Georgette Heyer’s ‘An Infamous Army’

In the original 1937 edition of Georgette Heyer’s ‘An Infamous Army’ there is an ‘author’s note’ in which she refers to the bibliography at the end of the book listing over fifty accounts, collections of letters, autobiographies, etc. of Wellington and his campaigns which helped her in her writing about the man and the period.

In the final paragraph of this note, which has been dropped from later issues of the title, she acknowledges the source of the endpaper illustrations of the ‘Position of the Armies of Wellington and Napoleon in front of Waterloo’ as from the respective histories of events by Capt. William Siborne and W. B. Craan, and of the folding ‘Sketch Map of the Anglo-Allied Cantonments’ as from the fourth volume of the account of the campaign by Col. F. De Bas.

Although the book is a novel the authenticity of the background account of the Battle of Waterloo is undisputed, as endorsed by contemporary reviews in the Times Literary Supplement’s “The meaning of the opening moves of the campaign is better grasped than in some historical accounts…” and in the Daily Mail’s “One of the clearest and most balanced accounts in English of the Hundred Days…”, with many thanks to Jennifer Kloester for the references, in ‘Georgette Heyer – Biography of a Bestseller’, Heinemann, 2011.

It seems sad to me that Heinemann, and subsequent publishers, dropped that final paragraph of the author’s note and the two plans which had appeared in the original edition and which the author had thought would enhance the story for her readers.

To fulfill the presumed wishes of the author I am happy to present below, for readers of those later editions, the map and plan as they appear in my copy of the first edition of Georgette Heyer’s ‘An Infamous Army’.

Cross posted from the ABFAR blog where larger versions of these maps are viewable.

Georgette Heyer Conference

Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge have announced the first conference dedicated entirely to the life and works of prolific writer Georgette Heyer. The conference is being joint-hosted by the College and Anglia Ruskin University.

People from both institutions came up with the idea of the conference, 'Re-reading Georgette Heyer', after discovering a mutual love for the author and her work.

The conference is sponsored by the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance.

Those attending the conference will be welcomed at 10am for coffee before the first talk 'The Life of Georgette Heyer' which begins at 10:15am.

There will be nine speakers throughout the day discussing various topics from 'Class and Breeding' to 'The Thermodynamics of Georgette Heyer'.

The conference will finish with a structured discussion on gender, politics, class and race, topics which have generated some controversy amongst fans of Heyer who love her stories but may be less enthusiastic about some of her more conservative views.

You can read more about the conference here and here. You can view critiques of popular romance literary criticism here

Book memories meme

The following meme comes from Kirsty at Other Stories

The book that’s been on your shelves the longest.

As with most people this will be a children's book probably one of my Dean Reward Classics like The Folk of the Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.

A book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time).

Frederica by Georgette Heyer. When I was thirteen my mum passed me a copy and said, "I think you'll enjoy this." And I did! I have read and re-read all Heyer's works. They are great stress-busters. They are also a wonderful prelude to Jane Austen. I am sure I 'got' Austen more quickly in my teens because I had read so much Heyer. The moment when my mother passed me Frederica is also a reminder of how reading is a kind of club. When you share a literary habit with someone it is a real bond.

A book you acquired in some interesting way.

My habits of acquisition are very boring. I have not found books belonging to an author under the sofa like Kirsty did, though I have sold books back to their authors on more than one occasion, not unlike the old J R Hartley advert for Yellow Pages.

The book that’s been with you to the most places.

I was going to suggest another one of my childhood books but, thinking about it, my childhood books probably stayed in the family home when I was away at university, so the one that has been with me most is probably an early adult acquisition from my late teens, either Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen by Fay Weldon or the Gone to Earth by Mary Webb.

Your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next.

My last read was Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie. I am re-reading a lot of Christie at the moment, in the order in which she wrote them. My current read is Arthur and George by Julian Barnes and my next read will probably be another Agatha Christie, The Man in the Brown Suit.

If you have a go at this meme on your own blog please leave me a message in the comments, or if you don't blog please feel free to do this meme yourself in the comments below.

Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

Georgette Heyer is best know for her Regency romances where her combination of historical detail and witty characterisation won her many fans. She also wrote twelve detective stories; Footsteps in the Dark is the first of these.

Footsteps in the Dark is a very readable and enjoyable volume if you are Heyer fan or otherwise know what to expect. Three siblings inherit an old house, The Priory. Peter, Margaret and Celia together with Celia's barrister husband and an aunt move into the building with the idea of a long vacation. However, things don't go as planned. Things, instead, literally go bump in the night: monk-like ghosts flit around the garden and someone is found dead. Is the explanation supernatural or criminal? Well, no prizes for guessing.

If you start this book expecting cutting edge plot or gritty realism you'll be sorely disappointed. What we have here is escapism criminology. The plot is a little thin, so what keeps you reading, as always with Heyer, is the characterisation, the witty asides, the flashes of realism in relationships. The majority of the book is laden with every cliche from secret passages to bits reminiscent of Mrs Radcliffe's much parodied Mysteries of Udolpho. In fact, so busy with such fussy fancy is the plot that one almost expects Scooby and Shaggy to appear looking for a snack in the castle kitchens. Instead we have unflappable Aunt Lilian who bears a strong resemblance to some of Bertie Wooster's aunts.

This was Heyer's very first detective novel and it shows, but provided you are prepared for all the pseudo-medieval fixtures and fittings, it is still a great duvet read. By the time Heyer wrote her next crime work her husband was a barrister and her plots had improved. So, if you've read this and didn't like her work, do try another as it is not typical. I think my favourite is Detection Unlimited.

This review is crossed posted at the Georgette Heyer Challenge. You might also find the article Georgette Heyer - Queen of Mystery and Suspense by Margaret Rogers of Hessay Books interesting. It is one of the collector's guides listed in the bar on the left.