Alice Chetwynd Ley was born on 12 October 1913 in Halifax, Yorkshire, the first child of a journalist, Fred Humphrey and his wife, Alice Mary (née Chetwynd): she was given the name and surname of her mother in addition to her father’s surname.
Her father left home to serve overseas as an officer in the First World War in Palestine, Egypt and France, but returned to take up again his chosen profession of journalism. The family moved around the country as the father took jobs on different regional newspapers, and Alice’s early schooling took place in Selkirk and Sheffield, but when they settled in Birmingham she went to King Edward VI Grammar School for Girls in Edgbaston.
In 1959 Alice enrolled part-time for an extra-mural Diploma in Sociology of the University of London, for which she studied at the relatively local Harrow College. This course included work on the eighteenth century, and in October of the same year she published her first novel, The Jewelled Snuff Box with the London-based publisher, Robert Hale.
Apart from historical research conducted through the local library and via the printed word, Alice also did a great deal of field research into locations, taking short holidays in likely settings, and exploring many aspects of the Napoleonic period, from old inns to smugglers’ coves. She was well-informed on costume and ‘manners’ generally, and would become indignant when costume dramas on television ‘got it wrong’.
Most of her novels go back from the Regency (strictly speaking, 1811-20) and the overlapping Napoleonic period into the later part of the eighteenth century, and she created one family whose fortunes she followed in a short series (the Eversley saga).
Alice sadly passed away in 2004.
You can check out her website here.
An Eligible Gentleman (The Eversley Saga #4)
Fall in love with this charming Regency romp! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.
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A Regency Scandal
A Regency family saga to lose yourself in! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.
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The Intrepid Miss Haydon
A Regency adventure set during the Napoleonic Wars! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.
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Masquerade of Vengeance (The Rutherford Trilogy Book 3)
A breathtaking blend of mystery and romance! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Barbara Erskine and Jane Austen.
A Fatal Assignation (The Rutherford Trilogy Book 2)
A captivating mix of mystery and romance! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Barbara Erskine and Jane Austen.
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A Reputation Dies (The Rutherford Trilogy #1)
A heart-stopping blend of mystery and romance! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Barbara Erskine and Jane Austen.
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At Dark of the Moon
Regency romantic adventure during the Napoleonic Wars! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.
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A Conformable Wife
Another classic Regency romance from a master of the genre! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.
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Letters For A Spy
A thrilling Regency romance set during the Napoleonic Wars! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.
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The Beau and the Bluestocking
A classic, best-selling pre Regency romance! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.
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An Advantageous Marriage
An Advantageous Marriage is a classic historical novel by Alice Chetwynd Ley: a traditional British, Regency romance, set in nineteenth-century England.
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Tenant of Chesdene Manor
A thrilling Regency Romance from a master of the genre! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.
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The Jewelled Snuff Box
A young girl with a mysterious past finds herself unwittingly caught up in a scandal…
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A Season at Brighton (The Eversley Saga #3)
Will Catherine Denham’s independent streak land her in serious danger…?
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The Toast of the Town (The Eversley Saga #2)
Can anyone tame Georgiana’s tempestuous heart…?
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The Clandestine Betrothal (The Eversley Saga #1)
A pretty young heiress finds her quick temper may have landed her in a world of trouble…
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