So much of what we consider "classic Regency" actually comes from… Georgette Heyer! Not from Jane Austen. And not from 1810.

Heyer is the "mother" of the modern Regency Romance genre and is responsible for much of what is genre canon. She invented slang, tropes, social rules, and character types, but these are all Heyerisms, not Regency realities. And so, where things get a bit tricky is when someone is familiar with the genre (and thus the tried and true tropes, archetypes, phrases, vocab, social rules, etc.) more than the historical reality or the literature of the time (including Austen), for that is when things get a bit muddled in being able to identify a Heyerism from reality.

This post is not a guide of Heyerisms rather a few hints to get the ball rolling. Our goal? Add your own Heyerism discoveries! Dig around to see what tropes, vocab, character archetypes, and social words were invented by Heyer so you can know (and enjoy!) the Heyerisms from the realities.

And yes, there is a great deal that can be debated as to if Heyerisms are good/bad. Many modern readers/writers want total historical accuracy, which means saying goodbye to Heyerisms. Some readers/writers recognize Heyerisms but embrace them because they’re all part of the joy of the genre, and the genre simply wouldn’t be the same without them, historically inaccurate though they may be. And then others haven’t the foggiest one way or another or simply don’t care (or prefer the fantasy of modern chicks in prom dresses being transported to an alternate reality Regency—hey, no judgment if that's your jive!).

For our purposes here, let’s just have fun naming Heyerisms! They’re too beloved NOT to give them attention!

I’ll start us off with a few examples:

Regency Cant & Slang

Heyer loved Regency cant and thieves’ slang, but much of it was completely and totally invented.

A few examples:

·         Top of the trees

·         Make a cake of oneself

·         Pink of the ton

·         Nonesuch

·         The first stare of the ton

The “Ton”

The entire concept of a shared universe social system is a Heyer invention

·         There was not a monolithic social entity with this name or concept

·         No “group” policed behavior or made universal decisions

·         The term “ton” was not used in this context

Almack’s as the Ultimate Social Powerhouse

Almack’s most certainly existed, and it was most certainly exclusive, but Heyer turned it into a mythic gatekeeper. Vouchers weren’t as world-endingly important in reality as they are in her novels. Almack’s was influential but not omnipotent.

The Rake-Bluestocking Romantic Formula

We all know it or we wouldn’t be hist rom readers! The witty, jaded, elegantly bored rake falls for the intelligent, practical, and overlooked bluestocking heroine.

This was not Jane Austen, and this was not Regency reality. This is a Heyer Romantic Archetype which is now genre canon!

The Bored (and Glowering) Duke

The Regency duke is a very, very, very different man from the “fantasy duke” archetype Heyer created, i.e. the man who now dominates the hist rom genre as prolifically as invasive weeds in the garden (sorry, not sorry).

Real Regency dukes were rare (only about 25 of them, give or take the year), very political, and very busy.

The Heyer duke is aloof, absurdly wealthy, immune to responsibility, sardonic, and an amused observer of society. The modern hist rom duke owes the entire character type to Heyer.

Courtship Rituals and Dance Etiquette

While there were social expectations and rules of etiquette, they were much more varied than we imagine, some being far more complex and some being far simpler. The rules we follow in the genre were created by Heyer through exaggeration of the real or complete invention on her part for plot clarity.

Carriage Chase Tropes

Sure, a carriage chase is possible, but this is a popular trop in the genre that Heyer intensified because of her love for writing runaway phaetons, hackney cab races, and daring midnight dashes.