Georgette Heyer Fans discussion

Hi I know you guys said Regency recommendations, but I'm not a big fan of other Regency writers so I thought I would widen the field!

If you want a classic Vanity Fair by WM Thackeray. Great anti-heroine.

If you love Beauvallet you should try Rafael Sabatini - especially Captain Blood & The Sea-Hawk

If you like GH's adventure romances you should try Jeffery Farnol. The title I'm thinking of in particular is The Amateur Gentleman Be warned - if you think GH is heavy on the cant, Farnol may not be for you. I know some of his titles are free on Kindle.

& although I don't normally like other Regencies I did enjoy More Than a Mistress by Mary Balogh & I am intending to read more by this author. Her works are on the racy side though!

I recently read a very nice romantic adventure set in the early 1820s by Anna Faversham: One Dark Night. A few modernisms, but very historically accurate! If you like the Poldark series, you’d enjoy this one a lot. (Set in Kent, not Cornwall.)

If period mysteries are your thing, try S. K. Rizzolo’s Regency-era series. The first one is The Rose in the Wheel.

I often find that historical mysteries manage far more of a period feel than romances. Two of my favorite series are the Julian Kestrel mysteries by Kate Ross (who unfortunately died far too early of cancer, so there are only four of them) and the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries by C. S. Harris, which fortunately are ongoing; I'm in the midst of the latest one at the moment.

Margaret wrote: "I often find that historical mysteries manage far more of a period feel than romances. Two of my favorite series are the Julian Kestrel mysteries by Kate Ross (who unfortunately die..."

I endorse both these recommendations; their books are excellent. I would say, though, that they don't remind me of Georgette Heyer at all!

Two authors I like that I enjoy for books that are romance-y, humorous-y, and fun reads are:

Sheri Cobb South
- This one first: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...
- Then this series which is a mystery and romance and ongoing:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...

Joan Smith:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
- As mentioned on the previous thread some of her books are hits and some are misses. I recommend starting with Imprudent Lady. These are light novels that can be enjoyed in an afternoon.

For just wonderful humor - PG Wodehouse:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Amy wrote: "Two authors I like that I enjoy for books that are romance-y, humorous-y, and fun reads are:

Sheri Cobb South
- This one first:..."

Thank you for these suggestions!

Seconding the recommendation for Clare Darcy. Her books are "Georgette Heyer lite." Same with Daisy Vivian. The closest modern author to the second coming of Jane Austen/Georgette Heyer hybrid is Jude Morgan. Indescretion is my favorite of his.

I also second Sherri Cobb South. I love her John Pickett mystery series.

For Regency romances Marion Chesney is very funny and I love Barbara Metzger. I especially love it when she has a dog as a character. I also like Carola Dunn, Regina Scott, Kathleen Baldwin, Marian Devon, the YA novels Sorcery and Cecelia, Keeping the Castle, Wrapped, Courtship and Curses

Feel free to follow my reviews. I read a lot of Regency romantic stories; I prefer funny ones; written in the post-Heyer decades before Harlequin ruined romance novels and gave them a bad name.

The absolute funniest Regency book I've ever read and adored is The Mischief of the Mistletoe. It's a stand-alone in a series and there's a bonus epilogue on the author's website that's the most hilarious wedding night scene ever.

For non-comedic stories I like a good Regency + magic series or a Regency set mystery. Mary Robinette Kowal's Glamourist Histories are interesting; Stephanie Barron's " Jane Austen Mysteries" are good; Dido Kent mysteries by Anna Dean are basically the Jane Austen mysteries - lite; Catherine Lloyd's Kurland St. Mary Mysteries are good

Non-Regency authors and books I love include Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel and Court Duel; P.G. Wodehouse; Emily Brightwell; Rhys Bowen Her Royal Spyness mysteries; Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody mysteries; D.E. Stevenson especially Miss Buncle's Book; Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Gray mysteries (they're a little racy); The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Susan Witting Albert; Alyssa Maxwell's Murder in Newport series; author Y.S. Lee's young adult "The Agency" mysteries

Allow me to zag while others are zigging. Books that to me feel similar in spirit but are from another era are Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire novels, set in the first half of the twentieth century.

