Title: The Grand Sophy Author: Georgette Heyer
Published: April 9, 1950
Genre(s): Romance: Historical
Page Count: 372
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:When Sir Horace Stanton-Lacy is ordered to South America on Diplomatic Business he parks his only daughter, Sophy, with his sister in Berkeley Square. Forward, bold, and out-spoken, Sophy sweeps in and immediately takes ton by storm.
Upon her arrival, Sophy can see that her cousins are in a sad tangle: Ceclia is in love with a poet, Charles is engaged to a dour bluestocking, her uncle is of no use at all, and the younger children are in desperate need of some fun and freedom. They all need her help and it's providential that Sophy arrives when she does.
Writing this review after my second read-through of The Grand Sophy, I feel like I’ve got a pretty solid handle on the book. This book is, by and large, the most popular among modern readers of Georgette Heyer’s large body of work (though I can’t definitively say that it’s her best novel). For myself, I enjoyed this book and found it to be amusing, but wasn’t absolutely in love with it.
The book’s protagonist, Sophy Stanton-Lacy is very much the driving force behind the text. She’s irrepressibly mischievous, smart-mouthed, charming, and strong-willed—a combination that makes Sophy not at all the typical young lady in 1816 London society. Because of our unique protagonist, The Grand Sophy is far from dull, whether Sophy is facing off with her hot-tempered cousin Charles or facing down a villainous moneylender with nothing but chutzpah and a pistol.
My favorite part of the book is definitely Sophy and her antics, as well as her frequent clashes with Charles, her cousin and love interest (eewww, first cousinly romance). Yet in other areas, The Grand Sophy drags—all of the Rivenhalls are quite dull and/or silly, and while I’m not opposed to Charles in a general sense, I’m not the biggest fan of him. Heyer spends too much time setting up his character in frequent and boisterous opposition to Sophy for me to take their sudden engagement in the final 10 pages quite seriously. With all the arguing they do, I’m not sure how successful their marriage will be; the author doesn’t really show the two of them in any situation that even resembles a healthy romantic relationship.
Much as The Grand Sophy made me laugh, I don’t think it will prove to be memorable. After my first read, the only thing I remembered about the book was the quote at the beginning of this review, which I found fairly amusing. Otherwise, I’m only mildly satisfied with this book, and my (thus far) only foray into Georgette Heyer’s impressive backlist. Hopefully future efforts with this author will make more of an impression on me.
Also, please enjoy one of my favorite exchanges in all of fiction:
‘Charles!’ uttered Sophy, shocked. ‘You cannot love me!’
Mr Rivenhall pulled the door to behind them, and in a very rough fashion jerked her into his arms, and kissed her. ‘I don’t: I dislike you excessively!’ he said savagely.
Entranced by these lover-like words, Miss Stanton-Lacy returned his embrace with fervour, and meekly allowed herself to be led off to the stables.
