There are two kinds of Austen readers: those who suffered through Jane's works and those who are upset that she didn't write more. For those who still yearn for another Austen, let me recommend the works of Georgette Heyer. Although a more contemporary writer than Austen (August 16 1902 - July 4 1974), Heyer's works perfectly capture the Regency time period. Heyer's are "grand romances" in the literary sense of the word. And she has a sense of humor too, something that is on occasion missing in Austen. If you're not sure which of her many works to start with you can't go wrong with These Old Shades. Enjoy!
She was also well known as a crime writer, so be ware when choosing among her works. You can access a list of her works at http://www.abfar.co.uk/bibliogs/gh_bib.htm The list will tell you which of her works are Regencies (I believe she wrote 40 of these) and which are not.
And yes, before you ask, she kept things "clean."
4 comments:
I definitely belong to the second category. Thanks for the link.
Thanks for the recommendation for Georgette Heyer.
My mother, z"l, was a big Jane Austen fan and passed her love of Austen's novels unto me. Even my husband enjoys Jane Austen, via all the movies that have been made of her books (he mostly just reads the parsha, rarely reads a novel).
I love Heyer! Whenever I need a break from the chaos I pull out an old favorite and sit down to read. My family calls those Heyer moments my "Do Not Disturb" time outs. About time someone recommended her to a wider audience.
My mother was reading Heyer already many many years ago. I wouldn't touch the books then because who reads what their mother is reading. I always thought they were like Harlequin romances and what kind of reading was that for a frum woman. When she moved she gave me her collection and I kept it in a box in the basement. Cleaning up there a few years ago I was just going to take the whole box and throw it out but something made me take out a random book and open and read a little. Two hours later all the books were up on my shelves and I was hooked. These are definitely not Harlequin romances and I enjoy the way she makes another time period come alive. She's mostly out of print but libraries still have her and you can find her on the Internet bookstores.
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