cimorene

I've started making a list of subgenre/tropes in the Heyer books which are thus far in my collection, and you know, I think you could make a whole typology of these comparable to that Anatomy of Folklore book.

As I was remarking to

isilya the other day, reading a lot of Heyers is a bit like reading a large collection of SGA AUs, for example. One can have little doubt that it is the same cast of characters being recycled again and again, usually rotated through different roles in the story. So a good step there would be making a cast list of Heyer Types. An example will be a handful of recs for the Heyer neophyte who has read none of the well-known ones aside from The Grand Sophy and Cotillion (which are first recs of course).

The Masqueraders (sub-genre: London, Georgian, B-romance: brother) - this is the CROSSDRESSING one! In which the whole book contains two intertwined romances. A brother and sister, children of a con man on the lam and raised to be experts in his arts, decide to go into hiding in plain sight in London... by going in drag. The heroine assumes the guise of a gentleman, and she and the hero fall in love like that; and her brother assumes the guise of a lady, and he and the reigning belle of society fall in love like that. OMGSOAWESOME, though its originality of concept and plot means that it has little in common with the other Heyers in the typography.

The Talisman Ring (sub-genre: country house, humor, mystery, B-romance: younger) (notable types: Sense of Humor Woman as the heroine; Spoiled/Stupid Young Beauty as the B-heroine; Fervently Earnest Foreigner as the B-hero) - a charming adventure story saturated with meta

Friday's Child (sub-genre: London, post-marriage, sinister seducer) (notable types: Naïve Chit as the heroine; Charming & Airheaded Daredevil as the hero; Knowing One and Amiable Fool as the Comic Relief Sidekick Pair) - one of the most requested Yuletide fandoms due to a pair of extremely gay secondary characters, Gil Ringwood and Ferdy Fakenham. Actually starts somewhat before the marriage, but gets it over with inside a chapter or two.

April Lady (sub-genre: London, post-marriage, gambling brother, B-romance: younger) (notable types: Earnest Girl as the heroine; My Child Man as the hero; Impetuous Spoiled Brat as the B-heroine; Worthy But Boring Man as the B-hero; Knowing One as the BFF; Charming & Airheaded Daredevil and Amiable Fool as the Comic Relief Sidekick Pair) - my favorite of Heyer's not-uncommon romances which start after the principals are already married, with some favorite secondary characters including the heroine's brother Dysart and his friend Cornelius "Corny" Fancot, who are less gay but sometimes funnier than Friday's Child's Gil and Ferdy. Corny and Ferdy are the same Heyer Type, but Gil and Dysart are different.

The Reluctant Widow (sub-genre: country house, humor, mystery) (notable types: Sense of Humor Woman as the heroine; Man With A Plan as the hero; Worthy But Boring Man and Young Scamp as the hero's brothers) - one of the most hilarious Heyers by my lights and a favorite due to a cosy nesting atmosphere and a favorite secondary character in the hero's young brother Nicky, who is a prankster; although, fair warning, isilya dislikes this one because there's a bit of insanity/crack in the premise.

Venetia (sub-genre: adult, country house) (notable types: Sense of Humor Woman as the heroine; Rake as the hero; Young Genius as the heroine's brother; Worthy But Boring Man and Infatuated Puppy as the heroine's previous suitors) - one of the nicest of Heyer's romances which deal with two mature adult characters, with an amusing cast of characters including the heroine's memorably disabled brother

The Unknown Ajax (sub-genre: country house, mystery) (notable types: Sense of Humor Woman as the heroine; Young Scamp, Dandy, and Sarcasm Man as the hero's cousins; Magical Noblewoman as the heroine's aunt) - one of Heyer's most successful adventure and mystery plots, plus a very unique hero who puts on a hilarious fake Yorkshire dialect when he realizes that his snobby family think he is a hick; also notable for gay secondary characters (Scamp/Rake! I ship it!).

Bath Tangle (sub-genre: Bath, adult, B-romance: older) (Spunky Woman as the heroine; Sarcasm Man as the hero; Worrying Woman as the B-heroine; Not!Col-Brandon as the B-hero) - my favorite of Heyer's books set in Bath because the secondary characters and plot are funniest in this one

Sprig Muslin (sub-genre: cross-country quest, taking care of others' teenagers, spoiled/stupid beauty, invisible heroine, humor, B-romance: younger) (notable types: Man With A Plan as the hero; Earnest Girl as the invisible heroine; Spoiled/Stupid Young Beauty as the B-heroine) - a rollicking madcap adventure, one of my mom's all-time favorite Heyers, and probably my favorite of the ones where a beleaguered hero ends up, simply due to his gentlemanliness, saddled with some exasperating young teenager/runaway and spends the whole book trying to dispose of them again. I actually like all the books in this sub-genre fairly well, but they also all have in common the Invisible Heroine, which means she barely appears on page and certainly barely interacts with the hero. There's some kind of Iron Law of Heroines Staying at Home While the Hero Deals With These Annoying Kids in Heyer's Secret Playbook, I'm pretty sure. Anyway, while I like the books on their own merits, I do hate that about them. I actually like the romance in the quite similar Charity Girl better, but I find Sprig Muslin a lot more fun.