Georgette Heyer

Biography of a Bestseller

By: Jennifer Kloester

Narrated by: Phyllida Nash

Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Georgette Heyer remains an enduring international best seller, read and loved by four generations of readers and extolled by today's best-selling authors. Despite her enormous popularity, she never gave an interview or appeared in public.

Georgette Heyer wrote her first novel, The Black Moth, when she was 17 in order to amuse her convalescent brother. It was published in 1921 to instant success, and 90 years later it has never been out of print. A phenomenon even in her own lifetime, to this day she is the undisputed queen of regency romance.

During 10 years of research into Georgette Heyer's life and writing, Jennifer Kloester has had unlimited access to Heyer's notebooks and private papers and the Heyer family records and exclusive access to several untapped archives of Heyer's early letters. Engaging, authoritative and meticulously researched, Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Bestseller offers a comprehensive insight into the life and writing of a remarkable and ferociously private woman.

©2011 Jennifer Kloester 2011 (P)2015 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"Kloester crams her book with nuggets.... Heyer's devotees will be charmed by this engaging tour of the author's world." ( The Washington Post)

Best Biography

I enjoyed it so much! Well researched, humorous overall view of Heyer. Thank you, great performance!

Fascinating history of Georgette Heyer’s life.

Wonderful narration.
Well told story about Georgette Heyer and the process of writing and publishing her Regency novels.

An excellent deep dive into Heyer’s life.

With tons of detail, this book covers every element of her life and writing history. Highly recommended!

Fascinating and enjoyable

Fascinating to meet the woman behind the delightful books. Ms. Kloester did her research and Georgette Heyer comes alive. As always, Phyllida Nash is a perfect narrator.

I love the narrator Phyllida Nash!

This is a good biography of Georgette Heyer by Jennifer Kloester. I listened to the entire book ( a long listen!) The author really got into Georgette Heyer's financial problems - which I guess she had to - but since it was a long-standing problem, it did enter into most of the stories and explanations of Heyer's life - which got a bit much after a while. I don't think I would have like to have known Georgette Heyer because of her attitudes on many issues and things (and of course she was a product of her era!), but nevertheless, her many, many books are simply wonderful! And I love her sense of humor! I have read and re-read her books many times, and they don't lose anything in the re-reading, they are just as funny, and just as accurate in history, and just as entertaining to read! In fact, I am re-reading her book "Cotillion" right now, and it has me howling with laughter! It is strange to me how people who see the humor in life, have sad lives themselves. Although Georgette Heyer was always keeping a "stiff upper lip", she did go through many life problems and also health problems. Overall, I did like the book, but I'm sure i was influenced by the fact that Phyllida Nash narrated it!

She was wonderful when I was a child and now too

Wonderful to meet all her books again since I was introduced to "The grand Sophy" when I was 14 and wonderful to be reminded now in Corona time in Israel. I am 81 and this has made me so glad that when I came to the retirement home here I brought all her books with me. The narration is worthy of her and she has become alive to me as the characters in her novels did in a way no other writer ever did so. No wonder she felt that sometimes her characters were interfering with the story she wanted to write.....that made me laugh so much at a time when there is little laughter

Heyer as a person

Jennifer Kloester spent many years researching the life an works of Georgette Heyer, perhaps best known as the inventor of the Regency Romance. This biography allows the interested listener to learn more about Heyer as a person, and what was going on in her life as she wrote her beloved books. And Phyllida Nash was an excellent choice for narrator. She has narrated several of Heyer's novels and shows and interest and understanding of the genre. She also has a very pleasant voice. I am delighted to be able to listen to this biography.

Currently Audible has almost all of Heyer's novels available as audiobooks, which is also a delight. Having this biography available fills out the set. I hope that one day Audible will be able to add audiobooks for Pistols for Two, Heyer's short story collection and the rare Heyer novels not currently available.