Am rereading all of Thirkell in order, husband reading them and loving them. Summer Half is next up.

I read all of the Angela Thirkell novels I could get my hands on years ago and have copies of number of them. I loved a lot of the characters and the boooks set during WW II which gave a great view of how the English people coped during that time and after. I also love the map which appears in most of the books with the charmingly punny names of the towns and villages of Barsetshire.

I read them all, am rereading. I love the maps, as well. We used to live in a village in England, raises our kids there while posted there.

I like Sherwood Smith's takes on Jane Austen, and her recent forays into the Regency arena, as well as her other books.

Regencies: I'll second Sherwood Smith's Regencies; Danse de la Folie and Rondo Allegro (love those names!) are both good. She's also written some short scenes from some Jane Austen novels, but I haven't read those. (Sherwood also writes a lot of fantasy; some of those are among my favorite reads.)

Before Loretta Chase transitioned into bodice rippers historical romances, she wrote six traditional Regencies that are much cleaner. Last I looked these were only about $3.00 each for Kindle. Here's the list:

Knave's Wager
The Sandalwood Princess
Isabella and The English Witch
Viscount Vagabond and The Devil's Delilah

English Witch is a sequel to Isabella, and The Devil's Delilah is a sequel to Viscount Vagabond, but you could read them stand-alone (the main characters in the first books are secondary characters in the second books). In both cases, I liked the second book much better than the first one. Viscount Vagabond is definitely the weakest of this batch.

I also really enjoyed The Fortune Hunter by Diane Farr (which is also a sequel to a far weaker first book, Falling for Chloe, but again, you don't really need to read the first one, except that it's a good way to get to know the main character in the second book). Somewhat steamy. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson is a cute, clean Regency romance that really sucked me in, although the heroine is a little silly sometimes (but I could also say that about several Georgette Heyer heroines!).

A couple of classics I've loved: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. If you want something really challenging, The Game of Kings and the rest of the Lymond Chronicles series by Dorothy Dunnett.

I also read a lot of fantasy, YA and otherwise, but I think that's a little too far off-topic. Ping me if you want any recommendations, though.

Thank you all for some excellent recommendations!

Joy Reed (I hear good things about her other ones too, but this is the one I picked up in a used bookstore and just love):

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Abigail wrote: "I recently read a very nice romantic adventure set in the early 1820s by Anna Faversham: One Dark Night. A few modernisms, but very historically accurate! If you like the Poldark se..."

I think I have "One Dark Night" bookmarked on your recommendation, Abigail.

If you like the "modern day Jane Austen" feel (never read any Angela Thirkell, will have to try her), Barbara Pym is another great author to get into.

Transferred over from the Introduction thread

Elliot And I will always be willing to plug Madeleine E. Robins's "Sarah Tolerance" series.It's Regency Noir that manages not to rip off GH in the annoying ways that other writers do...

QnPoohBear What are you looking for? Well-researched history behind the story, characters who come to life or witty and fun writing? Sadly, Georgette Heyer was one of a kind. For Regency romances Marion Chesney is very funny and I love Barbara Metzger. I especially love it when she has a dog as a character. Do you like contemporary stories or historical or both? Feel free to follow my reviews. I read a lot of Regency romantic stories; I prefer funny ones; written in the post-Heyer decades before Harlequin ruined romance novels and gave them a bad name.

Louise You might try Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. It's an amusing novel,set in a sort of alternative Regency England in which magic is part of everyday life. It's told in the form of letters between the two heroines. There are two sequels, The Grand Tour, and The Mislaid Magician.

