Editing Georgette Heyer (section)

==Regency romances==
Heyer's earliest works were [[romance novel]]s, most set before 1800.<ref name=devlin361/> In 1935 she released ''[[Regency Buck]]'', her first novel set in the [[Regency period]]. This bestselling novel essentially established the genre of [[Regency romance]].<ref name=mcdowell>{{Citation|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/cads-wanted-for-taming-572831.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126202952/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/cads-wanted-for-taming-572831.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 November 2009|last=McDowell|first=Lesley|title=Cads wanted for taming; Hold on to your bodices: Dorothy L. Sayers and Georgette Heyer are making a comeback this year. Lesley McDowell can't wait.|newspaper=[[The Independent on Sunday]]|location=London|date=11 January 2004|page=17}}</ref> Unlike romantic fiction of the period by other writers, Heyer's novels featured the setting as a plot device. Many of her characters exhibited modern-day sensibilities; more conventional characters in the novels would point out the heroine's eccentricities, such as wanting to marry for love.<ref>Regis (2003), p. 127.</ref> The books were set almost entirely in the world of the wealthy upper class<ref name=laski283>Laski (1970), p. 283.</ref> and only occasionally mention poverty, religion or politics.<ref>Laski (1970), p. 285.</ref>

[[File:Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington by Robert Home cropped.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Heyer claimed that every word uttered by [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|The Duke of Wellington]] in her novel ''[[An Infamous Army]]'' was spoken or written by him in real life.]]
Although the British Regency lasted only from 1811 to 1820, Heyer's romances were set between 1752 and 1825. According to the literary critic Kay Mussell, the books revolved around a "structured social ritual – the marriage market represented by the [[Season (society)|London season]]" where "all are in danger of ostracism for inappropriate behavior".<ref name=mussell413>Mussell (1984), p. 413.</ref> Her Regency romances were inspired by the writings of [[Jane Austen]], whose novels were set in the same era. Austen's works, however, were contemporary novels, describing the times in which she lived. According to Pamela Regis in her work ''A Natural History of the Romance Novel'', because Heyer's stories took place amidst events that had occurred more than 100&nbsp;years earlier, she had to include more detail on the period in order for her readers to understand it.<ref name=regis125126>Regis (2003), pp. 125–126.</ref> Whilst Austen could ignore the "minutiae of dress and decor",<ref name=robinson322/> Heyer included those details "to invest the novels&nbsp;... with 'the tone of the time'".<ref name=robinson323>Robinson (1978), p. 323.</ref> Later reviewers, such as [[Lillian Robinson]], criticized Heyer's "passion for the specific fact without concern for its significance",<ref name=robinson326>Robinson (1978), p. 326.</ref> and [[Marghanita Laski]] wrote that "these aspects on which Heyer is so dependent for her creation of atmosphere are just those which Jane Austen&nbsp;... referred to only when she wanted to show that a character was vulgar or ridiculous".<ref name=laski284>Laski (1970), p. 284.</ref> Others, including [[A. S. Byatt|A.S. Byatt]], believe that Heyer's "awareness of this atmosphere – both of the minute details of the social pursuits of her leisured classes and of the emotional structure behind the fiction it produced – is her greatest asset".<ref name=byatt275>Byatt (1969), p. 275.</ref> When a critic said her picture of Regency England was no more like the real thing than he was like Queen Anne, Heyer remarked: "He knows best whether he is like Queen Anne, but what the hell does he know about the Regency?"<ref>Hodge, p.91</ref>

Determined to make her novels as accurate as possible, Heyer collected reference works and research materials to use while writing.<ref name=hodge43/> At the time of her death she owned more than 1,000&nbsp;historical reference books, including ''[[Debrett's]]'' and an 1808 dictionary of the [[House of Lords]]. In addition to the standard historical works about the medieval and eighteenth-century periods, her library included histories of [[snuff box]]es, sign posts and [[1795–1820 in Western fashion|costumes]].<ref name=byatt300>Byatt (1975), p. 300.</ref> She often clipped illustrations from magazine articles and jotted down interesting vocabulary or facts onto note cards but rarely recorded where she found the information.<ref name="hodge43, 46">Hodge (1984), pp. 43, 46.</ref> Her notes were sorted into categories, such as Beauty, Colours, Dress, Hats, Household, Prices and Shops, and even included details such as the cost of candles in a particular year.<ref name=byatt300/><ref name=byatt301>Byatt (1975), p. 301.</ref> Other notebooks contained lists of phrases, covering such topics as "Food and Crockery", "Endearments", and "Forms of Address."<ref name=byatt301/> One of her publishers, [[Max Reinhardt (publisher)|Max Reinhardt]], once attempted to offer editorial suggestions about the language in one of her books but was promptly informed by a member of his staff that no one in England knew more about Regency language than Heyer.<ref>Byatt (1975), p. 298.</ref>

In the interests of accuracy Heyer once purchased a letter written by the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] so that she could precisely employ his style of writing.<ref>Hodge (1984), p. 53.</ref> She claimed that every word attributed to Wellington in ''An Infamous Army'' was actually spoken or written by him in real life.<ref>Byatt (1969), p. 276.</ref> Her knowledge of the period was so extensive that Heyer rarely mentioned dates explicitly in her books; instead, she situated the story by casually referring to major and minor events of the time.<ref>Hodge (1984), p. 71.</ref>

===Character types===
Heyer specialised in two types of romantic male lead, which she called Mark I and Mark II. Mark I, with overtones of [[Mr Rochester]], was (in her words) "rude, overbearing, and often a bounder".<ref>Quoted in [[Jane Aiken Hodge]], ''The Private World of Georgette Heyer'' (London 1984) p. 109</ref> Mark II by contrast was debonair, sophisticated and often a style-icon.<ref>Jane Aiken Hodge, ''The Private World of Georgette Heyer'' (London 1984) p. 59</ref> Similarly, her heroines (reflecting Austen's division between lively and gentle)<ref>G. B. Stern, ''Talking of Jane Austen'' (London 1946) p. 64</ref> fell into two broad groups: the tall and dashing, mannish type,<ref>M. Andrews, ''All the World and Her Husband'' (2000) p. 53</ref> and the quiet bullied type.<ref>Jane Aiken Hodge, ''The Private World of Georgette Heyer'' (London 1984) p. 82</ref>

When a Mark I hero meets a Mark I heroine, as in ''Bath Tangle'' or ''Faro's Daughter'', high drama ensues, whilst an interesting twist on the underlying paradigm is provided by ''The Grand Sophy'', where the Mark I hero considers himself a Mark II and has to be challenged for his true nature to emerge.<ref>Jane Aiken. Hodge, ''The Private World of Georgette Heyer'' (London 1984) p. 82</ref>