Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsMostly, She Wrote
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2013
As a devoted Georgette Heyer fan, I was anxious to read this new biography, based in part on private papers that were made available for the first time. As a devoted fan, however, the biography did not add to my appreciation of Miss Heyer's writings. That's not Ms. Kloester's fault. Her book is obviously carefully researched, and it is well written. Moreover, it relies on actual evidence rather than on speculation.
The problem is Ms. Heyer herself. First, she was intensely and determinedly private, which limits the amount of information on her life that is available. The evidence that is available -- in abundance -- is correspondence with her publishers and with her agents. But what that provides is mostly a great deal of information about her progress with books, her relations with her publishers, and her financial affairs. Ms. Heyer's private life appeared only infrequently in these letters, and the record of her life that they do provide -- this book, that problem with a publisher, the other difficulty with the tax authorities -- is less than thrilling.
Second, Ms. Heyer does not seem to have had much emotional complexity, particularly as she aged; if she did she was stunningly sucessful at hiding it. The author cites singularly insensitive letters that Ms. Heyer wrote, and implies a lack of attention to her son. Ms. Heyer did fulfill family duties, but if she did so out of fondness rather than obligation, it's not obvious. She seems to have been narrow minded about anyone outside the British upper middle and upper classes, with Americans, Jews, her fans, poor people and other regrettable types coming in for criticism. That's consistent with her time and place, but it's still not likeable. She comes across as a self-centered and rather domineering person, in a very proper British way, of course, with some charm but not all that much.
I come to the conclusion that what Ms. Heyer cared most about was writing. That's how she spent her time, that's what controlled how much time she had available for other people, and that's what her life was about. As a biography, that doesn't make for fascinating reading, or for warm and fuzzy feelings about the biographee.
And that brings me to the final point. You don't have to like an artist to enjoy their work. Think of Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, Hemingway, and so many other really awful geniuses. Ms. Heyer wasn't an artist of their stature, but I do believe that she was a real artist. Also, she has given enormous numbers of people, including me, enormous pleasure. What price a nice personality?
Heyer fans, no matter much they are warned that she does not come across as a terrific person, will still lap this book up. As an accredited fan, I may now move on to the other recent biography, by Jane Hodge, seeking just a little more information ----