Elizabeth Peters wrote some romantic suspencers which have a
lot of humour in them. Usually about an American girl in some exotic location who gets involved with a mystery to,do with archaeology or history. Legend in Green Velvet is my personal favourite, The Dead Sea Cipher is another good one, and The Jackal's Head.

If you don't mind something more contemporary, I think Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels are very funny.

Amy I have enjoyed a number of the light Regency Romances by Joan Smith.

Start with ...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

HJ I recommend Jennifer Crusie, for example Welcome to Temptation and its sequel Bet Me. Contemporary not historical, gently amusing, set in America.

QnPoohbear I love Sorcery and Cecelia. Keeping the Castle is a hilarious pastiche of a Regency romance novel for the YA crowd. Joan Smith is hit or miss for me- mostly miss. I was hooked on the Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters for awhile but I didn't have time to keep reading the series and I wasn't sure I want to. I might continue on later this month or next.

5 star Regency reads include Kidnap Confusion, The Merry Chase by Judith Nelson, Regency Charade by Margaret Mayhew, The Best Intentions (Country House Party, #2), [[author:Marion Devon]'s Regency novels are fun and light; Regina Scott's books are great- all the Regencies are very good]; Marion Chesney and Barbara Metzger are super funny and skirt the edge of propriety while keeping it clean.

See my full list of Regency romance novels read
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Lori Joan Smiths "Lover's Vows" and Eva Rutland's "Vicar's Daughter" are my favorites beyond Georgette Heyer.
Hope you like it. Lover's Vows" takes the play idea of "Mansfield Park" (hence the name of the book) and makes it FUN. Some great characters and a lot of heart.

Amy Thanks for these suggestions. I'm a fan of Joan Smiths so I ordered a used copy on Amazon.

Lori Hope you like it. Lover's Vows" takes the play idea of "Mansfield Park" (hence the name of the book) and makes it FUN. Some great characters and a lot of heart.


Elliot (cause I like the wording- Carol)i 'm going to try Joan Smith, but I have to put in a plug for Joy Reed's "An Inconvenient Engagement." Very light, very fluffy, borrows a lot from the Master, of course (or shall we call her 'The Mistress'? ; ) ), but I think she pretty much nails the tone and the ton with this one:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Also Cascades mentions Lois McMaster Bujold. I know one of her books was a "Georgette Heyer" transformed into a Science Fiction book. I was really enjoying it but my mother (who had dementia) hid it somewhere & I never got to finish it! :)

Carol, that must be A Civil Campaign. Her more recent Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is a fun romance too (among other things).

Carol ♪ Blinded by the Light ♪ GR Background wrote: "Also Cascades mentions Lois McMaster Bujold. I know one of her books was a "Georgette Heyer" transformed into a Science Fiction book. I was really enjoying it but my mother (who had dementia) hid i..."

Yes, A Civil Campaign is the one. That was actually the first Bujold book I ever read (because I was looking for something romantic in the SF/F bookshelves of the library). I have to say it wasn't a great place to start with the Vorkosigan series--too much backstory is needed to really appreciate it. But then I read the story of Miles Vorkosigan's parents meeting in Shards of Honor (also in Cordelia's Honor) and really loved it, and I was off and running with that series. It's a fantastic series if you like space opera SF.

If you like Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, and detective novels (as many of us here seem to do), try Stephanie Barron’s series with Jane Austen herself as a sleuth. They are less romantic than Georgette Heyer, though equally well researched and full of Jane Austen’s tart sense of humor. Stephanie Barron writes Austenesque prose better than anyone! The first one is Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor. The most recent one is quite wonderful: Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas.

I used to enjoy Alice Chetwynd Ley's Regency books which tended to be in the mystery/romance category. I'm not sure if you can still find them.

Jane Aiken Hodge would also qualify although she probably falls more in the Gothic category. I love her more modern thrillers.

I recently read Lady Audley's Secret and highly recommend it - it's like a GH regency mystery as written by Jane Austen.

