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Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer was born on 16 August 1902 in Wimbledon, London, England, UK. She was the eldest child of Sylvia Watkins and George Heyer; her brother George Boris was born four years later, and her brother Frank nine years later. During her childhood, the family lived also in Paris, France, but they returned to England before World War I. During the war, her father served as a requisitions officer for the British Army in France. Encouraged by her father to read, he never forbade her any book. At 17, she began a serial story to amuse her brother Boris, who suffered from a form of haemophilia and was often weak. Her father enjoyed listening to her story and asked her to prepare it for publication. His agent found a publisher for her book, and "The Black Moth" was released in 1921.
In December 1920, she met George Ronald Rougier, a young two years older than her, who studied at the Royal School of Mines to become a mining engineer. They became engaged the spring of 1925, and she had five novels published. Only one month later, her father died of a heart attack, and he left no pension for his family. She assumed financial responsibility for her brothers, aged 19 and 14. On 18 August 1925, Georgette married George, but two moths later, he was sent to Caucasus Mountains, and she remained at home and continued to write. She released "These Old Shades", during the midst of the UK General Strike of 1926; as a result, the novel received no newspaper coverage, reviews, or advertising. The novel sold 190,000 copies, and she refused for the rest of her life to promote her novels. Her husband was sent to the East African territory of Tanganyika, and she joined him in 1927, they moved to Macedonia in 1928, where she almost died after a dentist improperly administered an anaesthetic. She insisted they return to England before starting a family, and the following year they returned to England. In England, her husband started diferent business, but she was always the primary breadwinner. They had a son, Richard, and she continued to care for her brothers and mother. During the World War II, her husband and brothers served in the army, and to earn more money, she reviewed books for Heinemann. To minimize her tax liability, she formed a limited liability company, that paid salaries for her and her family. The tax inspectors discovered financial problems with the company, which she finally sold. She wrote principally historical romance novels and some detective novels. She essentially established the historical sub-genre of Regency romance, inspired by Jane Austen's work. Unlike Austen, who wrote about and for the times in which she lived, she was forced to include copious information about the period so that her readers would understand the setting. To ensure accuracy, she collected reference works and kept detailed notes on all aspects of Regency life, becoming an expert. Her successful regency novels were imitated by many authors like Barbara Cartland, and in some cases were allegedly plagiarized, but she chose not to file lawsuits. She continued writing until her death by lung cancer on 4 July 1974; her novel My Lord John, the first and only book of the Lancaster Trilogy, was published posthumously.
Full Series List in Order
Alastair-Audley Tetralogy
1 - These Old Shades (1926)2 - Devil's Cub (1932)
3 - Regency Buck (1935)
4 - An Infamous Army (1937)
Beauvallet Dynasty
1 - Simon the Coldheart (Jan-1925)2 - Beauvallet (Jan-1929)
Inspectors Hannasyde & Hemingway
1 - Death in the Stocks // Merely Murder (1935)2 - Behold, Here's Poison (1936)
3 - They Found Him Dead (1937)
4 - A Blunt Instrument (1938)
5 - No Wind of Blame (1939)
6 - Envious Casca // A Christmas Party (1941)
7 - Duplicate Death (1951)
8 - Detection Unlimited (1953)
Book List in Order: 79 titles
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The Black Moth
- 1921
- / Traditional Regency
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Georgian England. Disgraced Jack Carstares, now rightful Earl of Wyncham, left England seven long years ago, sacrificing his honour for that of his eldest brother when he was accused of cheating at cards. But he is determined not to claim his ti...
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The Great Roxhythe
- Jan-1922
- / Historical Romance
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Georgette Heyer's second historical novel, published in 1923, was a far more ambitious undertaking than her first, 1921's The Black Moth. Set at the court of Charles II (1630 - 1685), in the era after he has returned to a grateful nation aft...
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The Little Lady
- 1922
- / Historical
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This 1922 short story is one of Georgette Heyer's most unusual works, a love tale that flirts with the paranormal in post-WWI England. Originally published in the UK's Red Magazine, it is republished here for the first time....
