Here are 62 books that Cotillion fans have personally recommended if you like
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I was the ten-year-old child who devoured David Copperfield (and then every other Dickens book), the teenager who began a lifelong love of Russian literature after discovering Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. To this day, my greatest reading pleasure is to lose (and find) myself in the rich, expansive world of a nineteenth-century novel. In my contemporary rom-com, Blame It on the Brontës, my heroine is torn between her literary ideal of love and the reality of losing the love of her life. To paraphrase Keats, she tries to reconcile “the truth of imagination” with “the holiness of the heart’s affections.” As a romance writer, it is my quest, too.
Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre follows the format of a romance novel: a governess falls in love with her employer, they overcome impediments, and they live happily ever after. Add a madwoman in the attic, Thornfield Hall in flames, and Mr. Rochester’s voice calling to Jane across the winds, and you have an unforgettable romance novel.
I admire Jane immensely. Her journey from being a suffering student at Lowood School to an independent woman is as relevant as ever. Through every experience, she asserts her autonomy but never wavers in her moral compass.
In Brontë’s world, love involves every fiber of one’s being, not just emotions or desire. Mr. Rochester is a complex, conflicted man who proves himself worthy of Jane’s love. For me, they have set the standard of the romantic heroine and hero.
Introduction and Notes by Dr Sally Minogue, Canterbury Christ Church University College.
Jane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage.
She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr Rochester.
I’ve been reading romance since my grandmother would sneak me “approved” books when I was twelve. I’ve always felt like I was born in the wrong century, so it makes sense that historicals would be my favorites. After experiencing some autoimmune issues, I relate to characters dealing with physical or mental challenges, and those are the books that tend to draw me in. I believe many people read to escape “real life” and its accompanying stress (I know I do!). As a writer, my goal is to bring a bit of laughter and light into someone’s life for the few hours they spend with my characters.
This is a book I both adore and abhor. Why would I say such a thing? Because my heart physically hurt in the reading of it.
On the surface, the confident, scientifically minded hero has everything, including a disdain for anyone “lower” than him. But when he’s felled in an instant, everything changes. He cannot communicate—at all—until the lowly daughter of a fellow numerist finds a way to break through the strange walls that now inhabit his brain…
Experiencing these two falling in love was both poignant and yet destructive to my peace of mind. This is one of those books I set down, yes for several months, because I could not bear for it to end, and I needed to fortify myself before reading through to its conclusion.
The Duke of Jervaulx was brilliant and dangerous. Considered dissolute, reckless, and extravagant, he was transparently referred to as the ′D of J′ in scandal sheets, where he and his various exploits featured with frequency. But sometimes the most womanising rake can be irresistible, and even his most casual attentions fascinated the sheltered Maddy Timms, quiet daughter of a simple mathematician.
I began to escape into stories as a child because I was so often ill there wasn’t much else I could do. But that love of sending my mind on a little holiday to a world where everything is a little bit nicer has stuck with me. As a writer, that is what I want to do – to send my readers on a romantic adventure without them having to get out of their chair. And as I fell in love with the landscape of Regency England, through reading so many Heyer novels, that is where I enjoy setting the adventures of my characters.
The hero of this book, The Duke of Sale, has always wondered what it would be like to be plain Mr Dash of nowhere in particular.
He gets his wish after encountering Belinda, the foundling of the title, and goes on an adventure during which he learns a lot about himself and his own worth. As so often happens in a Heyer story, the comic interludes (often involving Belinda’s wish to own a purple dress) build to an ending which has an air of farce to it.
The Queen of Regency Romance, Georgette Heyer, delights readers with a charming tale of a duke who is tired of playing by the rules.
The Duke of Sale is out to prove himself
The shy, young Duke of Sale has never known his parents. Instead, his Grace Adolphus Gillespie Vernon Ware, Gilly for short, has endured twenty-four years of rigorous mollycoddling from his uncle and valet. But his natural diffidence conceals a rebellious spirit.
A mysterious beauty provides the perfect opportunity
When Gilly hears of Belinda, the beautiful foundling who appears to be blackmailing his cousin, he escapes with glee.…
I began to escape into stories as a child because I was so often ill there wasn’t much else I could do. But that love of sending my mind on a little holiday to a world where everything is a little bit nicer has stuck with me. As a writer, that is what I want to do – to send my readers on a romantic adventure without them having to get out of their chair. And as I fell in love with the landscape of Regency England, through reading so many Heyer novels, that is where I enjoy setting the adventures of my characters.
