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Friday, January 06, 2012

Bearing Free Heyer Stories I've Travelled Afar


Following the recent JPRS call for papers on Georgette Heyer, I was reading Jennifer Kloester's new biography of Heyer (some reviews can be found here, here and here and there's a preview here).

Kloester's mention of a short story " 'On Such a Night', which [Heyer's] agent sold to an Australian magazine (so far the story remains undiscovered, with no indication of what it was about or the period in which it was set)" (148) sent me off to see what I could find. Perhaps unsurprisingly, my journey didn't lead me where I hoped it would, though I did discover that on Wednesday 24 November 1937 the story was broadcast on Australian radio (Station 2GB between 11.45 and 12 noon).

I did, however, find two short stories by Heyer, "Lady, Your Pardon" and "Incident on the Bath Road," which were entirely new to me. So, in the spirit of Epiphany, I thought I'd bring you some gold from an archival treasure Trove. Below are links to those two stories and a few others you may or may not have already read. I've also discovered serialised versions of a number of Heyer novels, so I've included links to those too, though only to the first page of each installment, or this post would have got unmanageably long.

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Short Stories

"A Proposal to Cicely" (1922)- via Jane Austen's World. [According to Fahnestock-Thomas, it was first published in The Happy Magazine, 4 September 1922 (5) and it is reprinted in her Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective.]

"Runaway Match" (1936) - (1), (2), (3) and (4) - The Australian Woman's Weekly, 12 June 1937. [According to Fahnestock-Thomas, who reprinted it in her book, this was first published in Woman's Journal in April 1936 (20).]

"Lady, Your Pardon" - (1), (2), (3) and (4) - The Australian Women's Weekly, 3 April 1937. [This story was originally titled "Pharaoh's Daughter" (Kloester 163) and since Heyer thought "it has the makings of a novel" (Kloester 221) the opening scenes became the basis of her full-length Faro's Daughter (1941). The two stories do, however, develop quite differently.]

"Incident on the Bath Road" -  (1), (2), (3) and (4) - The Australian Women's Weekly, 29 May 1937.

"Love is a Hazard" - (1), (2), (3) and (4)- The Australian Women's Weekly, 10 July 1937. [This is a version of "Hazard," one of the short stories later published in Pistols for Two (1960).]

"Pursuit" (1939) - via the Internet Archive. [According to Fahnstock-Thomas this was first published in The Queen's Book of the Red Cross. She reprints it in her book.]

"The Duel" - (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) -  The Australian Women's Weekly, 28 October 1953. [This short story was later published in Pistols for Two.]

Historical Romances (mostly Regency)

The Black Moth (1921) [This is the full novel, I think, because it's out of copyright.]

Simon the Coldheart (1925)- in 5 parts in the Australian Women's Weekly.
20 Dec 1978; 27 Dec. 1978; 3 Jan. 1979; 10 Jan. 1979; 17 Jan. 1979.

Gay Adventure [Regency Buck] (1935)- The Australian Women's Weekly.
6 July 1935; 13 July 1935; 20 July 1935; 27 July 1935; 3 Aug. 1935; 10 Aug. 1935; 17 Aug. 1935; 24 Aug. 1935; 31 Aug. 1935; 7 Sept. 1935; 14 Sept. 1935; 21 Sept. 1935; 28 Sept. 1935; 5 Oct. 1935; 12 Oct. 1935; 19 Oct. 1935; 26 Oct. 1935; 2 Nov. 1935.

Kloester writes that Heyer was
incensed by the discovery that Dorothy Sutherland [editor of Woman's Journal] had re-named Regency Buck, Gay Adventure, with a caption that read: 'Gay Adventure - in the Dare-Devil Days when Men were Men and Women Seductively Coy!' above an illustration that made her strong-minded  heroine look exactly like the sort of insipid female she despised. Georgette found this sort of take on her work maddening, for she worked hard to lift her plots, characters and dialogue out of the rut of stereotypical and formulaic fiction. [...] She wrote to her agent to express her outrage: '[...] I am so furious I can't bring myself to reply. She chose that filthy title, Gay Adventure (it makes me sick to write it) without one word to me!' Nothing incensed Georgette more than interference in her work and Dorothy Sutherland's meddling was something she would not easily forgive. (147)

The Talisman Ring (1936) - The Australian Women's Weekly
5 Dec. 1936; 12 Dec. 1936; 19 Dec. 1926; 26 Dec. 1936; 2 Jan. 1937; 9 Jan. 1937; 16 Jan. 1937; 23 Jan 1937; 30 Jan. 1937; 6 Feb. 1937; 13 Feb. 1937.