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A Proposal to Cicely
In her first published short story, released in the UK's Happy Mag in 1922, Georgette Heyer also gave the world her first stab at contemporary fiction, with this story of a modern 1920's miss who confronts some frighteningly old-fashioned att...
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The Transformation of Philip Jettan // Powder and Patch
- Jan-1923
- / Traditional Regency
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In an 18th-Century England of wit, womanising and powdered wigs, provincial Philip Jettan runs the risk of irreproachability. When her childhood friend, the golden-haired Cleone Charteris returns from finishing school, her exquisite charms have made ...
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Acting on Impulse
- 1923
- / General Fiction
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Quite the funniest of all Georgette Heyer's contemporary works, "Acting on Impulse" is the adorable story of an enthusiastic suitor who will not allow his father's stubbornness get in the way of true love. Reprinted here for the fi...
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The Chinese Shawl
- 1923
- / Historical
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After her father's financial ruin, Mary Nugent must eke out a meagre existence in contrast to her once-glittering life. But an unwanted gift -- and a chance encounter with on old flame -- might just change everything... First published in The...
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Instead of the Thorn
- 1923
- / Contemporary Romance
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A contemporary romance about a naive girl brought up in a Victorian manner, Elizabeth married very young and is little able to cope with life and marriage in adult life. One of the four "contemporary" novels Georgette Heyer had suppressed....
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The Bulldog and the Beast
Published in the UK's Happy Mag in 1923, this short and sweet story of contemporary romance gives us dog-loving but people-hating neighbours who perhaps aren't as jaded about the opposite sex as they want everyone to believe. Full of Heyer's signatur...
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Linckes' Great Case
Georgette Heyer's first detective story! First published in Detective Magazine in 1923.A mysterious leakage of Cabinet documents and the trust of a very charming young person gave Linckes the chance of his life. Previously only republished as part of...
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Simon the Coldheart
- Jan-1925
- / Historical Romance
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In the early 15th century, during the middle of the Hundred Years' War, England and France were fighting for sovereignty over France. It was a time of hand-to-hand combat, the invention of the longbow, and real knights in armor. Simon was born in...
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These Old Shades
- 1926
- / Traditional Regency
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Under the reign of Louis XV, corruption and intrigue have been allowed to blossom in France, and Lord Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon, known for his coldness of manner, his remarkable omniscience, and his debauched lifestyle. Society beli...
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The Masqueraders
- Jan-1928
- / Traditional Regency
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Such a daring escape... Their infamous adventurer father has taught Prudence Tremaine and her brother Robin to be masters of disguise. Ending up on the wrong side of the Jacobite rebellion, brother and sister flee to London, Prudence pretending to...
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Beauvallet
- Jan-1929
- / Historical Romance
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The year is 1586 and 35-year-old Sir Nicholas Beauvallet (great great great grandson of Simon Beauvallet, the Coldheart) is one of the most infamous corsair of the Elizabethan era. With the blessing of the Queen, Beauvallet sails the seas with the in...
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Barren Corn
- 1930
- / Contemporary Romance
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When Hugh Salinger announced the news of his disastrously ill-assorted marriage with Laura Burton, his family expected him to bring home an adventuress. It might, in the end, have been better, for Laura, undeniably beautiful, simple & selfless in her...
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The Conqueror
- 1931
- / Historical Romance
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A fictionalized biography, fast-moving and minutely-wrought chronicle about William, Duke of Normandy who became King of England in 1066. The day she gave birth to William, the beautiful Herleva dreamt that a tree sprang from her womb--a giant amo...
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Footsteps in the Dark
- 1932
- / Romantic Suspense
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Locals claim The Prior is haunted and refuse to put a single toe past the front door. Left empty for years, and even their deceased uncle chose to live in a different house, far away from this particular property. But the ramshackle old house, with i...