So far I’ve recommended books that I read over and over again because I’ve enjoyed them so much.
This time I am recommending a book which has only recently come out, but which has really impressed me with the clarity of the writing, the interesting story, and the convincing historical details.
And, of course, a hero who is just a little bit out of the ordinary, who marries his childhood friend in order to inherit enough money to save his property, and slowly learns that she is the only woman he could ever truly love. (sigh)
Lady Isobel might be the daughter of the late Lord Martyn, but she's treated by her family as a maid. So when her childhood best friend Leo Havelock reveals that he will only inherit his fortune if he marries-immediately!-she agrees to be his convenient countess. Their union offers Isobel the chance to escape her home...but can she escape the feelings she has long had for her husband?
I began to escape into stories as a child because I was so often ill there wasn’t much else I could do. But that love of sending my mind on a little holiday to a world where everything is a little bit nicer has stuck with me. As a writer, that is what I want to do – to send my readers on a romantic adventure without them having to get out of their chair. And as I fell in love with the landscape of Regency England, through reading so many Heyer novels, that is where I enjoy setting the adventures of my characters.
I love this book for many reasons, one of them being that the heroine is a naïve young author who is having her first book published.
She has used Sylvester, the Duke of Sale, as the model for the villain of her story, because of his “tigerish” eyebrows. Which wouldn’t have mattered, if her family hadn’t decided they ought to get married.
During the course of their unorthodox courtship, (which involves her flight from him, a curricle accident, the kidnapping of his nephew, and the adoption of a French puppy) the arrogant Duke learns that he can’t have whatever he wants for the snap of his fingers – and it does him a great deal of good.
"Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen."―Publishers Weekly
Rank, wealth, and elegance are no match for a young lady who writes novels...
Sylvester, Duke of Salford, has exacting requirements for a bride. Then he meets Phoebe Marlow, a young lady with literary aspirations, and suddenly life becomes very complicated. She meets none of his criteria, and even worse, she has written a novel that is sweeping through the ton and causing all kinds of gossip... and he's the main character!
What Readers Say:
"A truly brilliant Heyer with an adorable and very real heroine and…
I stumbled across Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice when I was twelve years old and fell in love with her humorous, witty writing and quirky characters. I saved my allowance and bought an omnibus of her complete works, but it wasn’t enough: I was hooked and wanted to read more books like hers. A decade later, I started to write books like hers, and my first Regency-set romantic comedy was published in 2001. The movie Mr. Malcolm’s List, based on my novel, was released in theaters in 2022, and I had the pleasure of hearing people laughing as they watched it, as I had so often laughed while reading Austen’s work.
P.G. Wodehouse is a comic genius best known for his series of books featuring Wooster and Jeeves, but this book differs from his usual fare in that it has a female protagonist and a sweet little romance.
I loved Jill, who is the type of heroine Jane Austen might have invented: loyal, spunky, and highly principled. Jill’s adventures take us from London to 1920s New York, but this isn’t historical fiction. Like Austen’s books, this is a contemporary novel written in the era in which the author lived.
I love Austen because of her wry humor and her feisty female characters, two things that are also present in this very fun book.
P.G. Wodehouse's classic tale (originally published under the title "The Little Warrior") of Jill Mariner, a wealthy young woman engaged to Sir Derek Underhill. Following financial disaster, Jill's life takes several adventurous turns with schemes, relatives, chorus girls, and the search for love.
I stumbled across Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice when I was twelve years old and fell in love with her humorous, witty writing and quirky characters. I saved my allowance and bought an omnibus of her complete works, but it wasn’t enough: I was hooked and wanted to read more books like hers. A decade later, I started to write books like hers, and my first Regency-set romantic comedy was published in 2001. The movie Mr. Malcolm’s List, based on my novel, was released in theaters in 2022, and I had the pleasure of hearing people laughing as they watched it, as I had so often laughed while reading Austen’s work.
