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The Grand Sophy

Georgette Heyer

Well,I thought I was getting a Heyer detective story. Instead I got a romance. I'm trying my best, but this wouldn't be my preferred genre. Sophy is Becky Sharp without the sharpness; Elizabeth Bennett without the depth. So, it's fun, but I can see the ending clear as day. I'll get there, and I'll be glad when I do! 

Plot:  Sophy, cousin and daughter of an unconventional brother, moves in with her very conventional aunt.  She immediately runs afoul of her older cousin, Richard, who runs the household.  He is engaged to a stick-in-the-mud and is a bit of stick himself.  Sophy, on the other hand, is all life.  5'9" . . . witty . . . a horsewoman . . . brings a parrot, a greyhound, and a monkey with her to her aunt's house. Her cousin Cecilia is engaged to a solid Lord X.  Lord X comes down with mumps and Cecy falls madly for Augustus Fawnhope, a poet with curly hair.   Augustus is totally self-centered, but Cecy doesn't see it.  She breaks off her engagement.  Sophy, who does see the qualities of the first fiance, plots to get Cecy back on the right track.  It's clear as day that Sophy will marry Richard at the end, also.  

Too much description of dresses and balls for my taste.  It's like an orange popsicle--cool and enjoyable, but nothing much there.  Wodehouse/Alexander McCall Smith much more enjoyable.  I'll give one of her detective stories a try, but no more like this one!

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