Georgette Heyer - The Grand Sophy

When Lady Ombersley agrees to take in her young niece, no one expects Sophy, who sweeps in and immediately takes the ton by storm. Sophy discovers that her aunt's family is in desperate need of her talent for setting everything right: Cecilia is in love with a poet, Charles has tyrannical tendencies that are being aggravated by his grim fiancee, her uncle is of no use at all, and the younger children are in desperate need of some fun and freedom. By the time she's done, Sophy has commandeered Charles's horses, his household, and finally, his heart.

Comment: Some readers I know who don't tend to read much historical romances have enjoyed this one quite a lot, and upon seeing this book with a discount at a book fair years ago, I decided to get it but, obviously, only now did I pick it to read.

In this story we meet Sophy, the only child of Sir Horace, a diplomat who has been in many countries and who is about to leave for another but he decides to leave his daughter with his sister mrs Ombersley, promising she won't be troubled. The thing is, Sophy is used to get her own way, she is confident and has opinions and a heart of gold, wanting to help everyone because she knows how to think on her feet. It is only natural others might not agree, for they have not had the same experiences and exposure to different cultures and everyone knows the British society is still quite rigid. But will such a sunny and heartwarming personality as Sophy's be deterred in the face of her family's sometimes dumbfounded expressions? Could it be Sophy will manage to save them all from their problems?

If one reads this as a fun adventure featuring a larger than life character and sees all dialogue as the epitome of wit and irony, then this is a wonderful book. I had a great fun reading this novel and finished with the sense of having spent a great time with wonderfully depicted characters. I was actually a little surprised by how much I liked it because this is the 6th book by the author I try and I wasn't overly impressed with all the others. I think I appreciated this one even more because the story is engaging and also because I read this one in Portuguese...it certainly helps when it comes to older titles, where the language isn't as easy to follow if it's not our own, as English isn't mine.

As a matter of fact, giving a quick glance at what I wrote about the other novels, the more old fashioned writing style didn't always feel as comprehensive for me except in Sylvester, which I loved, but the story also made me more interested in focusing on it. I suppose a re-read with different eyes would help but I have no time and there are still other books by this author I'd try new instead of re-reading known ones...

Anyway, back to this book!

The (secondary) characters often behaved as impossibly exaggerated caricatures, I'll be honest. It is hard to imagine those characters as real people, especially when we know real life couldn't be as simple but that is is extremely fun to watch and to follow them as they go on with their lives and accomplish the little and big things that are part of their days. That is it, this was a fun story and Sophy, such a compelling character that it was very easy to turn the pages.

Basically, Sophy is a young woman who, despite being a single child and having had the luck of money and privilege, has developed such a loving personality making her unique and caring for those she deems as in need of her help. She is a true schemer, quite aware of what's what but she still gives everyone a smile, an apparent calm in the face of adversity and she doesn't let anyone cause her fear or doubt. She is confident in her own self and in what she can do but she doesn't take for granted she will succeed in whatever she wants, she thinks things through at the best of her possibilities and she acts with good heart...how not to like her or to want to have her self esteem?

I can see how the author has created such a wonderful heroine. I can also imagine how such a person in real life would be looked upon with trust by those she helps and who see her for her qualities but how others might envy her and want to cause her to look bad too. In a way, that is how the plot of this book develops, we have Sophy as main character and how her actions to help others are seen as positive by those who like her but as inopportune and vain by those who feel inferior somehow.

The secondary characters, though, seem to be playing a part in the drama instead of being realistic people. It really felt as if this could easily be a play in a theater, where the characters exaggerate their performance for the sake of the audience and there are a few characters who really seem to be there just to allow Sophy to shine even more or to be a contrast to her independent and confident ways. I know this was done on purpose and there are a  few scenes I feel were brilliantly acted upon but it's also true there were others that feel very embellished.

There's a hint of romance but this is not the focus and the author, having written in the 50s, certainly used tactics to allow the reader to get their own conclusions on things. It is obvious on the last page that Sophy found love but if we are to add the clues to reach that conclusion, they are quite vague and subdued and it might even seem incomprehensible how they got to that stage when nothing during the book seemed to indicate that, but it's just the style of writing. It can be sen as even more romantic especially because it isn't noticeable.