An Infamous Army (1937) - Australian Women's Weekly
22 Jan. 1938; 29 Jan. 1938; 5 Feb. 1938; 12 Feb. 1938; 19 Feb. 1938; 26 Feb. 1938; 5 March 1938; 12 March 1938; 19 March 1938; 26 March 1938; 2 April 1938; 9 April 1938.

Friday's Child (1944) - Australian Women's Weekly
29 Jan. 1949; 5 Feb. 1949; 12 Feb. 1949; 19 Feb. 1949; 26 Feb. 1949; 5 March 1949; 12 March 1949; 19 March 1949; 26 March 1949; 2 April 1949; 9 April 1949; 16 April 1949.

The Reluctant Widow (1946)- Sydney Morning Herald , starting 31 Aug. 1946
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, Conclusion.

Arabella (1949) - in 10 parts in the Australian Women's Weekly
2 Jan 1952; 9 Jan. 1952; 16 Jan. 1952; 23 Jan 1952; 30 Jan. 1952; 6 Feb. 1952; 13 Feb. 1952; 20 Feb. 1952; 27 Feb. 1952; 5 March 1952.

The Grand Sophy (1950) - in 8 parts in the Australian Women's Weekly
28 Jan. 1953; 4 Feb. 1953; 11 Feb. 1953; 18 Feb. 1953; 25 Feb. 1953; 4 March 1953; 11 March 1953; 18 March 1953.

Bath Tangle (1955) - in 6 parts in Australian Women's Weekly
30 March 1955; 6 April 1955; 13 April 1955; 20 April 1955; 27 April 1955; 4 May 1955.

Sprig Muslin (1956) - in 7 parts in the Australian Women's Weekly
4 April 1956; 11 April 1956; 18 April 1956; 25 April 1956; 2 May 1956; 9 May 1956; 16 May 1956.

April Lady (1957) - in 5 parts in the Australian Women's Weekly
3 April 1957; 10 April 1957; 17 April 1957; 24 April 1957; 1 May 1957.

Sylvester (1957)- in 7 parts in the Australian Women's Weekly
11 June 1958; 18 June 1958; 25 June 1958; 2 July 1958; 9 July 1958; 16 July 1958; 23 July 1958.

Venetia (1958) - in 5 parts in the Australian Women's Weekly
22 April 1959; 29 April 1959; 6 May 1959; 13 May 1959; 20 May 1959.

The Unknown Ajax (1959) - Australian Women's Weekly
1 June 1960; 8 June 1960; 15 June 1960; 22 June 1960; 29 June 1960.

Historical Fiction

Royal Escape (1938) - Australian's Women's Weekly
18 Nov. 1939; 25 Nov. 1939; 2 Dec. 1939; 9 Dec. 1939; 16 Dec. 1939; 23 Dec. 1939; 30 Dec. 1939; 6 Jan. 1940; 13 Jan. 1940; 20 Jan. 1940.

Detective Novels

The Unfinished Clue (1934) - "Complete Booklength Novel" in the Australian Women's Weekly, 10 August 1935.

Death in the Stocks (1935) - "Long Complete Book-Length Novel" in the Australian Women's Weekly, 8 June 1935.

Behold, Here's Poison! (1936) - Australian Women's Weekly
23 Nov. 1940; 30 Nov. 1940; 7 Dec. 1940 ;14 Dec. 1940; 21 Dec. 1940; 28 Dec. 1940; 4 Jan. 1941; 11 Jan. 1941; 18 Jan. 1941; [it would appear there is no issue for 25 Jan. 1941] ; 1 Feb. 1941.

No Wind of Blame (1939) - Australian Women's Weekly
19 April 1947; 26 Apr. 1947; 3 May 1947; 10 May 1947; 17 May 1947; 24 May 1947; 31 May 1947; 7 June 1947; 14 June 1947; 21 June 1947; 28 June 1947; 5 July 1947.

Detection Unlimited (1953) - in six parts in Australian Women's Weekly
3 Feb. 1954; 10 Feb. 1954; 17 Feb. 1954; 24 Feb. 1954; 3 March 1954; 10 March 1954.

If any of those links are faulty, please let me know. I was very careful, but there were so many links to insert I may have slipped up somewhere.

