The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

This was highly recommended as one of the best Georgette Heyer romances by the friend who introduced them to me, and I would have to agree.

Sophy is a delightful heroine, one who we'd be inclined to fall in love with even if she had turned out to be a manipulative minx, which, in fact, she did turn out to be. However she mixes it with pure intentions and a shrewd insight into human nature which I suppose elevates her meddlesome manipulative ways into a form of caring. I think Heyer herself realized that her heroine could not get by on the strength of her personality alone, charming as she was, and so wrote a few interludes that illustrated her goodness, particularly in contrast to her more sedate, commonplace and thus boring antagonist. This was essential I suspect because (major spoiler alert) Sophy essentially steals another woman's fiance from under her nose, and no amount of personality could have reprieved that act if Miss Wraxton had not been so particularly mean instead of just plain boring.

I do wonder if Heyer realized this halfway, and so added layers to her characters, or if she had planned from the start to peel back the layers of her characters' personality to reveal the underlying character. In a way this reflects how we meet and get to know people. How often have we extrapolated character traits from personality traits only to later be disappointed? For example, from her confident extroverted nature I would have expected Sophy to be a queen bee if I had met her in real life (my bias is showing here) but clearly that is not what she turns out to be upon close examination.

For me personally this method of character development works. I've always had trouble with the heroines who had charm and the golden heart and always got the man in the end, because it was just so unfair that the loser not only did not get the man, but also did not get the consolation of moral superiority either. Heyer somehow fixes this by so gradually getting us so thoroughly on Sophy's side that she ends up as a life and blood creature, someone who could potentially have really lived, rather than an impossibly glossy perfect heroine. It helps also that she did not just make Miss Wraxton thoroughly unsympathetic (although we may have felt for her and understood her jealousy in the beginning) but also by giving her a humorously appropriate love interest in the end.

Can I also say how refreshing it was to have a Heyer hero who was not a doddering oldie who could very well have been the heroine's father? The fact that Charles Rivenhall was not violent or a womanizer was just the cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake. Apart from allowing his affections to be stolen ,he is really my favorite Heyer hero to date. (I also have a soft spot for the secretary from Federica - was he named Charles too? But sadly he wasn't a major character).

I can recommend The Grand Sophy as a wonderfully light delicious romp with an outrageous and yet charming heroine. Definitely my favorite Georgette Heyer to date.

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer

I'd read the blurb at the back of the book, which was probably a major mistake. It turns out that it not only included a major spoiler, but a major spoiler that happens late in the book. I kept waiting for the event to happen, so much so that by the time it did happen, I was let down.

I had only been familiar with Georgette Heyer as a writer of regency romances, so this Regency romance- mystery hybrid was somewhat of a novelty for me. I think it was waiting for the event referenced in the spoiler that made it draggy for me, so I would highly recommend not reading the blurb (difficult and unusual advice I know).

Otherwise this book serves up the usual combo of lovably flawed heroine with too much responsibility on her shoulders, the brother whose only use is to lend countenance to her housekeeping and the much older, initially off putting hero. Like other Georgette Heyer Regency romances (I am not familiar with the thrillers) It provides a light amusing read suitable for airports and bedtime.