Regency romance author — and Heyer Society member — Audrey Harrison reflects…
This is how I found Heyer.
I left school in the 1980’s in the UK. Unemployment was high and there were very few opportunities out there as all our industries were closing. My careers teacher had wanted me to go onto college and then university, but he had failed to take into account my personality and background. I was from a very working class background. No one else in my wider family had been to university – it was for rich people as far as we were concerned. There is no point beating around the bush, we didn’t lack for anything, both parents worked hard in providing a good, loving home, but there was no money to support me with the things I would have needed to attend college and university. Added to that, I was a homebird. I hated being away from home and would never have survived life in uni at that time. It is true when the say youth is wasted on the young! In my case anyway!
I was fortunate to get on to a Youth Training Scheme in a local library. I had always loved books and written stories, so it was never like going to work. I loved it. I learned and read authors I’d never come across before. If an author was popular with readers I would try to read at least some of their works. I found Jean Plaidy first off and devoured her stories, loving the history. Then, someone suggested Georgette Heyer. My first was Sprig Muslin and I was addicted!
I moved on from the library and became a middle manager in the public sector. On securing a lucrative contract once I treated myself to a full set of Heyers and was from then on able to pick one up whenever I chose!
A twist of fate (cuts in government funding affecting my job) meant that although I’d been scribbling for years, I actually sat down and wrote seriously. I published two books, but it wasn’t until I published my first Regency Romance that I found my ‘home’. I was back in the world I loved and with characters which I could let develop in the way I wanted them to. I am no Georgette Heyer, but to this day I thank her for her talent, humour and the hours and hours of comfort her books have given me over the years. — AH
Visit Audrey at audreyharrison.co.uk!
How did you find Heyer? Send in your story to patronesses (at) heyersociety (dot) com.