This Australian Women's Weekly review of The Spanish Bride, from 29 June 1940, may also be of interest. It includes a photo of Georgette Heyer which I hadn't seen before and the reviewer draws parallels between the historical context of the novel and that of 1940:
AT such a time as this, with the newspapers carrying, every day, news of further advances on the part of troops driven forward by the will of a ruthless, determined, strongly armed aggressor, there is a message of comfort in this story of a desperate war, against another Continental dictator, over a hundred years ago.
Kloester also notes the relevance of world politics to Heyer's output:
The idea that war was impending pervaded British life throughout the late 1930s and each of Georgette's historical novels written between 1936 and 1939 was about war. After An Infamous Army was published she decided to write the story of Charles II's escape from Cromwell's England following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. (185)
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  • Fahnestock-Thomas, Mary. Georgette Heyer: A Critical Retrospective. Saraland, AL: Prinnyworld, 2001.
  • Kloester, Jennifer. Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Bestseller. London: Heinemann, 2011.
The image of the Three Wise Men carrying gold, frankincense and myrrh, came from Wikimedia Commons.

16 comments:

  1. Thanks Laura, It is fun looking at the advertisements as well as reading the stories.

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  2. Thank you for these! What a terrific gift :-)

    Please please please consider adding share buttons to the end of every post to make the redistribution easier. There are so many posts I share and I'm sure more would do so if they didn't have to cut and paste links.

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  3. "It is fun looking at the advertisements as well as reading the stories."

    The context does make a difference to the reading experience, somehow, doesn't it (and not just because of having to wait for the next page to load etc). It felt a bit like going back in a time-machine to get the experience of reading Heyer as she'd first have been read by many Australian readers.

    "Please please please consider adding share buttons to the end of every post to make the redistribution easier."

    We've already got an "email post" button at the end of every post, but I'm not sure what other options there are in Blogger. Could you point me in the direction of a Blogger blog which has the kind of button you mean, so that I could copy it? Or do you know of instructions on how to insert a share button?

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  4. C.M., I went for the drastic option and redesigned the whole blog, because it turns out that the new Blogger templates offer share buttons as a default.

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  5. These are fabulous! I followed links to your blog from your guest post on RRR and am grateful that I did so. Great writing on your part and good links, too.

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  6. Thanks Janice! I can't guarantee the links will be as interesting in my forthcoming posts, but I hope you'll visit Teach Me Tonight again.

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  7. Fabulous post Laura and wonderful to have links to these elusive Heyer short stories and serialised novels. I am sure they will go far and wide across the world and will be greatly enjoyed by Heyer readers. I find it amazing that only a few years after I spent countless days trawling microfilm and turning thousands of pages (over 3000 magazines) in libraries here and in the UK that they should now be available at the touch of a button but such is the power of today's internet. Thank you, too, for mentioning my book which I hope will give readers many new and interesting insights into Heyer's life and writing. As you know it has a complete list of all the Heyer short stories discovered to date. I am hoping they will all eventually find publication in some form but at least the links you have put up have made some of them available to readers now. I also hope that one day I will find the magazine in which I am sure 'On Such a Night' was originally published! Still looking for it... and hoping!

    Thanks again for a terrific post Laura. Best wishes Jennifer kloester

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  8. I find it amazing that only a few years after I spent countless days trawling microfilm and turning thousands of pages (over 3000 magazines) in libraries here and in the UK that they should now be available at the touch of a button but such is the power of today's internet.

    It certainly opens up a lot of opportunities for research. OCR software still isn't as good as humans, though, so this particular database is open to correction by volunteers who would like to help edit the computer-generated text which runs in parallel with the scanned images of the pages.

    I also hope that one day I will find the magazine in which I am sure 'On Such a Night' was originally published! Still looking for it... and hoping!

    Good luck with that, Jennifer. It would be lovely if you could find it.

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  9. Thank you for posting these, so much fun!

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  10. I'm glad you had fun with them, Willaful. I hoped people would.

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  11. HJ

    Thank you so much for posting these links - how wonderful to have new Heyer stories to read!

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  12. Really enjoyed the stories I hadn't read before. Sadly, I couldn't get the link to "Pursuit" to work but I suspect that may be because my broadband is so slow. I live in the sticks, you see. Beautiful countryside, cr*p broadband speed.

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  13. Glad you enjoyed them HJ and Joanna. I think the problem with "Pursuit" is being caused by the Internet Archive. It can be very slow to load sometimes (presumably because it's holding a lot of data) and when I checked just now, I couldn't get the link to work either.

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  14. Thank you so much for this! You've worked so painstakingly to compile all the links here and it's charming to read the stories as they first appeared. You've given me weeks of pleasure, right here.

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    Replies
    1. "You've given me weeks of pleasure, right here."

      Thanks so much for leaving a comment. It's very good to know.

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  15. What a treasured treat! Thank you, thank you!

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