The prolific Georgette Heyer--author of more than 70 novels--is perhaps best known for her Regency romances. A consummate storyteller, Heyer was also an astute historian of the times she wrote about; every detail of the language, dress, and customs rings with authenticity.
Arabella is one of Heyer's most charming Regency novels. In it, young Arabella Tallant, the beautiful daughter of an impoverished clergyman, comes to London for her social debut and almost immediately runs afoul of Robert Beaumaris, a wealthy, eligible aristocrat. Beaumaris suspects that Arabella engineered a carriage accident in order to meet him; Arabella, in a rage, leads him to believe that she is the heiress to a massive fortune and thus quite uninterested in his own riches.
Having set the stage for inevitable misunderstandings between this arrogant Romeo and hotheaded Juliet, Heyer then peoples it with unforgettable secondary characters. Arabella's warm heart and strong principles lead her to befriend such unsavory types as an abused apprentice to a chimney sweep, a stray dog, and a fallen woman happily known as "Leaky Peg"--all of whom she foists on the reluctant but gallant Mr. Beaumaris. Arabella is an intelligent, witty romp--both a romance with a hearty sense of humor and a historical novel that remains true to the times it depicts.
The late Georgette Heyer was a very private woman. Her historical novels have charmed and delighted millions of readers for decades, though she rarely reached out to the public to discuss her works or private life. It is known that she was born in Wimbledon in August 1902, and her first novel, The Black Moth, was published in 1921.
Heyer published 56 books over the next 53 years, until her death from lung cancer in 1974. Heyer's large volume of works included Regency romances, mysteries and historical fiction. Known also as the Queen of Regency romance, Heyer was legendary for her research, historical accuracy and her extraordinary plots and characterizations. Her last book, My Lord John, was published posthumously in 1975. She was married to George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer, and they had one son together, Richard.