.  Her research was formidable and her sense of fun and humour shines through so many of these wonderful stories.  I am currently re-reading Friday's Child, one of her biggest successes on publication, and it still makes me laugh out loud:

"'What the devil is all this about a dashed Greek?' demanded Sherry. …….I'm not acquainted with any Greeks and what's more, I don't want to be!'

'It ain't a thing you're acquainted with dear boy…..comes up behind a fellow when he ain't expecting it'

'Yes but what is it?'

Mr Tarleton said with a quiver of amusement in his voice 'I fancy he means Nemesis'

'That's it' said Ferdy looking at him with respect.' Nemesis!' you know him too?"

Wonderful.

It seems from some reviewers that Gerogette wrote her novels "with the help of gin, fags and Dexedrine. Under the influence of the latter, she could write for up to 24 hours at a time".   Dreadful is it not?   In our obsession about smoke free zones nowadays, please remember that at this time smoking was fashionable.  GH liked a gin and tonic, but from the tone of this review you would think she was drowned in the stuff.  She also did not understand what Dexedrine was and was given it by her doctor.  She found if she took it late at night it helped her to stay awake and write at night for hours at a time.  Pretty sure she had no idea that it was a highly addictive stimulant.

According to one review, this is a biography about a not very interesting woman.  What we learn from Jennifer Kloesters book is that GH was an intensely, shy, private person. She did not give interviews, she hated having her photograph taken and was only comfortable within her own small circle of friends.  She and her husband had a long and happy marriage though there is a suggestion her that it was more cerebral than physical. They were boon companions who enjoyed each other's company and, therefore, did not feel the need to shine in society and make a splash. They were happy with their lives and just got on with it.  Obviously it would be better if they had raging rows, got drunk and abused each other, were unfaithful, got divorced etc etc as this would make much better biographical matter.   They simply enjoyed being with each other.  This is not going to make for a sparkling life from the biographers point of view, but those of us who love her merely have to re-read any of her books to find the true Georgette, her crime novels which she enjoyed plotting immensely (incidentally Ronald had great input in these discussing clues and situations with each other) and, of course, the sheer joi di vivre and delight of all those wonderful wonderful Regency novels, all of are still in print and there to divert and delight future generations. 

Georgette Heyer was a brilliant writer and I am just sorry that she always been belittled by literary snobs and bunged into the Romance section of public libraries and treated in such a derogatory way.

"The nuptials of her youngest born had proved to be too much for Lady Winwood's delicate constitution….she withdrew with her two remaining daughters to the fastness of Winwood and there built up her shattered nervous system on a diet of eggs and cream and paregoric draughts, and the contemplation of the Marriage Settlement"

I included this quote in an earlier post on Georgette Heyer and said that the Divine Jane could not have done any better. I stand by that and to you snooty reviewers out there who are determined to put the knife in, go away, read one of her books and have a re-think.

I will accept your apologies in due course.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As well as this excellent biography, Jennifer Kloesters has also written Georgette Heyer's Regency World, a wonderful compendium of fashion, carriages, food, drink etc and a must have for all Heyer lovers.

I have written about the Divine Georgette many times on Random and here below are links to my posts. I would love for you to read them and let me have your opinion on this simply wonderful writer.

http://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2008/05/georgette-heyer.html

http://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2009/01/a-fantasy-world.html

http://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2007/03/an_infamous_arm.html

http://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2009/02/the-great-roxhythe.html

http://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2009/10/georgette-heyer-week.html

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20 responses to “Georgette Heyer – Jennifer Kloesters”

  1. M Avatar
    M

    Hello again.
    As I am a guest on your blog, and you found my comments ‘angry’ to the point of ‘overkill’, then whatever the complexities of the case, I must owe you an apology for expressing myself too bluntly, which I give at once.
    My comments were meant to be lightened by humour, but clearly you did not find them amusing. I am planning to write on how this Edwardian born author, who resented the rise of meritocracy and democracy, invented her own artificial consensus ‘Golden Age’ in the Regency era – in reality one of great social upheaval. Hence the length of my post.
    Because your own comments on the (presumably still living) critics who have a low opinion of the long dead writer’s literary merit were robustly expressed and some of the comments made in agreement were even more so, I wrongly assumed that you would not mind an equally robust comment from the other side of the debate.
    I certainly find it disturbing that many modern readers have no objection to the romantic depiction of that rapist abusive hero of ‘Devil’s Cub’, written circa 1932, when attitudes towards rape, romance and abuse were different. I am also concerned that many modern Heyer readers, particularly those from outside the UK, who are often not well informed about European history, confound this depiction with real history.
    However, my comments were clearly too robust.

