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A review by atelierofbooks
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
5.0
4.5
Wild, hilarious, audacious Sophy! Even from the perspective of a 21st century woman, Sophy is a force. There were so many moments where I was like, "girl, you are insane. INSANE. Also, please be my friend."
Basically, cousin Sophy comes to London and sorts out everyone's life. She's eye-poppingly nosy and meddlesome...except she genuinely only wants the best for everyone (and she's usually always right anyway). I'd call this more of a family comedy than a romance actually because the entire story is about how Sophy becomes one of their own. She loves her cousins without reservation, and for all of her impishness, she is wise.
Sophy and Charles though..these two make each other laugh and they share inside jokes. That's the best kind of love. I love them together because Sophy is such a great foil for Charles. He's burdened by crushing responsibility and the consequences of his father's profligacy, which is slowly turning him into a dour authoritarian. Except he has this natural ease and sense of humor which peeks out more and more often due to Sophy's antics and joyfulness. They trust and respect each other long before they fall in love. Even when they're at each other's throats (which is often) they behave like a real family despite having been strangers their entire lives. I loved how cleverly Sophy guided Charles and the rest of the family to be more communicative and grow closer to one another.
But the side characters are seriously one of the best parts of this book! Everyone has such a distinct personality and I loved reading about all of the unwitting people who get sucked into the vortex of Sophy's scheming. Also, Sophy's dad is the best. He's the most neglectful, hands-off parent ever but in his own way he loves and empowers Sophy. No, seriously, it was so great to read a father character who empowers his daughter. And he is hilarious.
That said, this was written in 1950 so there are some dated stereotypes about people. If certain characters had been a bit more nuanced in that respect this would have been a full 5 stars. I would read this book again and again in spite of this, but your mileage may vary.
This was my first Heyer novel and I can't believe I've slept on her work for this long. This was recommended to me as a lover of Austen...but after reading, I actually can't understand why. The only genuine similarity is that they take place in the same time period. Austen's work is sharp and laced with social commentary. Heyer is all levity and banter. They're both wonderful, in very different ways!
Wild, hilarious, audacious Sophy! Even from the perspective of a 21st century woman, Sophy is a force. There were so many moments where I was like, "girl, you are insane. INSANE. Also, please be my friend."
Basically, cousin Sophy comes to London and sorts out everyone's life. She's eye-poppingly nosy and meddlesome...except she genuinely only wants the best for everyone (and she's usually always right anyway). I'd call this more of a family comedy than a romance actually because the entire story is about how Sophy becomes one of their own. She loves her cousins without reservation, and for all of her impishness, she is wise.
Sophy and Charles though..these two make each other laugh and they share inside jokes. That's the best kind of love. I love them together because Sophy is such a great foil for Charles. He's burdened by crushing responsibility and the consequences of his father's profligacy, which is slowly turning him into a dour authoritarian. Except he has this natural ease and sense of humor which peeks out more and more often due to Sophy's antics and joyfulness. They trust and respect each other long before they fall in love. Even when they're at each other's throats (which is often) they behave like a real family despite having been strangers their entire lives. I loved how cleverly Sophy guided Charles and the rest of the family to be more communicative and grow closer to one another.
But the side characters are seriously one of the best parts of this book! Everyone has such a distinct personality and I loved reading about all of the unwitting people who get sucked into the vortex of Sophy's scheming. Also, Sophy's dad is the best. He's the most neglectful, hands-off parent ever but in his own way he loves and empowers Sophy. No, seriously, it was so great to read a father character who empowers his daughter. And he is hilarious.
That said, this was written in 1950 so there are some dated stereotypes about people. If certain characters had been a bit more nuanced in that respect this would have been a full 5 stars. I would read this book again and again in spite of this, but your mileage may vary.
This was my first Heyer novel and I can't believe I've slept on her work for this long. This was recommended to me as a lover of Austen...but after reading, I actually can't understand why. The only genuine similarity is that they take place in the same time period. Austen's work is sharp and laced with social commentary. Heyer is all levity and banter. They're both wonderful, in very different ways!