Georgette Heyer's Regency World

Starred review from May 31, 2010
Meticulously researched yet splendidly entertaining, Kloester's comprehensive guide to the world of upper-class Regency England is a must-have for both Heyer readers and those generally interested in the society and customs of the early 19th-century. With chapters addressing everything from the inside-out details of period costume to the different methods of harnessing horses to carriages and the proper method of table service, even experts on Regency society will find invaluable new information, while the casual reader will find useful context and an answer for nearly every imaginable question about Regency society. Drawing on Heyer's own extensive research notes, Kloester gives a thorough overview of the period, from politics to food production to the pastimes of the ton. Charts and appendixes list Regency slang, periodicals, and the hierarchy of household servants. Small maps of fashionable areas of London and the resort towns of Brighton and Bath accompany extensive coverage of the popular shops, hotels, taverns, and residential neighborhoods. Kloester's prose is not as glittering as the period she covers, and it's disappointing that the many illustrations are modern "adaptations" of period originals. Yet no fan of the period or writer of stories set in the era should be without this guide to the Regency period.