Clare Darcy’s books were published in the 1970s, and she was billed as the “best Regency novelist since Georgette Heyer,” which was probably an accurate statement at the time–and might still be. I do enjoy her funny, witty Regency novels, and this one, with its ensemble cast of unique characters, is a particular favorite.
I stumbled across Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice when I was twelve years old and fell in love with her humorous, witty writing and quirky characters. I saved my allowance and bought an omnibus of her complete works, but it wasn’t enough: I was hooked and wanted to read more books like hers. A decade later, I started to write books like hers, and my first Regency-set romantic comedy was published in 2001. The movie Mr. Malcolm’s List, based on my novel, was released in theaters in 2022, and I had the pleasure of hearing people laughing as they watched it, as I had so often laughed while reading Austen’s work.
This was the first book I read by Joan Aiken, and I found after reading some of her backlist that this was the only one I liked. Some of the other historical fiction she wrote is much darker, but this book, while it does have a mystery subplot, is lighthearted and fun with a sweet romance.
It is a delightfully convoluted tale that will keep you guessing up until the very end when its downtrodden, capable heroine saves the day and gets her man.
Desperate to help her ailing mother, Delphie Carteret agrees to a sham wedding ceremony to her cousin, Gareth. Her mother will be guaranteed annuity for life, and Gareth's obligation to marry before his sick uncle passes is fulfilled. The plan is perfect.
But perfect plans usually go awry. Not only is the marriage ceremony valid, but Gareth's dying uncle makes a miraculous recovery. An imposter is threatening Delphie's identity and her life, and the whole family is on the brink of scandal.
I am a writer who will never give you a sad ending! I love books that reflect on life (the good and the bad) but that look for the positive in people. My experience has taught me that there is so much good to find—and as I explore in my debut novel, The Keeper of Stories, everyone has a story to tell. My first novel was published when I was 60, so I am also a believer that you should never underestimate anyone. And I love to see that reflected in books.
My mother had every one of Georgette Heyer’s regency novels, and I inherited them. They are witty, romantic, and satisfying. When I feel sad I dive beneath their covers and lose myself in them. I also remember my mum. The Grand Sophy was her favourite, it is the story of an extraordinary young woman who has a gift for sorting out other people’s problems – whether they want her to or not!
If you love Bridgerton, you'll love Georgette Heyer!
'The greatest writer who ever lived' ANTONIA FRASER 'One of my perennial comfort authors. Heyer's books are as incisively witty and quietly subversive as any of Jane Austen's' JOANNE HARRIS 'Absolutely delicious tales of Regency heroes. . . Utter, immersive escapism' SOPHIE KINSELLA __________________
The charming Sophia Stanton-Lacy is a force to be reckoned with.
When Sophy is sent to stay with her London relatives, she finds her cousins in quite the tangle.
Cecilia is besotted with an attractive but feather-brained poet, Hubert has fallen foul of a money-lender, and the ruthlessly…
Fantasy is my favorite genre, and honestly, I’m pretty deep in it. Not only do I read a lot of fantasy, I also write fantasy novels. I’ve been an active TTRPG player for the last few years, even creating and running a few campaigns. In addition, I wrote a one-shot campaign set in the world of my fantasy series, the Gifted Lands, which people can get for free when they sign up for my newsletter on my website. So it’s safe to say, I like fantasy. :) If you check out any of these books, let me know what you think of them!
This absolutely delightful duology from one of my absolute favorite authors is totally worth the read.
She has other series that I believe are more popular, but this particular book has a great mystery plot and memorable characters set against a Regency fantasy background.
If Jane Austen co-wrote a book with Agatha Christie (and added magic), they may have come up with A Matter of Magic.
One thing I really love about this book is the relationship between the two main characters, Kim and Mairelon. The progression of their relationship is fun, funny, and very real.
This is a book I tend to reread every year, that’s how much I love it!
When a stranger offers her a small fortune to break into a traveling magician's wagon, Kim doesn't hesitate. Having grown up a waif in the dirty streets of London, Kim isn't above a bit of breaking-and-entering. A hard life and lean times have schooled her in one lesson: steal from them before they steal from you. But when the magician catches her in the act, Kim thinks she's done for, until he suggests she become his apprentice; then the real trouble begins. Kim soon finds herself entangled with murderers, thieves, and cloak-and-dagger politics, all while trying to learn how to…