    Reply
  2. Elaine Avatar
    Elaine

    Dear Mariana
    I have just come across your comment. I am in Australia at the moment and only checked my comments on Random today. You wo der if I will publish this or not. Well your comment is here and I certainly would not delete it or change it in any way as I believe we should all be able to express our opinion. Obviously, you do not care for her at all. Well fair enough but one has to remember when attacking a person for their attitudes and prejudices that they were of the time. Agatha Christie is not very nice about Jews, D L Sayers ditto, books reprinted by Persephone show distressing attitides to ‘blacks’ and underlings. We view this kind of prejudice, quite rightly, nowadays as obnoxious and rightly so. However, the fact that you have written such a ling and, to me, anger filled comment seems like overkill. I dislike a lot of writers but do not say so on my blog for the simple reason that just because I do not care for them does not mean somebody else will feel the same.

    Reply
  3. Marianna Avatar
    Marianna

    Elaine,
    I will be intrigued to see if you publish this in the interests of balanced opinion, as all your commentators seem to agree with you.
    I have read nineteen of Georgette Heyer’s books, including ‘An Infamous Army’. I read eight when I was under fifteen, and then I re-read those and eleven more in the last couple of years.
    Therefore, I assume I am permitted to dislike and to have strong criticism of Heyer’s books without owing you (or Heyer’s spirit, presumably gone on to far greater things forty years since) an apology? I never understand why Heyer admirers seem to assume that if you have any criticism of her writing, then you can’t have read any.
    Incidentally, it was ‘Devil’s Cub’ with its abusive, would be rapist hero, which initially disgusted me with her writing. After that, I didn’t hear anyone admit to reading her books for years. It was only since the rise of the internet that she seems to have come back into fashion and her admirers have come out in full force, expressing outrage at any criticism of their idol.
    I dislike her writing, and would argue that it is overrated rather than underrated.
    Why have I read so many of her books, in that case? Have I become a secret addict, reading them by torchlight in a cupboard. Do my hands shake and my mouth run dry if I can’t get my hands on a Heyer while I pretend that I am not a fan? ‘I can handle it…I can handle it…’ Do I develop cold turkey and then rush to the PC and with quivering hands, order another Heyer, price one pence plus postage for the second hand?
    Excuse me; I love a laugh above anything…
    Nothing so intriguing; I have read them for research, because I am perturbed at the popular tendency to confuse ‘The Regency’ with the glittering, often amusing, but entirely artificial construct of Georgette Heyer. I dispute that one has to be a ‘literary snob’ to dislike the writing of Georgette Heyer. One has only to see the ideological base from which she is writing.
    She carries out a cunning sleight of hand in imposing her own, High Tory, consensus based view on that era of great social unrest. You would never think, from her works, that these were the years in the run up to the Peterloo Massacre and the consequent Six Acts effectively muzzling public expression of discontent,the years of the Corn Laws and enforced enclosure of the common lands. The Corn Laws and enclosures are dismissed in ‘A Civil Contract’ in a couple of sentences.
    She writes chiefly of the social round of the upper class with the inclusion of a few vulgar aspiring city merchants, some forelock tugging contented locals, a running thread of devoted domestics (‘As If I would betray Mr Ludo’) and a handful of comic rogues.
    Those with little historical understanding (particularly readers from outside the UK) imagine, because she depicts some iconoclasts ie, Hugo in ‘The Unknown Ajax’ and Jenny in ‘A Civil Contract’ and purports to ‘despise cant’ that she is challenging the status quo. Far from it; Hugo is the proud son of a cotton factory owner (of course, factories in that era employed five year olds, but he seems unashamed of showing the young Richmond ‘all the production process’). Hugo, in fact,upholds traditional values of respect for authority and property to a greater extent than those of his upper class relatives. Jenny goes in dread, on hearing of Napoleon’s escape from Elba, of the French forming ‘another Jacobin republic’. And can you blame her? What if the yokels over here were to get subversive notions into their heads and stop tugging their forelocks as she passed by?
    Thus, as Laura Vivanco says somewhere, Heyer’s stories are essentially a narrative of assimulation of these ‘queer fish’ into the status quo. That is the way each story ends if any minor rebellion takes place. Judith stops the unladylike habit of driving in curricle races. Deborah stops forcing Max Ravenscar to live in the cellar and dreaming of slicing him into mincemeat.
    Oh yes, there is a very occasional nod at social injustices; in ‘Arabella’ a boy sweep is rescued. In Heyer’s beguiling world, all can be set right by a few acts of individual charity (and note that Mr Beaumaris draw’s the line at Leaky Peg). Heyer fans invariably hold these incidents up as evidence that she had some social concern.
    I have often enjoyed reading P G Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster novels. But nobody conflates that with reality, while, because of the wealth of detail in Heyer, there is a tendency for readers who dislike reading real history regard them as a substitute ‘because they are so well researched’. But that research is generally based about the lifestyle of the upper class. Her books are distinguished as much by what they exclude as through what they include.
    The insane result is that various readers on discussions about the internet speak as if they imagine that had they been born then, they would have been members of that tiny upper class (I believe that there were about 300 titled men at that time out of a population of approximately 9,000,000). They say such things as, ‘I was born in the wrong age’. Well, perhaps they would indeed have relished being a peasant, an employee in a cotton mill, or working as a domestic servant, emptying chamber pots. There’s no accounting for taste.
    I would dispute that Heyer’s views were in any way typical of those of her social background and age. This is the excuse generally made by fans embarrassed by her racism and her hatred of taxation on wealth, and the welfare state. Her views were very much to the right of the average. Heyer was so reactionary that even her associates avoided discussing political issues with her and ‘Mr Heyer’. Then, although she largely supported her family, she didn’t think that women should work.
    Well, of course, this working is a naughty luxury that most women have done throughout history…
    I recall reading that a tobacconist (a lower grade Mr Chawleigh?) was offended at some comment in her novels – I think, a detective one, about how dreadful it would be if a son was entangled with ‘the daughter of a tobacconist’. He wrote complaining to her publishers. She responded that he was just the sort of person with whose family she didn’t wish her son to become entangled, and she had no wish for such people to read her books.
    Then, her comments at the end of the Six Days’ War about ‘Jews and wogs’ were typical.
    I am always puzzled as to why her devoted readers become so indignant on her behalf when she is criticised, as she seems to have despised the ‘mentally retarded persons’ who admired her books. As I understood it from this biography, she really aspired to write serous historical novels, but her ‘Regency Romances’ were the ones that sold, and as she wished to maintain that vaguely upper class lifestyle, she had to keep on writing them.
    But should the name a writer of light novels be allowed to monopolise the interpretation of an age in popular thinking?
    With regard to literary quality, Heyer is a very adequate writer of light fiction, but hardly of literary quality. Perhaps all that gin, tobacco and Dexadrine is why she averages between 10 and 15 exclamation marks to a page in dialogue- a fault usually synonymous with bad writing. Then there are the occasional outbursts of terrible sentimental prose, ie, in ‘The Talisman Ring’ Ludovic Lavenham’s cringe making speech to Eustacie as he languishes on his sick bed after being shot: ‘Is that a tear, little cousin? Don’t you like your cousin Ludovic?’ or the appalling series of cliched exchanges between Venetia and Damerell (I’ve forgotten how to spell his name). She also has a very superficial emotional range,while literary writing has to evoke deep feeling, which can make it painful to read. She has a few basic character types, and a limited number of plot devices. She used this limited material very successfully. She was accomplished at writing light relief. A great writer she was not.