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Devil's Cub
- 1932
- / Traditional Regency
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Dominic Alistair, Marquis of Vidal and fiery son of the notorious Duke of Avon, has established a rakish reputation that rivals his father's, living a life of excess and indulgence. He is a bad lot a rake and seducer, reckless, heedless, and possesse...
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Why Shoot a Butler?
- 1933
- / Romantic Suspense
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Every family has secrets, but the Fountains' are turning deadly… On a dark night, along a lonely country road, barrister Frank Amberley stops to help a young lady in distress and discovers a sports car with a corpse behind the wheel, dead from a...
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The Convenient Marriage
- 1934
- / Romance
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When Lord Marcus Drelincourt, Earl of Rule, the most eligible match of Georgian England, offers for the hand of the oldest and prettiest sister of the Winwood Family, he has no notion of the distress he causes his intended. Beauty Lizzie Winwood alre...
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The Unfinished Clue
- 1934
- / Romantic Suspense
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It should have been a lovely English country-house weekend. But the unfortunate guest-list is enough to exasperate a saint, and irascible General Sir Arthur Billington-Smith was nobody's idea of the perfect host. In fact he was absolutely frightful. ...
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Death in the Stocks // Merely Murder
- 1935
- / Romantic Suspense
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The moonlight shone on the quiet village green when an English bobbie returning from night patrol finds on a man's two motionless feet stuck through the holes of a pair of stocks. He identifies the corpse in evening dress immediately. Wealthy Andrew ...
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Regency Buck
- 1935
- / Traditional Regency
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After their father's death, the siblings Judith and Peregrine Taverner travel to 1811 London to meet their guardian, the Earl of Worth, expecting an elderly gentleman, to their surprise and utter disgust, their guardian is not much older than the...
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Behold, Here's Poison
- 1936
- / Romantic Suspense
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When Gregory Matthews, patriarch of the Poplars is found dead one morning, imperious Aunt Harriet blames it on the roast duck he ate for supper. After all, she had warned him about his blood pressure. But a post-mortem determines the cause of death a...
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The Talisman Ring
- 1936
- / Romance
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A full-blooded romance of the eighteenth century, when the legend of the Headless Horseman and a proposed marriage de convenance both have their impact on the mystery of a golden talisman ring. The ravishing beauty, Eustacie de Vauban had been snatch...
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Runaway Match
- Apr-1936
- / Historical Romance
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Miss Paradise and Mr. Morley, both 18, have decided to escape the dread fate of having Miss Paradise forced to be married to Sir Roland Sale. They decide, since they had planned to get married to each other anyway, despite the thoughts on the matter ...
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They Found Him Dead
- 1937
- / Romantic Suspense
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One heir after another turns up dead… The sixtieth birthday party of Silas Kane was marred by argument and dissension amongst his family. And then, the morning after the celebrations, Kane is found dead at the foot of a cliff. The theory that Si...
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An Infamous Army
- 1937
- / Traditional Regency
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In the summer of 1815, beneath the aegis of the Army of Occupation, Brussels is the gayest town in Europe. And the red-haired widow Lady Barbara Childe, renowned for being as outrageous as she is beautiful, is at the centre of the social whirl and of...
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Lady, Your Pardon
- Apr-1937
- / Historical Romance
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Deborah never played a more reckless game than the one where love was the stake....
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Incident on the Bath Road
- May-1937
- / Traditional Regency
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A very bored Earl, unsure why he bothers going to Bath, zooms along in his chaise until he spots another broken down on the road to Bath. Stopping, the Earl sees the figure of a young man standing there as a means to break the tedium of sameness and ...
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A Blunt Instrument
- 1938
- / Romantic Suspense
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Who would kill the perfect gentleman? When Ernest Fletcher is found bludgeoned to death in his study, everyone is shocked and mystified: Ernest was well liked and respected, so who would have a motive for killing him? Inspectors of Scotland Yard f...
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Royal Escape
- 1938
- / Historical Romance
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In 1650, dispossessed of Crown and kingdom, crushed and routed at the grim Battle of Worcester, the young Charles II is forced to flee for his life. Out of the heat of battle, the outlaw King and his tiny party must journey across Cromwell's England ...