All in all, this was a successful read for me. Some scenes were great, I liked Sophy a lot, how she acted decisively and with good intentions and, of course, that she found happiness too.

Grade: 8/10

Georgette Heyer - Cotillion

Meet Kitty Charing: young, beautiful--and penniless...
The three great nephews of Mr. Penicuik know better than to ignore his summons, especially when it concerns the bestowal of his fortune. The wily old gentleman has hatched a freakish plan for his stepdaughter's future: his fortune will by Kitty Charing's dowry. To Kitty, the conditions of her guardian's will were intolerable. She had to marry one of his nephews before she could inherit a tuppence. The only nephew she wanted was handsome and virile Jack Westruther, who, however, made it quite clear that he would marry her only when he had sown his last wild oat.
But while the nephews are scrambling for her hand, Kitty has other ideas... To escape the unwelcome attentions of greedy suitors and anxious to hasten matters, Kitty pretends to become engaged to Freddy Stanton, Jack's modest and resourceful cousin, hoping thereby to make Jack jealous. But carefree Freddie turned out to be more of a man than Kitty anticipated--man enough to light the fuse that exploded her carefully laid plans...

Comment: The last book I've had to read by the author. This is a book about learning the value of doing things quietly and that just because something looks a certain way, it doesn't mean it's exactly like that.

This is the story of Kitty, a young woman living with her uncle, although he isn't her relative, he took her when her father died because he cared for her mother once. Her uncle Matthew is a rich but avaricious man and he wants to leave his fortune to Kitty and one his nephews, but only if one of them marries Kitty. Kitty has always had a crush on one of the cousins but he doesn't come to the uncle's summons to know about his will so Kitty meets by chance Freddie, another cousin and with him, they form a plan to deceive other by saying they're betrothed, although everything is a lie. Kitty goes to London with Freddie and spends many time with Freddie's sister Meg, and while there she grows up and she tries her best to help others and their problems and at the same time she starts to realize quiet Freddie is a much better man than others who are rakes and don't always say the truth.

I liked the book but I have to confess this author has two main problems that make it very hard for me to completely enjoy her books. First, the language. English is not my maternal language and it's very natural I can't understand every word and expression because I've only started learning English in the 7th grade (I was 12). And like in most countries, American English (AmE)is more global and accessible than British English (BrE) although in school we learn the grammar by the BrE rules. Therefore, many things still make me think but I also admit, I don't use the dictionary that often to know a word, only when I'm really clueless or curious. Mostly, I just infer what it means by the context in which it shows up and usually I get the meaning and don't feel I'm losing the purpose of that word in the text. Of course, as BrE is not heard so often as AmE (films, songs and tv shows help) it gets more difficult to follow a conversation in BrE. I guess the issue of dialects is sort of the same, there are many words within a certain language that can depend on the region they're spoken and for foreigners it can be tricky. So, my difficulty happens if I'm reading a text that's not only in BrE but old BrE.

The author uses many colloquialisms from the Regency times and in BrE. Not a bad thing but for someone who can't perceive all the little things, it kind of doesn't have the same impact. And also it makes the book not only hard to read but boring because I have to decipher many things and it slows me down a lot.

However, I don't let it stop me and keep going. I guess I could read in Portuguese, after all the words at least would be simpler to understand, but since I've started reading in English, I can't seem to enjoy translations that much, except in certain cases - exactly more challenging books, in terms of language.

Now, onto the second issue I have...the author has an unique voice, very sarcastic at times, and I welcome that but she takes too long to make the story more alive, more interesting. It happened in this book and the two previous ones I've read, only after half way through the book something happened that grabbed my attention and made me eager to finish...it's like half the book is just to..fill up pages. Maybe it's me - which I believe so - but if this happens to all her books than I don't foresee much will to go through it or to play guessing games about which book will meet my preferences and which don't.

About this story, like I said I liked (after reading half the book) and the story was really interesting, I liked how Kitty learned to grow up, to see who are the people to keep close and those who are better away and most important, I enjoyed the secondary love stories Kitty helped solve but in the end it was Freddie who had the key to make everything right. I especially liked how they helped a cousin that they knew wasn't the brightest and only wanted to take care of his horses and be in a farm. However, society treated him badly, made fun of him and he had to endure it for appearances. I found this issue the most intriguing one and I suppose back then many people who might not be the most intelligent would suffer so much and be treated and threatened because of that. Why go back so much, even today it happens. Still, a victory of the good hearts and for that only the book redeemed itself to me.