I second Clare Darcy. I haven't read her in years.

Joan Aiken would qualify. I like her Jane Austen reworks.

Carolien wrote: "I used to enjoy Alice Chetwynd Ley's Regency books which tended to be in the mystery/romance category. I'm not sure if you can still find them.

Jane Aiken Hodge would..."

JAH did write some Regencies. I can't recommend the one I read recently though.

& I have Lady Audley's Secret on my kindle, ready to go!

Carolien said
"I recently read Lady Audley's Secret and highly recommend it - it's like a GH regency mystery as written by Jane Austen" .

Well I have heard of this book off and on for years , but this description does make me want to read it! My next Kindle purchase I fancy. Thank you Carolien

Lady Audley's Secret is available as an audiobook from my library system, so I guess that will be my next audiobook read!

Barbara wrote: "
Well I have heard of this book off and on for years , but..."

One edition is free on Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Audleys-Se...

How about going back a bit before GH and sampling a writer who I suspect was an early influence on her? I mean Baroness Orczy. 'Way back in my teens, I read every Scarlet Pimpernel novel I could get my hands on.

I read swashbuckling books, my mom bought me a set which included Scaramouch and The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Carol ♪ Blinded by the Light ♪ GR Background wrote: "Barbara wrote: "
Well I have heard of this book off and on for years , but..."

One edition is free on Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Audleys-Se......"

Seems to be only on the US Amazon site and I'm registered with the AU one. But thanks so much anyway

Barbara wrote: " Carol ♪ Blinded by the Light ♪ GR Background wrote: "Barbara wrote: "
Well I have heard of this book off and on for years , but..."

One edition is free on Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Audle..."

I used a free copy from Project Gutenbeg, it's public domain since it was published in the 1860s.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8954

Swashbuckling novels are fun to read. At one period of my life I red such authors as Rafael Sabatini and Thomas Costain and George Barr McCutcheon. I recently downloaded and read two of the Zenda novels! I even sampled Elinor Glyn when I discovered her novels in the depths of the stacks of the library where I was working in a collection of bound paperback novels in English which were published and sold only in Germany. They had been given to the library through an ambassador who was also a trustee of the college. It was a wide ranging collection of 19th and early 20th century novels and a very handy size to carry about.

Good Lord, what was Elinor Glyn like? I only know of her from a bit of doggerel quoted in 'The Thorn Birds': 'Would you like to sin/With Elinor Glyn/On a tiger skin? Or would you prefer/To err with her/On some other fur?'

Elliot wrote: "Good Lord, what was Elinor Glyn like? I only know of her from a bit of doggerel quoted in 'The Thorn Birds': 'Would you like to sin/With Elinor Glyn/On a tiger skin? Or would you prefer/To err with..."
I read the Glyn books over 50 years ago and honestly don't remember. She is very likely available on Project Gutenberg though I haven't looked to see!

Jacquie wrote: "I read the Glyn books over 50 years ago and honestly don't remember. She is very likely available on Project Gutenberg though I haven't looked to see!

Some of her books available free on Kindle & they were free on Kobo. I have "Red Hair" on my Kindle but haven't got round to reading it. I think her work was considered quite racy for the times!

Speaking of old and racy, I read the 1920-ish book The Sheik a year or so ago, just for curiosity's sake (Rudolph Valentino and all). It was quite the eyebrow raiser. It was like a very, very old-fashioned Harlequin romance, except with lots of rape, which turns into forced seduction, which turns into... (it's all behind closed doors, but still). Those roaring twenties!

This is NOT a read I am recommending, BTW, unless you're just curious like I was. Check out my and other's reviews before you go grab it on Gutenberg. :)

Thank you all! This is such a great thread and it is so nice to have all the recos in one place.

I recently read "Ravishing the Heiress" by Sherry Thomas and it was pretty good. It does have some explicit scenes but they doesn't seemed artificially inserted and support the plot. It is similar to "A Civil Contract". I hated the cover and the title though.

