The Grand Sophy
Ratings18
Average rating4
15
Ratings18
Average rating4
When the redoubtable Sir Horace Stanton-Lacy is ordered to South America on business, he leaves his only daughter Sophia with his sister, Elizabeth Rivenhall, in Berkeley Square. Newly arrived from her tour of the Continent, Sophy invites herself into the circle of her relatives. When Lady Ombersley agrees to take in her young niece, no one expects Sophy, who sweeps in and immediately takes the ton by storm. Beautiful, gay, impulsive, shockingly direct, Sophy swept into elegant London society and scattered conventions and traditions before her like wisps in a windstorm. Resourceful, adventurous and utterly indefatigable, Sophy is hardly the mild-mannered girl that the Rivenhalls expect when they agree to take her in. Kind-hearted Aunt Lizzy is shocked, and her arrogant stern cousin Charles Rivenhall, the Ombersley heir, vows to rid his family of her meddlesome ways by marrying her off.
But vibrant and irrepressible Sophy was no stranger to managing delicate situations. After all, she'd been keeping opportunistic females away from her widowed father for years. But staying with her relatives could be her biggest challenge yet. But Sophy discovers that her aunt's family is in desperate need of her talent for setting everything right: her aunt's husband is of no use at all, her ruthlessly handsome cousin Charles has tyrannical tendencies that are being aggravated by his pedantic bluestocking fiancee Eugenia Wraxton; her lovely cousin Cecelia was smitten with an utterly unsuitable suitor, a beautiful but feather-brained poet; her cousin Herbert was in dire financial straits and has fallen foul of a money-lender; and the younger children are in desperate need of some fun and freedom, and Sophy's arrived just in time to save them all.
With her inimitable mixture of exuberance and grace Sophy became the mainstay of her hilariously bedeviled family, as a horsewoman, social leader and above all, as an ingenious match-maker. Using her signature unorthodox methods, Sophy set out to solve all of their problems. By the time she's done, Sophy has commandeered household and Charles's horses, but she finds herself increasingly drawn to her eldest cousin. Could it be that the Grand Sophy had finally met her match? Can she really be falling in love with him, and he with her? And what of his betrothal to grim Eugenia?
Reviews with the most likes.
it's fun to finally have a regency romance where the female protagonist is rambunctious and wild but also how about that good ol' cousin-lovin'
if you're not familiar with the term, regency era writing refers to authors like jane austen, maria edgeworth, and sir walter scott. however, this is a regency romance, which was written about a century and a half later about life during the regency era, and is thus much easier to read rimshot
it has the same societal issues that jane austen loves to poke fun at, but it inserts a kind of protagonist that i had not yet encountered in a regency novel. while this was really entertaining, the romance and the rest of the plot fell short, which was quite disappointing as i was hoping i'd enjoy it.
Got 18%. Didn't really care for it. I'm starting to think Heyer just isn't for me, as this is supposed to be one of her best and I've tried another previously as well and got about as far.
I had high expectations for this book and, I have to say, it didn't quite rise up to them. I enjoyed the characters and I thought it was plotted well but I didn't fall for all the couples that were matched in the end. Much as I tried, I couldn't root for Sophy and Charles with much energy. Charles was always throwing temper tantrums and insulting her, while she seemed impervious to him. That, and I couldn't get past the fact that they were first cousins. Maybe if this book were not written in 1950 I could have chalked that up to the time period, but it seems late to be writing a romance about first cousins getting married. I have read another book by Georgette Hayer that I enjoyed more, The Masqueraders, which I also don't remember having so much racial stereotyping, but this is her most popular. I was left feeling middle of the road in the end.
Sophy bursts into her cousins' lives, all 5'9” of her, with a pet monkey, a parrot and a dog. Unlike the women in an Austen novel, she can handle horses, her father's finances, and even owns a pistol. Schemes and matchmaking attempts ensue.
This is a Regency-era novel, both in the time period and the style of writing. Since it was written in the 50s the author had a bit more imagination as to the level of independence a woman could achieve, so it reads like a more fast-paced Austen novel.
I would've liked to see a better romance for Sophy, though. After writing such an impressive character, I'm surprised anyone could tie her down that easily.
Originally posted at www.emgoto.com.
