Customer Reviews
A helpful but flawed reference - By: Helen Hancox, 14 Jul 2008 
This is a very helpful reference book to those who read & enjoy the novels of Georgette Heyer. There are descriptions of places, clothing, customs & language which gives more of an insight into the situationsin which the novels are set. Almost every point seems to be backed up with reference to one of the Regency Romances so it certainly helps to have read them all to understand these comparisons, not that they are strictly necessary.
What irritated me about it was that she uses Heyer's language throughout - she'll describe someone as "a real top 'o the trees" (for example - not sure if she DOES use that example) rather than "an excellent horse rider & sportsman". Although she supplies the glossary, if you weren't familiar with Heyer's writings you'd need to look up most of the body text of Kloester's text. I can't understand why she didn't use modern language for her modern audience & I found it grated very quickly. It's a book to readin short bursts as a reference, not all the way through.
It also read rather like a thesis to me - continual reference to the primary sources, the novels - sometimes unnecessarily. Lots of the information was helpful but I couldn't help feeling that it needed the language to be more detached from Heyer's own words. It's meant to be a modern reference book, not a Regency one.
A great read for fans of Regency literature - By: SB, 07 Feb 2008 
Readers of Regency literature should be delighted to find this informative & well-written book newly availablein paperback. Jennifer Kloester has really delved into the heart of the upper echelons of society during the Regency period & her book provides a substantive, yet easy-to-read, account of many different aspects of Regency culture.
Aimed at Heyer fans, with constant references back to charactersin Georgette Heyer novels, it's also going to appeal to Austen fans & general readers alike. I found it fascinating to read about the different layersin upper class society & the finer points of etiquette & moral standards. I'd always wondered what the differences were between fops & bucks & dandys, & I had never had any idea at all of what a nonpareil was! It's interesting too to read about the details of the London Season - the most fashionable places to be seen, who would be invited to what, &in particular to read about the most exclusive establishment of Almack's & the highly sought after vouchers for visiting there.
You'll find a wealth of easily accessible information packed into these pages & it's sure to help enhance the enjoyment of all Regency novels, not just Georgette Heyer's. One very small gripe would be that there are the odd occasionsin the book where I would have liked a footnote or reference to where the information had come from. An impressively researched & readable reference book.
Excellent, reference and readable - By: A. Woodley, 01 Jul 2006 As the patroness of two online discussion lists, Janeites, for Jane Austen Fans, & the Georgette Heyer discussion list, I am just the audience who Kloester's is aiming at with this book, & I have to say she absolutely hit the mark! This is an extraodinary book & one which I will be happily recommending.
I get questions all the time from people who want to write Regency novels & are looking for a good overall book to guide them, & from others who want to know more about the REgency & Georgian world which Heyer inhabited for her unique Drawing Room romantic/comedies. Generally I give them an outline of a series of books which they could read which will give them some background, but there has never been a truly comprehensive book which is both academic, readable, spefcific to the period & general enough to cover everything but still give a confident grasp of detail. This book finally does & well done to Kloester for acheiving that.
Her chapter summaries at the start give you a very good idea of the information covered so you are able to go to what you want immediately - chapters include Up & down the social ladder, Town & country, Man's world, Gentle Sex, on the town, Pleasure haunts, Fashionable resorts, Getting about, What to Wear, Shopping, Eat, Drink & be merry, Sporting life, Business & the military, whos whoin the Regency includes extremely useful appendixes such as glossary of cant terms, newspapers & magazines, bookin heyer, timeline, reading about REgency, where to go next & so forth with some excellent references for easy access - I was also flattered to find my own websitein the www addresses so thanks for that too Jennifer.
I was surprised to see a reviewer saying that there was no new informationin this. I strongly contest this. Kloester has done more than simply rehash old information, she has provided some new insights for me (I never knew for instance that Rotten Row) was originally Rue de Roi - or street of the King - but she has used her extensive knowledge of Heyer novels to reference itemsin the REgency.
This is not the sort of book where you can find analysis of Heyer's novels one by one - Hodge's excellent work, the Private World of Georgette Heyer which has just been reissued is definitely the book for that. However you can read about REgency lifein here with reference to Heyer's novels.
I would highly recommend this to all Regency fans, those who wish to write a novel, & those who simply wish to understand morein one handy reference book. This is an excellent jumping off point for further reading, but it is also an extremely good book for any fans of the REgency knowledgeable or otherwise. I will definitely be reading anything else Kloester publishes!
A Woodley
A helpful but flawed reference - By: Helen Hancox, 03 Apr 2006 This is a very helpful reference book to those who read & enjoy the novels of Georgette Heyer. There are descriptions of places, clothing, customs & language which gives more of an insight into the situationsin which the novels are set. Almost every point seems to be backed up with reference to one of the Regency Romances so it certainly helps to have read them all to understand these comparisons, not that they are strictly necessary.
What irritated me about it was that she uses Heyer's language throughout - she'll describe someone as "a real top 'o the trees" (for example - not sure if she DOES use that example) rather than "an excellent horse rider & sportsman". Although she supplies the glossary, if you weren't familiar with Heyer's writings you'd need to look up most of the body text of Kloester's text. I can't understand why she didn't use modern language for her modern audience & I found it grated very quickly. It's a book to readin short bursts as a reference, not all the way through.
It also read rather like a thesis to me - continual reference to the primary sources, the novels - sometimes unnecessarily. Lots of the information was helpful but I couldn't help feeling that it needed the language to be more detached from Heyer's own words. It's meant to be a modern reference book, not a Regency one.
A good companion guide - By: M. Styles, 11 Feb 2006 
Caution: The Regency World of Georgette Heyer will make you want to reread Georgette Heyer --in particular Friday's Child & Regency Buck. It is the ideal present for someone who loves Georgette Heyer & is interestedin the world she created & the world of the Regency. All manner of things are explained & a very useful guide to cant is included.
An excellent addition to guides about the Regency.
