Heyer, Georgette

Georgette Heyer was born in Wimbledon, Surrey, to a wealthy family. She befriended Joanna Cannan and Carola Oman while she was still at school; all three later became successful authors. Heyer published her debut novel, The Black Moth (1921), at the age of nineteen. It was the first in a long line of widely popular historical adventures and romantic novels set in the 19th century. She had a breakthrough with These Old Shades (1926), which became a bestseller without any form of advertising on the part of the publisher.