The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

I remember reading Georgette Heyer in high school and loving all of the books that my father passed on to me. I am not sure if I liked them because he suggested them or if it was because they swept me into romance and all I could think about then was boys, kissing them, and one day getting married. Since I had such fond memories of books by this author, I was eager to revisit this book. Once again, I found that a book I once loved was not as fun to read today.

I am not sure if my disenchantment had to do with the changes in writing style over the past half century+ since I read this book or if it was something else. I felt the book was not in tune with the era it was written about and it did not resonate with me – I had trouble getting into the story, didn’t find myself caring about any of the characters, or what was happening in their lives. I seemed more worried about the monkey, dog and parrot than the people and that gave me pause. I opted to skim a bit but not read it cover to cover because I decided that I would prefer to return to my memories of reading it long ago and how I felt then rather than read and not enjoy the story this time around. It may be a classic and worth reading but not worth reading right now for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the ARC – This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars ( )

I have to agree with pretty much all the male characters in this story: Sophie is a terrifying woman. Well-intentioned, but a sly and manipulative busybody. A number of her schemes depend on luck, especially her dangerous games with horses. Still, it’s a fun story, and I really enjoyed everyone getting their hearts’ desire in the end, even people who don’t deserve it.

I subtracted a star for the disgustingly bigoted portrayal of the Jewish moneylender. I try to judge books with respect to the social attitudes of the time in which they were written, but this was written as a historical romance in 1950, not 1590. ( )

Great writing. Dropped because of cousin-cest. ( )

Fun and light-hearted, this is a great escapist read.

re-read 8/8/2023 ( )

With her father headed off to Brazil, Sophy moves into the household of her London cousins, who are very much unprepared for a woman with a personality such as hers. She arrives accompanied by her dog and a monkey, and immediately throws the serene and orderly household into chaos. Sophy herself is bold, smart and daring (reckless?) — possibly too much of all of these for the family and London society to handle.

Even though regency romances have never really been my thing, I'd heard enough good things about Georgette Heyer over the years that I've felt an obligation to at least give her a try. Her writing is funny, sophisticated and light-hearted, and I can see the appeal (though it's still not a subgenre I'm especially drawn to). Some aspects of this story haven't necessarily aged well with respect to social mores — the scene with Goldhanger was super cringey. It was also a little awkward to accept Sophy's love interest being her own first cousin. However, the story is funny and witty, and all of the various characters' plotlines ultimately tie together in a clever way. ( )