In 1986, Canberra Times book correspondent Stan Barney wrote of Joan Aiken Hodge’s Heyer biography, The Private World of Georgette Heyer, but he simultaneously wrote about Heyer herself:
By ANY standards Georgette Heyer was one of the most prolific and successful of writers. Published first when she was 19, she had written a total of 58 books by the time she died 53 years later – most of them best-sellers. ‘The Private World of Georgette Heyer”, by Jane Aiken Hodge (Pan, 20pp., $10.95) is the fascinating story of a very private person who wrote under hermaiden name and lived a comfortable and separate life as Mrs Ronald Rougicr, wife of an English barrister. She shunned publicity and steadfastly refused to be lionised, maintaining that her private life had nothing to do with her writing. Fortunately, though she was a compulsive communicator on paper and with her letters and family interviews, Hodge manages to reveal, albeit gradually, the sort of person Heyer really was. She may have been shy socially but in her dealings with her publishers and others she was a strong and determined character. Even the Queen, who invited her to lunch at Buckingham Palace, is reported to have found her “very formidable”. She was a staunch Conservative, though critical of all politicians, particularly Edward Heath, who lived in the flat below her; had constant battles with the tax authorities; and was definitely a snob. It seems, though, that all who knew her loved her. Famed mostlyfor her novels of the Regency period, she went to great pains toachieve historical accuracy and lively characters but was generally badly treated by critics. The Americans discovered her late in her career but happily she was still alive when one US critic wrote: “Of the modern English novelists, probably none has been so undervalued by critics and so welcomed by readers as Georgette Heyer.”
So true!
