Who is your favorite author?

[romantical]

I don't think anyone can beat Georgette Heyer when it comes to wit and humor with her regencies.

[Kathryn Kane]

I must agree with you that Heyer is as good as it comes as a regency author. But I must also add that she was a meticulous researcher and her regencies are much more historically accurate that many of those which are being published these days. I am delighted her work is being reissued.

However, I have also enjoyed the work of Loretta Chase and Barbara Metzger. Both have a bit of the Heyer flair in their dialog, and their work is also fairly historically accurate.

[romantical]

I don't know if the others do as much research as Heyer, because not as much has been said about them. But I wonder if those authors use phrases and such, based on Heyer's work, rather than their own research. I think that Margaret SeBastian also uses some characterization similar to Heyer. I have not read any Chase novels, and I am unsure about Metzger. I've had several books by her, but I cannot remember if I've read them yet. It seems I have picked up many Regencies willy-nilly and have not paid much attention to their names

[Kathryn Kane]

Neither Chase nor Metzger are quite as meticulous in their research as Heyer was, but very few authors are. Most regency authors do seem to crib a bit from her books for their cant terms and sometimes even her plots. But it is pretty hard to crib her dialog and have it work in another story. I think the reason that I like many of Chase's and Metzger's books, in particular, is because they tend to be more lighthearted than some of the other so-called regencies which are published these days. Sometimes I just want to read a humorous romance between a likeable couple. I don't want to have to deal with men scarred by the war, or spies working against Napoleon. I just want a little fun. That may or may not be what you are seeking.

[romantical]

I agree. I am not a big fan of "chick lit" where you have serious romance, sex, etc. If I'm to read a romance, I want it to be lighthearted. Heyer includes a lot of political background in some of her works, but she veers away from a lot of the intrigue. Did you ever read Emily Hendrickson's The Unexpected Wife? I thought that was hysterical at times.

[Kathryn Kane]

I have not read that one. I did read a couple of her novels some years ago and I really liked them. I will comb the used book sites for this title. Thanks for the tip!