Georgette Heyer, the best selling English novelist, wrote over 50 novels. She is best known for her eighteenth-century and Regency romance novels. As she was so instrumental in the popularisation of the historical novel, it is surprising that there is not more rigorous analysis of her work and that there has been no extensive study of her readers. This talk aims to show some analysis of her texts and audience using data science.

After completing a PhD in Astronomy, Dr Helen Davidge has worked as a Data Scientist for various companies including Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank, Esure Insurance Group and Sainsbury’s Argos. Since the age of five she has had a fascination with history, which has also led to a love of literature. Her interest in the Georgian period was kindled when she was introduced to Georgette Heyer’s works in her teens. She co-moderates the Georgette Heyer Appreciation Facebook Group, organised several national meet-ups for the group and and has presented her data science work on Georgette Heyer at two international conferences.

Best Georgette Heyer Books