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No Wind of Blame
- 1939
- / Romantic Suspense
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A weekend shooting party gathers together a rich assortment of characters including Wally Carter and his wife Ermyntrude, the precocious schoolgirl Vicky, the quick-witted Mary, Sir William Dering, and Alexis Varasashvil, a Russian prince. Interests ...
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The Corinthian // Beau Wyndham
- 1940
- / Traditional Regency
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The only question which hangs over the life of Sir Richard Wyndham, notable whip, dandy and Corinthian, is one of marriage. On the eve of making the most momentous decision of his life, while he is contemplating a loveless marriage with a woman his f...
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The Spanish Bride
- 1940
- / Historical Romance
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Shot-proof, fever-proof and a veteran campaigner at the age of 25, Brigade-Major Henry George Wakelyn Smith is reputed to be the luckiest man in Lord Wellington's army. Yet at the seige of Badjos in 1812, his friends foretell the ruin of his career. ...
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Faro's Daughter
- 1941
- / Traditional Regency
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Skilled in the art of card playing, Deborah Grantham, a gambler's daughter, uses that skill as her sole means of support as mistress of her aunt's elegant and exclusive gaming club in 18th-century London. The beautiful young must find a way to restor...
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Envious Casca // A Christmas Party
- 1941
- / Romantic Suspense
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'Tis the season-to be dead... Resigned to spending Christmas at Lexham Manor, Mathilda Clare wasn't sure what she dreaded most--the foul temper of Nat Herriard, the filthy-rich old Scrooge who owned the place, or the sweetness-and-light of his bro...
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Friday's Child
- 1944
- / Traditional Regency
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Rejected by the woman he deeply craves, the incomparable Miss Milborne, for his unsteadiness of character, wild Viscount Sheringham is bent on avenging fate and coming into his fortune. Rebellious young Sherry could not gain his inheritance until he ...
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The Reluctant Widow
- 1946
- / Traditional Regency
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A fateful mistake... Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor Rochdale is swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. Elinor is rather surprised that her prospective employer is quite rich, and more so at tile decayed grandeu...
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The Foundling
- 1948
- / Traditional Regency
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The Groom. Enormously wealthy, scrupulously mannered and suffocatingly confined by his title the 24 years old Adolphus Gillespie Ware, the 7th Duke of Sale -- known to friends as Gilly -- is a diffident young, easily pushed around by his overprotecti...
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The Grand Sophy
- 1950
- / Traditional Regency
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When the redoubtable Sir Horace Stanton-Lacy is ordered to South America on business, he leaves his only daughter Sophia with his sister, Elizabeth Rivenhall, in Berkeley Square. Newly arrived from her tour of the Continent, Sophy invites herself int...
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The Quiet Gentleman
- 1951
- / Traditional Regency
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Gervase Frant finally returns to his father's estate to claim his title as the new Seventh Earl of St. Erth at Stanyon. Unscathed from Waterloo, Gervase expected a hero's welcome-instead he's given a frigid cold shoulder. Upon his return,...
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Duplicate Death
- 1951
- / Romantic Suspense
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London is the scene for a card party given by a social-climbing hostess. Suddenly, the seemingly civilized game of Duplicate Bridge is interrupted by a double murder, both victims murdered by the same sinister method, strangled with picture wire. The...
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Detection Unlimited
- 1953
- / Romantic Suspense
-
It was a hot June evening in the village of Thornden, the Hasells celebrate a tennis party at the Cedars, their mansion. The young Haswell had just motored the lovely Abby Dearham back from social event of the week. Nearly everyone of the village upp...
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The Toll-Gate
- 1954
- / Traditional Regency
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His great adventures were legendary... Captain John Staple's exploits in the Peninsula and Waterloo had earned him the sobriquet Crazy Jack amongst his fellows in the Dragoon Guards. Back from the battlefront, he is planning to settle down after a br...
