The groundbreaking biography of one of the world's best-loved and bestselling authors Who was the real Georgette Heyer? Georgette Heyer famously said, "I am to be found in my work." Who was this amazing writer who was so secretive about her personal life that she never gave an interview? Where did she get her ideas? Were there real-life models for her ultra-manly heroes, independent-minded heroines, irascible guardians, and clever villains? What motivated her to build a Regency worldso intricately researched that readers want to escape there again and again? Heyer's Regency romances, historical novels, and mysteries have surprised and delighted millions of readers for decades, while the woman behind the storieshas stayed hidden...Until now! With unprecedented, exclusive access to Heyer's notebooks, papers, and early letters, Jennifer Kloester uncovers both the complex life of a private woman anda masterful writer's craft that will forever resonate in literature and beyond. "A wonderful entertaining biography—a readable and lively account of this beloved writer."—Eloisa James, #1 New York Times bestselling author "Required reading for all lovers of Regency novels."—Mary Jo Putney, New York Times bestselling author of No Longer a Gentleman "A superb portrayal of one of my all-time favorite writers."—Anne Gracie, award-winning author of Bride By Mistake "An engaging, intriguing, absorbing, read!"—Stephanie Laurens, #1 New York Times bestselling author Praise for Georgette Heyer's Regency World: "Meticulously researched yet splendidly entertaining ... a must-have."—Publishers Weekly Starred Review "Detailed, informative, impressively researched. A Heyer lover writing for Heyer fans."—Times Literary Supplement "Kloester's lively book will delight died-in-the-wool Regency readers." —Booklist

American multimillionaire Meryl has just one problem: until she turns twenty-seven or gets married, she can’t use her father’s inheritance freely. Determined to get the money her friend needs, Meryl puts a wanted ad for a husband in the paper. She soon gets a response from Jarvis, a broke nobleman living in an old castle in the English countryside. Meryl immediately goes to his castle to meet him, but is coldly refused and told to go home. Despite this, there’s genuine warmth behind his stubbornness that Meryl finds herself more and more drawn to.

Can there be happiness in a marriage without love? Isobel is dumbfounded when her friend Alex asks her to be his wife. He needs her to act the part in order to get his dream job. Though Isobel is torn because she doesn’t love Alex, he refuses to take no for an answer. He doesn’t need love in his life, just a dependable woman he trusts who can play the part of perfect wife. He thought there’d be no problems, until they find out just how compatible they really are together!

This book, the first full-length cross-period comparison of medieval and modern literature, offers cutting edge research into the textual and cultural legacy of the Middle Ages: a significant and growing area of scholarship. At the juncture of literary, cultural and gender studies, and capitalizing on a renewed interest in popular western representations of the Islamic east, this book proffers innovative case studies on representations of cross-religious and cross-cultural romantic relationships in a selection of late medieval and twenty-first century Orientalist popular romances. Comparing the tropes, characterization and settings of these literary phenomena, and focusing on gender, religion, and ethnicity, the study exposes the historical roots of current romance representations of the east, advancing research in Orientalism, (neo)medievalism and medieval cultural studies. Fundamentally, Representing Difference invites a closer look at medieval and modern popular attitudes towards the east, as represented in romance, and the kinds of solutions proposed for its apparent problems.