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Jane Aiken Hodge (1917–2009)

Author of The Private World of Georgette Heyer

39+ Works 2,098 Members 64 Reviews 5 Favorited

About the Author

Jane Aiken Hodge was born near Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Decmber 4, 1917. Her father was the Pulitzer prize-winning poet, Conrad Aiken. She attended Oxford University and Radcliff College. She wrote about 30 suspense novels and historical novels. She was a longtime believer in the right of show more people to end their own lives. In 2009 she chose to do this to the shock of her two grown daughters. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Carol Stephenson's Blog

Series

Works by Jane Aiken Hodge

Watch the Wall, My Darling (1966) 141 copies
Marry in Haste (1971) 122 copies
The Winding Stair (1968) 99 copies
Savannah Purchase (1971) 87 copies
Rebel Heiress (1975) 82 copies
The Adventurers (1965) 74 copies
Shadow of a Lady (1973) 71 copies
Strangers in Company (1973) 71 copies
Here Comes a Candle (1967) 67 copies
Runaway Bride (1978) 66 copies
Maulever Hall (1964) 65 copies
Last Act (1979) 63 copies
One Way to Venice (1975) 55 copies
Greek Wedding (1970) 53 copies
Judas Flowering (1976) 51 copies
First Night (1989) 39 copies
Wide is the Water (1981) 39 copies
The Lost Garden (1982) 38 copies
Polonaise (1987) 28 copies
Leading Lady (1990) 27 copies
Escapade (1993) 27 copies
Secret Island (1985) 25 copies
Whispering (1995) 20 copies
A Death in Two Parts (2000) 17 copies
Windover (1992) 15 copies
All for Love (2014) 13 copies
Caterina (1999) 12 copies
Deathline (2003) 11 copies
Bride of Dreams (1996) 8 copies
Unsafe Hands (1997) 4 copies
Susan in America (1998) 4 copies

Associated Works

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Common Knowledge

Legal name
Hodge, Jane Aiken
Birthdate
1917-12-04
Date of death
2009-06-17
Burial location
cremated
Gender
female
Nationality
USA (birth)
UK (naturalized)
Birthplace
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Place of death
Lewes, East Sussex, England, UK
Cause of death
suicide
Places of residence
Lewes, Sussex, England, UK
Rye, East Sussex, England, UK
Education
Oxford University (BA|Somerville College)
Radcliffe College (BA|1938)
Occupations
civil servant
journalist
historical novelist
detective novelist
book reviewer
biographer
Relationships
Aiken, Conrad (father)
Aiken, Joan (sister)
Aiken, John (brother)
Hodge, Joanna (daughter)
Hodge, Jessica (daughter)
Agent
Georgia Glover ( David Higham Associates)
Short biography
Jane Aiken Hodge was the daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer Conrad Aiken and his first wife, Jessie McDonald. Jane was three years old when her family moved to Great Britain, settling in Rye, East Sussex where her younger sister, Joan, who would grow up to become a novelist and a children's writer, was born. Their parents divorced in 1929. Jane read English at Oxford University, and in 1938 earned a second degree in English at Radcliffe, her mother's alma mater. She worked a civil servant in the USA for a time, and also worked for Time Magazine, before returning to Great Britain in 1947. Her published works included historical novels, biographies, and contemporary detective novels. In 1972, Jane Hodge renounced her USA citizenship and became a British subject.

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Discussions

Another Governess Romance in Name that Book (February 2012)

Reviews

If anyone is a fan of Poldark, they will probably really like this. It's mostly adventure with a romance on the back burner. There are smugglers, spies, family secrets, and so on. Set around the time of the Napoleonic Wars.
 
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Alishadt | 6 other reviews | Feb 25, 2023 |
In this book, Marianne wakes up after a carriage accident with no memory of who she is or where she is going. There is a child traveling with her, and they disembark in the middle of nowhere--a place Marianne herself requested but now cannot remember why.

She ends up staying at a place called Maulever Hall with an eccentric but kind older lady. Efforts to restore Marianne's memory are minimal. Instead, she becomes entrenched in the routine of the house, acting as companion to Mrs. Mauleverer.

The old lady has a son she rarely sees, but, of course, he soon appears on the scene, a perfect example of the brooding, Rochester-like hero for a besotted Marianne. (I did find him a little too much of a jerk for a while, though.)
And! Check all the boxes! He has a mysteriously scarred face! Handsome but dangerous!

I enjoyed this Regency romance very much, although I think it could have been a little shorter. It is well told and does not suffer from any annoying anachronisms or misplaced modern sentiments. However, it does feature a pair of characters who are in love but ready to believe the worst about each other, and their gullibility toward the end does stretch one's patience. Especially when the heroine quickly chooses on very flimsy proof to believe a man who she knows has lied to her before.

Also, when it was revealed who Marianne is, who the child is, and why they were on the run, I felt I should have figured it out much earlier. Many readers probably do. It's not a particularly surprising twist.

This book, Maulever Hall, is what I used to think Georgette Heyer novels would be like. True confession: For some reason I have not really liked the Georgette Heyer novels I've read. This, on the other hand, was easy to get into, charming and funny at times, and romantic in a brooding sort of way. Toward the end it had me speeding to find out what would happen next. I hope to read more by this author.

I received a digital copy of a new edition of this via NetGalley in exchange for a review. It did have a few distracting typos, but other than that I thought it was a great read.
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Alishadt | 4 other reviews | Feb 25, 2023 |
This is a story about one girl's many bad decisions.
Though I found it quick to read through, it disappointed me at several turns.

The heroine, Amanda, is in love with the boy she grew up with, John Purvis. At her first ball, he gallantly looks after her and keeps her from falling into the clutches of her much older suitor, the despicable Lord Meynel. Amanda and John reach an understanding that as soon as he can make his fortune in the Navy, they will marry. Unfortunately, Amanda's mother, as well as Lord Meynel, have other plans, and Amanda ends up married to Lord Meynel. Her life is crashing into a great big pit of despair...partly because she's young and naive and too easily controlled, but still...it sets the story up for much darker themes than I had anticipated. Coercive/abusive marital conditions, adultery, illegitimacy, and so forth. It was a surprising change of mood from the only other book I have read by this author, and it took me aback.

The plot takes place partly in England and partly in Italy, during the years of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Indeed, those events and the details surrounding them take up a little too much room on the page for my liking. I respect the author's intent to add true history and notable people to the narrative, but it felt a bit heavy-handed in this case.

I will read and hope to enjoy some of Jane Aiken Hodge's other works, but for me, this one was a miss.

I received a digital advance copy of a new edition of this via NetGalley.
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Alishadt | 1 other review | Feb 25, 2023 |
The classic biography of Georgette Heyer is, finally, back in print and will delight Heyer fans everywhere. She wrote more than fifty novels, yet her private life was inaccessible to any but her nearest friends and relatives.
Lavishly illustrated, and with extracts from her correspondence and references to her work, The Private World reveals a formidable and energetic woman with an impeccable sense of style and above all, a love for all things Regency.
 
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Karen74Leigh | 14 other reviews | Feb 18, 2023 |

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Statistics

Works
39
Also by
2
Members
2,098
Popularity
#12,270
Rating
½ 3.6
Reviews
64
ISBNs
256
Languages
2
Favorited
5

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