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  A conservatory was the perfect place for a marriage proposal.

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2010, 2005 by Jennifer Kloester

  Cover and internal design © 2010 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

  Cover design by Dawn Pope/Sourcebooks

  Cover photo © Bridgeman Art Library, IStockphoto.com/ggodby

  Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

  Illustrations by Graeme Tavendale, including adaptations from: I.R. & G. Cruikshank, T. Rowlandson, A.C. Pugin, W.H. Pyne, J. Nash, Ackermann’s Repository, J. Pollard, E. Landseer, A. Ramsay, C. d’Oyley, Hayter, R. Cosway, W. Felton, R. Dighton, Wild, C. Henderson, C. Austen, E. Burney, F. Bartolozzi, T. Phillips, E. Bird, R. Westall, R. Horne, J. Werner, W. Fry, H. Thomson and H. Railton.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

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  Originally published in the United Kingdom in 2005 by William Heinemann

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Kloester, Jennifer.

  Georgette Heyer’s Regency world / Jennifer Kloester ; illustrated by Graeme Tavendale.

  p. cm.

  Originally published: London : William Heinemann, 2005.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  1. Heyer, Georgette, 1902-1974—Settings. 2. Heyer, Georgette, 1902-1974—Knowledge—England. 3. Regency in literature. 4. Regency—England. 5. England—In literature. 6. England—Social life and customs—19th century. I. Tavendale, Graeme. II. Title.

  PR6015.E795Z84 2010

  823’.912—dc22

  2010017246

  To J. Roy Hay

  Contents

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Introduction

  Acknowledgements

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  Appendix 1

  Appendix 2

  Appendix 3

  Appendix 4

  Appendix 5

  Appendix 6

  About the Author

  Back Cover

  Introduction

  The entries selected for this book are drawn from the history in Georgette Heyer’s twenty-six Regency novels. For many years these books have beguiled my leisure hours, affording me enormous pleasure, but also giving me a great deal of useful information about the English Regency period. I hadn’t known just how much accurate and factual information there was in the novels until I came to research and write this book, and, although I’d always been under the impression that Heyer was meticulous in her communication of the period, I hadn’t appreciated the scope of her research, nor the degree to which she immersed herself in the Regency era.

  The aim of Georgette Heyer’s Regency World is to expand on Heyer’s history and to provide for the modern reader an explanation of the people, places and events that made her Regency world so unforgettable. The book is designed as a ready reference for the Heyer fan, the general reader, or for anyone interested in the history of the period. Everything in the book is inspired by a reference in at least one of Heyer’s twenty-six Regency novels and, if there is an unashamed bias towards the upper class, this is a deliberate reflection of the characters, plots and action of the books.

  Georgette Heyer’s novels are stylish constructions with exemplary syntax and faultless punctuation as well as a rhythm and cadence of language that has the power to carry the reader away into the world of the English Regency. Today her dialogue, witty romantic plots and many memorable characters remain the benchmark for the modern writer of the Regency historical novel. Georgette Heyer continues to stand alone, however, not only as the creator of the Regency genre of historical romance, but also as its finest exponent. It is my fervent hope that this book will add to the pleasure of reading hers.

  Jennifer Kloester

  March 2005

  Acknowledgements

  I am grateful to many people for their support while writing this book but especially to:

  Paul L. Nicholls for his enthusiastic interest in and support for the book, as well as for his careful reading, incisive comments and wise counsel throughout the writing process. Also for sharing with me his appreciation of Georgette Heyer’s stylish prose and ironic wit.

  Roy and Frances Hay for wonderful friendship, good advice and many congenial lunches. Also for reading the draft chapters, making helpful suggestions, lending me many useful texts and patiently responding to my calls on a miscellany of research questions.

  Barry Kloester for his inspiring integrity, love, kindness and support. For sharing so many wonderful adventures with me, for believing I could do it and helping me to get there. To Ben, Christopher and Elanor who endured the writing process, made me laugh, and who give me so much joy. To Lladro, my faithful companion and prince among dogs.

  Dianne Tobias and Fiona Skinner for their loyalty, integrity, enduring friendship and for always listening; Dolly MacKinnon for her brilliant insight, inspiration, friendship and advice; Yve Cruickshank for her generosity and kindness in reading the drafts; and Joanna and Andrew Cruickshank for their support. Ro Marriott for her generosity in sharing Georgette Heyer with me, Jean Strathdee-Cook of the London Library for her kind support and for going above and beyond the call of duty to find elusive original Regency sources. Vija, Kay and the staff at the Baillieu Library, the University of Melbourne, as well as the staff at Deakin University Library, the State Library of Victoria, the London Library, the British Library and Peter Downie and the staff at Barwon Books. Rory Lalwan at the Westminster City Archives; Anne Lewis, David Philips, David Goodman, Ron Ridley and the History Department, the Melbourne Scholarship Office and the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Melbourne; Phillip Warne and Jeff Oxley for fixing my shoulder at the crucial moment; and Dr Claire Darby and Dr Sandor Monostori for their professional advice on gout and other medical questions. Thanks also to Mercedes, Hayley and Nicola at Kwik Kopy, as well as Judith McGinness.

  I also owe special thanks to: Frank and Wendy Brennan for past kindness, encouragement and advice. Richard and Judy Rougier, Jane Aiken Hodge, Susanna Rougier, Jeremy and Judith Rougier, and Hale and Eunice Crosse for their hospitality, generosity and support during my research trips to England. Sally Houghton for her wonderful Georgette Heyer website and generous support, Kirsten Elliott for the inspiring tour of Bath, Jennifer Nason and Alex Lipe for their friendship and hospitality, Pauline Parker, Valerie Tarrant and Susan, Peter and Marjorie Johnston, Frank Ford and Günter Gerlach for being there, Hilary McPhee for her continuing encouragement of aspiring writers and her dedication to the pursuit of excellence. Also my agents Bruce Hunter and Jenny Darling and her assistant Donica Bettanin for their tremendous support, interest and enthusiasm, and my editor Nikola Scott for her superb and incisive editing, encouragement and advice. Finally to Graeme Tavendale, illustrator extraordinaire, for bringing my vision to life. Thank you.

  1

  Up and Down the Social Ladder

  REGENCY SOCIETY

  The true Regency lasted only nine years. It began o