There are Georgette Heyer novels and Georgette Heyer novels – some are better than others and to my mind The Grand Sophy is the very best. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer The Grand Sophy – Kate’s all-time favourite If you’re thinking of dipping in, here’s our rundown of the best: Historical romances might not be your thing, but a few hours spent in the company of Heyer’s sparkling heroines and dashing Regency bucks may change your mind. She is generally credited with having invented the genre of the Regency Romance, and readers lapped up her meticulously plotted novels, still sought out today as the perfect form of escapism by readers in-the-know. The book was published and became a success, and Heyer began to write follow-ups. Georgette Heyer wrote her first book, The Black Moth, when she was 19, to amuse her brother who was recovering from an illness. There are also some problematic scenes for contemporary readers: consider yourself warned and skip to the bottom if you want to know which novels to avoid. Laura’s cousin, who she was sure would love them, said ‘Laura, there’s far too many cousins marrying cousins for me!’ Fair enough. It has to be said, they are not for everyone. Having outed ourselves we thought it a good idea to put together a list of our favourites. In our latest Bookshelf show ( episode 78), we got happily lost in a tangent about the time we both spend secretly reading Georgette Heyer novels. What is the best Georgette Heyer novel? Read on, read on.

The nonesuch heyer