    Reply
  4. Nicola Avatar
    Nicola

    Great post Elaine. I’ve not read Heyer but I thought some of the reviews of this biog were mean. Well said.

    Reply
  5. Lisa Eveleigh Avatar
    Lisa Eveleigh

    Hi Elaine, I’m a literary agent and occasionally get overwhelmed with reading; I call it ‘manuscript fatigue’. I nearly always turn to Georgette Heyer to refresh me and she never fails me.
    I love mentally casting the novels; Alan Rickman for Jasper Damerel anyone? Am currently reading ‘The Quiet Gentleman’ and thinking Eileen Atkins for the Dowager.
    Lisax

    Reply
  6. anne Avatar
    anne

    In great excitement, I was all set to order the new bio of GH, only to discover that it is not yet out in USA……….sigh

    Reply
  7. Elaine Simpson-Long Avatar
    Elaine Simpson-Long

    Lisa – thank you and you may very well be right. So glad you are enjoying Random and do keep dropping by
    It seems that everyone here loves and appreciates Georgette Heyer and delightd to see that. I think she was a brilliant, witty and talented writer and you can keep your Booker long list as far as I am concerned – give me Devil’s Cub any day!!

    Reply
  8. Lisa Eveleigh Avatar
    Lisa Eveleigh

    Agree with every word, Elaine. Like you I found GH as a teen, borrowed every copy from the library, and then my father bought an entire shelf in an auction. Venetia, The Talisman Ring and Friday’s Child are my favourites though I love all of them.
    As to the sniff reviewers, I have a theory about this. I follow quite a few on Twitter and know for a fact that they all adore the novels. I’m sure there’s an element of envy – ie they secretly wish they had had the idea to study her properly and get books out of the research as Jennifer has. I mean, how much fun has she had? And I think it’s a very well-written and entertaining book. And am enjoying Random Jottings very much, thank you!

