Relatively recently, on August 28, I mentioned Georgette Heyer’s Friday’s Child and also observed that: “I’ve certainly smiled and even laughed outright a good deal when reading Georgette Heyer’s historical romances…possibly more than with any other author…”

In short, although Georgette Heyer will never be recognised as a literary great, I think she rocks as a storyteller and here are a few reasons why:

1. Although Heyer’s novels are generally lighthearted fun, her historical research is impeccable and this research grounds her stories in a sense of the real that gives them considerable authenticity.
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2. The sort of humour that keeps you smiling as you read and laughing out loud from time to time is a gift that few authors possess—but together with the historical research, it’s the magic ingredient that makes Heyer stand head and shoulders above her many imitators.
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3. She has a real gift for dialogue, particularly witty repartee between characters, and uses her research to introduce slang phrases from the era, including thieves’ cant. The former keeps the story spinning along, the latter helps build the authenticity discussed under 1.
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4. Heyer always writes great characters, even if quite a few of them are “stock” in type, and even her minor characters come alive on the page: quite an art.
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5. Although her books are lighthearted overall and always considerable elements of fun, Heyer also has sufficient depth to her characters and just enough gravitas to ensure there is substance to the read, without weighing the reader down.

So when the going gets tough and it’s time for a comfort read, a Georgette Heyer novel, with one or two exceptions, is always to be relied upon.

Some of my favourites include:

The Masqueraders
The Talisman Ring
These Old Shades
The Corinthian
The Grand Sophy
Faro’s Daughter
Friday’s Child
Cotillion
Sylvester
A Civil Contract
Frederica
The Nonesuch