Georgette Heyer and the Uses of Regency

Publication year
1986
Pages
283-292
Comment

This was reprinted in Mary Fahnestock-Thomas's Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective (2001), pages 421-434.

In tracing her progress from the picaresque tale such as These Old Shades (1926) or Regency Buck (1935) to the novel of manners like Venetia (1958) or Black Sheep (1966), or from action to psychology, we have analysed both Georgette Heyer's narrative strategies and use of language. [...] The second phase we have identified is characterized by a sharply decreasing number of adventurous elements overall, which also change qualitatively. For example, the violent elements disappear completely [...] In this second phase, a more evolutive pace emerges, with a greater psychological exploration of each narrative episode which accompanies a more restricted, or drawing-room situation. (425)

Moving from the plot to the characterization, we detected a change in the portrayal of the hero and heroine, from a combination conducive to violent clashes of temperament and behaviour to a more subtle psychological matching. (428)