    Reply
  9. Danielle Avatar
    Danielle

    I only recently discovered GH and absolutely love her. Just finished listening to Venetia, read by the divine Mr Armitage and decided I needed to listen to it all over again!I’ve heard about that nasty review so don’t even want to bother reading it. To each his/her own and as they won’t put me off liking her work I can live without reading the reviewer’s digs on GH. She seemed a formidable woman and she helped support her family at a time when women were meant to stay at home and take care of their families–and she was very good at what she did. I’m looking forward to reading the bio–I have the Regency book so may have to read it in the interim while I’m waiting for the US or paper edition!

    Reply
  10. Susan in TX Avatar
    Susan in TX

    Oh, I will have to look out for this one. I just discovered GH this past year thanks to you and Claire (the Captive Reader). My girls are appreciating her as well. Thanks for the review!

    Reply
  11. Desperate Reader Avatar
    Desperate Reader

    I too love Georgette Heyer’s books, they have seen me through good times and bad for the last 25 years, I imagine they will do the same for the next 25 years and like you I don’t believe a woman who wrote with such humour could have lacked a sense of humour. I’m curious to read this biography and have it on my wish list – hope someone takes the hint this Christmas!

    Reply
  12. Elaine Simpson-Long Avatar
    Elaine Simpson-Long

    Anne – you have put your finger on the nub of the whole thing. The reveiwer was writing about the subject rather than reviewing the book, and I realise I have done the same thing. I am, therefore, adding that this book was meticulously researched, well written and as I met the author just ten days ago, I can testify to her love of all things Heyer.
    Ann P – I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it
    Liz F – just finished my umpteenth re-read of Friday’s Child half an hour ago. Simply wonderful and one of my favourites
    Nicola – love that quote – thanks!

    Reply
  13. Ann P Avatar
    Ann P

    I’ve been reading Georgette Heyer’s books for 45 years and she is still one of my favourite authors and a great comfort read. The biography arrived in the post yesterday and is at the top of my to-be-read pile.

    Reply
  14. anne Avatar
    anne

    Be Negative. Be uninformed/under-informed. Write reviews………oy! Would seem like one shouldn’t be allowed to review a book unless A. They know the subject/topic. or/and B.They stick to reviewing the actual BOOK, as opposed to “reviewing” the subject…………..
    GH is awesome, and popular, and would probably just roll her eyes at the fuss…………
    :)

    Reply
  15. Liz F Avatar
    Liz F

    You tell them Elaine! The literary establishment can be a very nasty, backbiting lot as the current spat over the Booker seems to conclusively prove!
    It will be very interesting to see who is still remembered ten years from now – Georgette Heyer whose books give pleasure to thousands (if not millions)decades after they were written, or those spiteful critics.
    It does strike me though, that Georgette would probably be utterly horrified to find herself the subject of a number of biographies.
    I wont be reading the biography (even though I am sure that it wouldn’t put me off her) but I will be working my way through Georgette’s books again.

    Reply
  16. Nicola Slade Avatar
    Nicola Slade

    Agree with every word, Elaine, she’s always been one of my favourites. Angela Thirkell was another author who had to suffer this awful snobbery, even her biographer didn’t seem keen on the books, as far as I can recall!
    I spotted this quotation recently and can’t track down the source, but I love it:
    “We must not project modern ideas onto our ancestors, nor make them fight our battles”

    Reply
  17. Claire (The Captive Reader) Avatar
    Claire (The Captive Reader)

    I already have this on my Christmas wishlist but I’m not sure I’ll be able to wait that long, now that you’ve got me so excited to read it!

    Reply
  18. Geraldine Avatar
    Geraldine

    I’m getting this new biography of Georgette Heyer as one of my Christmas presents. I’ve been reading and re-reading G Heyer novels for more years than I care to remember.

    Reply
  19. Victoria Avatar
    Victoria

    Heyer is one of my all time favourite authors and a perennial comfort read. I had this book down n my wish list as soon as I heard of it (thanks to you, I think!), I love reading aabout Heyer, both because of her books and also because as an author myself she fascinates me, intimidates me (she was so good…) and inspires me.

    Reply
  20. Juxtabook Avatar
    Juxtabook

    Georgette Heyer was my favourite author when I was 14 and two English degrees and 16 years later she is still one of my top five favs. Those who miss the point of Heyer are missing a lot. Great post and lovely idea to put all your Heyer links together.

    Reply

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