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Bath Tangle
- 1955
- / Traditional Regency
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The Earl of Spenborough has always been noted for his eccentricity. Leaving Fanny, a widow younger than his own daughter Serena is one thing, but quite another is leaving his daugther's fortune to the trusteeship of Ivo Barrasford, marquis of Rot...
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Sprig Muslin
- 1956
- / Traditional Regency
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Sir Gareth Ludlow was a sought-after bachelor in London high society -- wealthy, noble, handsome... and brokenhearted since the death of his true love many years ago. Resigned to remarry, Sir Gareth decides to request the hand of a woman he respects ...
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April Lady
- 1957
- / Traditional Regency
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Despite the scandalous blemish on the family name of his 18 year old bride, Lord Giles Cardross is convinced beautiful Helen cares for him. When newlywed begins to fill her days with fashion and frivolity, her husband has to wonder whether she really...
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Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle
- 1957
- / Traditional Regency
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When the news went out that Sylvester Rayne, the elegant, impeccable Duke of Salford, was seeking a wife, all England was aflutter! Lord Sylvester is a polished bachelor who has stringent requirements for his future wife -- she must be well-born, int...
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The Unknown Ajax
- 1959
- / Traditional Regency
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Miles from anywhere, Darracott Place is presided over by elderly Lord Darracott. Irascible Lord Darracott rules his barony with a firm hand. The tragic accident that kills his eldest son by drowning has done nothing to improve his temper. For now he ...
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Pistols for Two
- 1960
- / Traditional Regency
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Historical romance short-story: "In the end, the quarrel, smouldering for so many weeks, flared up over such a trifle that anyone, Tom reflected, would have laughed to have known the cause."...
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A Civil Contract
- 1961
- / Traditional Regency
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Adam Deveril, is one of the Duke of Wellington's captains, and a hero at Salamanca. When his father, a crony of the Prince Regent, is killed in the hunting field, Adam became the 6th Viscount Lynton of Fontley Priory, Lincolnshire. But he retuns from...
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The Nonesuch
- 1962
- / Traditional Regency
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At the age of five-and-thirty, Sir Waldo Hawkridge, wealthy, handsome, eligible, illustrious, and known as the nonesuch for his athletic prowess, and when he comes north to inspect his unusual inheritance at Broom hall in the West Riding, his arrival...
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False Colours
- 1963
- / Traditional Regency
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When the charming but irresponsible Lady Amabel, Countess of Denville is left a young widow the problem of her mounting debts becomes acute. So she is lucky to have such resourceful twin sons as Evelyn and Christopher Fancot to steer the family throu...
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Black Sheep
- 1966
- / Traditional Regency
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With her high-spirited intelligence and good looks, Abigail Wendover was a most sought-after young woman. But of all her high-placed suitors, there was none Abigail could love. Abigail was kept busy when her pretty and naive niece Fanny falls head ov...
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Cousin Kate
- 1968
- / Traditional Regency
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When young and beautiful governess Kate Malvern finds herself unemployed in Regency England, is surprised to receive an invitation to live with a distant aunt, Minerva Broome, who she has never met. Rescued from penury by her aunt Minerva, hardly kno...
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Charity Girl
- 1970
- / Traditional Regency
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A young and lovely runaway alone on the road to London Miss Charity Steane is running away from the drudgery of her aunt's household to find her grandfather. Not expecting her visit, the old gentleman is not in London but is away in the country. ...
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Lady of Quality
- 1972
- / Traditional Regency
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The spirited and independent Miss Annis Wychwood is a beautiful heiress, and hopelessly single, has twenty-nine and well past the age for falling in love. When she sponsored young pretty Miss Lucilla Carleton's "coming out," the town's social elite w...
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My Lord John
- 1975
- / Historical Romance
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The reigns, deaths, and ruthless struggle for power of Richard II and his cousin Henry IV is viewed through the eyes of Henry's youngest son, John of Lancanster. John, Duke of Bedford--very human, very powerful, intensely virile--he is an unforgettab...
Award-Winning Books by Georgette Heyer
1995 Romance Readers Anonymous Award -- Best All-Time Regency Romance