While he’s no great fan of her cover art, Stephen Fry has written a beautiful and considered introduction to the new Folio Society edition of Venetia, illustrated by Sally Dunne.
“The surprise in store for you, if you have not encountered her before, is that once you tear off, burn or ignore those disgusting covers you will discover her to be one of the wittiest, most insightful and rewarding prose writers imaginable. Her stories satisfy all the requirements of romantic fiction, but the language she uses, the dialogue, the ironic awareness, the satire and insight – these rise far above the genre.”
- Stephen Fry
It’s a wonderful piece, that grapples with Heyer’s legacy, asking the question of why there aren’t more screen adaptations of her work, when other works set in the Regency era have been so fully embraced, whilst also examining the lasting appeal of her books and sparkling quality of her writing.
We highly recommend reading the entire piece, found here.