Reviews

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

nooneyouknow's review against another edition

One of those rare instances when I wish an editor had simply excised a scene or two to avoid the ruin of an otherwise delightful book. (I usually try to think about dated ideas in the historical context of the story or the author’s world, etc., but for a book written in the 1950s, I find this one pretty much unforgivable.) An offensive characterization (that lasted about 5 pages) right in the middle of the book overshadowed the rest of this one for me.

(Side note - someone should pull that scene out and hire a scriptwriter because this one would be fun to watch!)

dazling_123's review

funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

bookreaderforever's review

4.0

Such a fun read. Witty dialog, spunky heroine, good 'ol fashion romance. This is my first read of Georgette Heyer and definitely more will follow.

yaaralony's review against another edition

funny lighthearted

4.5

חמוד מאוד וכיפי להפליא. קצת היה לי קשה לעקוב אחרי כל דמויות המשנה, זה בהחלט התאים לאוירה הכאוטית שמלווה את סופי, אבל עדיין. 

adelebon's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

staceyh13's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

makennakjacobs's review

4.0

I thought the ending was rushed and overly convenient, but I enjoyed the read overall. The prose was delightfully appropriate to the setting. 

ireniam's review against another edition

DNF@11%

Me aburro. Quizás lo retome después.

snowywolff's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny informative lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

4.0

Recommended to me by my dad 💖

Finally got around to one of the Georgette Heyer books my dad has been hyping up to me for years and I have to admit that, at the very least, this one lives up to it. 

Sophy was great to see as a character. In a time now, where “feminist” retelling of mythology run rampant and force modern concepts of feminism on classical women (and medieval, and until the suffragette movement when one could sort of start using feminism in its modern sense), it was not just a breath but a strong gust of fresh air. Sophy is still a woman of her time. Sure, she pushes the limits of the social rules as much as she can (and more than she should or what was likely ever allowed to a lady of her breeding), but she doesn’t break them truly, or only when she has good reasoning and excuses to do so. She is a strong female character within the constraints of her time and I love to see it. 

The language was quite dense, not just with regency/victorian sentence denseness (which is impressive to copy), but also with information, sometimes a little superfluous but fascinating all the same. You can see all the research and effort that had gone into writing this novel. 

The only reason this novel doesn’t get a 5/5 is bc it could’ve absolutely done without the “period appropriate” antisemitism, especially so when this book was written post WWII/Nuremberg when it was no longer “just the way people acted” as one could potentially excuse other pre WWII novels. (And I give this book a little extra squinting on “period appropriate” considering that Sophy as a character is… well, not quite, so if you can push that, you can push out the antisemitism). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

bookishmiss's review

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.0