Today is Georgette Heyer's 109th Birthday. She's aged well, don't you think? Well, her books have aged well. Most are still in print, and if the comments left on my posts about her stories are anything to go by, she's still well loved and being discovered by new generations of readers.
I've read about a dozen of her books now (she wrote well over fifty novels and mysteries) and probably have about that many unread on my shelves still. It's always good to have a novel by Georgette Heyer at the ready, I think. Here's a rundown of the books I've read so far (linked to my posts about the books):
Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle
I've also read The Private World of Georgette Heyer by Jane Aiken Hodge, which is an excellent biography and gives a sense of what the woman was like--both fascinating and formidable. I wonder what she would think if she knew her books were still being read and enjoyed into the 21st century? I recall a quote where she talks down her work (though if you've read her you'll know just how much painstaking research went into her books), but notes that they are just the thing to keep one's mind off the war--what better way to pass the time in a bomb shelter! (She was publishing between 1921 and 1975). Circumstances have changed but I know I turn to her when I need to get my mind off life's problems and there is no better escapism for me.
Sourcebooks has been reissuing her novels--Regencies, historical novels and mysteries here in the US in lovely well-designed editions. In celebration of her birthday they are offering all of Georgette Heyer's ebooks for a mere $1.99 through August 21. You can see the rundown of titles and cover illustrations here. They have wisely offered the books in formats that should work for everyone who has an ereader if you are tempted. I suspect I will be loading a novel or two onto my Nook. I have yet to read any of her mysteries, but I am sure I'll get around to them eventually. In the meantime I'm reading Bath Tangle now and finding it as delightful as everyone said it would be.
This is Edward Blair Leighton's "On the Threshold (of an Engagement)" which depicts a Regency courtship much as you might find in one of Heyer's novels. Via Wikipedia.