I just finished Lois McMaster Bujold's "Shards of Honor" and loved it. I was a very reluctant reader and did not think I would like it, SF/Fantasy etc not being my cup of tea (I think this was my very first SF book) but I think I have found a new favorite author and can't wait to read the rest of her Vorkosigan saga. So if anyone is willing to explore new genres....

If you like gentle humor and books with village life/secondary characters, you might like "Major Pettigrew's last stand" and "A man called Ove" - they are both contemporary though.

Tadiana ✩ Night Owl☽ wrote: "Speaking of old and racy, I read the 1920-ish book The Sheik a year or so ago, just for curiosity's sake (Rudolph Valentino and all). It was quite the eyebrow raiser. It was like a ve..."

Apparently there's a re-write called "The Sheik Retold", which takes out most of the rapey and animal cruelty stuff...dare I hope you might review that one for us? ; )

>I just finished Lois McMaster Bujold's "Shards of Honor" and loved it.<

Do go on with the series! It does center mainly on their son, Miles and his trials and adventures, but he is far from dull!

You might also enjoy Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series which is fantasy and set in the early 20th century.

A favorite of mine is A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson -- a post -Revolution Russian countess goes to work as a housemaid in England ... It may not be easy to find but the hunt will be worth it!

Elliot wrote: "Apparently there's a re-write called "The Sheik Retold", which takes out most of the rapey and animal cruelty stuff...dare I hope you might review that one for us? ; ) "

Hah! It's not likely unless I find it as a freebie somewhere. I draw the line at paying actual money for bodice rippers. I generally steer away from them anyway and stick to the tamer stuff. :)

A favorite of mine is A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson -- a post -Revolution Russian countess goes to work as a housemaid in England ... It may not be easy to find but the hunt will be worth it! ..."

I love that as well. I found it in my library.

Carolien wrote: "A favorite of mine is A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson -- a post -Revolution Russian countess goes to work as a housemaid in England ... It may not be easy to find but the hunt will be worth..."

Just checked and my library has 14 Ibbotson books, including this one. Onto the TBR list it goes! Because my TBR list needed to get longer!

Seconded on the Ibbotson, she's delightful in a really weird way...

Carolien wrote: "Seems to be only on the US Amazon site and I'm registered with the AU one. But thanks so much anyway."

If you are in Australia, check out

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/

Books in the Australian public domain are given here & often that includes books that are NOT available in the U.S. Lady Audley's Secret is old enough that it is in the public domain everywhere but books by such authors as Josephine Tey, George Orwell, etc. are available to you {and not me :( }

Leslie, I've been able to download books from Gutenberg in other countries (including Gutenberg Australia). Have you tried that? Technically I guess you're not supposed to do that, but I'm not aware that Gutenberg, for example, puts any technological barriers in place to limit its use to people in a particular country.

Having all the recommendations in one thread is great! Thanks Carol and everybody who makes this Group so awesome!

Eva Ibbotson's romances are more in YA territory. There are sex scenes in some of them but nothing shown. IMO, Countess Below Stairs is the weakest and most annoying of them all. (view spoiler)[It doesn't take much to figure out that the maid is actually Anastasia. (hide spoiler)]. A Song For Summer was interesting but melodramatic. I liked her middle-grades adaptation Dragonfly Pool much better. They're both based on the school she attended as a girl.

Elinor Glyn's books were mostly published after 1923- the copyright cut off date. If you're downloading a free book published after that date it may have been illegally copied. It depends on who holds the copyright and whether it was renewed.

I won't read romance novels written before the late 1980s because they mostly seem to be about innocent young heroines and strong alpha males bullying the innocent heroine. I use FictionDB.com to look for series and The Good Ton to look up clean Regency novels. If one prefers e-books (yuck), one can also go to Regency Reads to purchase digital versions of old Regency romances. If anyone has a local library has access to