Kitty and Freddie's plan was good but they had to deal with so many people, so many dodging that it soon looked like it was for real. I liked their boldness and how they complemented each other, and if it begun with a plan I liked how easy it showed their feelings getting stronger and more real for the other.

Nevertheless, I'm wondering how much I want to keep reading the books but for now I'll have a break, perhaps someday I'll get back to the others, after all there are still half a dozen titles I'm very curious about.

Georgette Heyer - The Convenient Marriage

When the most eligible Earl of Rule offers for the hand of the Beauty of the Winwood Family, he has no notion of the distress he causes his intended. Miss Lizzie Winwood is promised to the impoverished Edward Heron but the Earl of Rule wants her as his wife. Lizzie's sister Horatia conceives a dazzling plan to avert a nuptial disaster, and offers herself instead.

When dazzling Horatia married the powerful Earl of Rule, she was only saving her sister from a loveless match, rescuing her family fortune, and providing herself with a life of ease. Hers was a marriage made not in heaven but in the coolly logical mind of a very self-possessed young. Everyone knows she's no beauty, but she'll do her best to keep out of the Earl's way and make him a good wife.

Not until Horatia was deep in dangerous intrigue with her husband's vengeful rival, the dashing and arrogant Lord Lethbridge, did she suddenly find -- to her own tremulous surprise -- she had fallen deeply in love with the man she had married for money. But was it too late, now that she was but a heartbeat away from betraying both him and herself? And then, Sir Robert, sets out to ruin her reputation... 

The Earl of Rule has found just the wife he wants, unbeknownst to Horatia, the Earl is enchanted by her. There's simply no way he's going to let her get into trouble. Overcoming some misguided help from Horatia's harebrained brother and a hired highwayman, the Earl routs his old enemy, and wins over his young wife, gifting her with a love that she never thought she could expect.

 Comment: I'm trying to finish the books I have by some authors and Georgette is one of them. Also, this book suited the theme for this month in the book challenge I've joined.

This is the story of Horatia and the earl Rule. Rule proposed to Lizzie, Horatia's older sister, but Lizzie is in love with someone else, someone poor but she's accepted the proposal because she feels it's her duty to her family. Horatia knows this and decides to attempt to save her sister's happiness by approaching Rule and saying that if he marries her, he'll be doing her sister a favor and he would still marry someone from her traditional and dignified family.

Rule accepts and they get married but there's an age difference between them and Horatia thinks he's to old to concern himself with her, so she tries to stay away from his life and does what she pleases. However, some people don't seem to accept the couple could be together happily and they set to show how such a difference proves Rule and Horatia should be apart. Besides, Horatia is only 17 and she lives a carefree life, which provokes a certain reckless side of her. In the end, Rule has to find a way to show Horatia how to be more steady on her behavior and to see there's a real relationship between them.

As always, the author wrote a great story, full of details and proper language to best feel the time of the story. The reader can easily understand the rules of the time and how society would react and behave in those days because everything has a sense of propriety and rightness. My favorite thing in her books is how the characters can do some adventurous thing and everything is told in a funny but disciplined way. It's like the reader can see the characters and how they dealt with the paradox of behaving badly but always with grace. At least, it feels like it.

The story was funny, specially the end offered some scenes I couldn't stop laughing at. I enjoyed seeing Rule trying to control Horatia and teaching her the lesson she needed. She acted without care but her husband was there to catch her and help. It was very subtle how they fell in love and despite the fact part of me wishes they could be more passionate about it, it wouldn't be the same thing, so...

One thing bothered me, how mistresses were portrayed in the book, I know they existed and how they would accept a married man and how a man would consider having one as normal and expected but to my modern eyes it still feels like a rock in my shoe.

In the end I was happy to have read the book and spent a great time with it. Despite this, I still think Sylvester to be a much better one.

The last one I have to read is Cottillion, I hope it's a good one too.

Georgette Heyer - Friday's Child

To orphaned, pixie-ish Hero Wantage, it seemed like a star-studded dream when dashing Viscount "Sherry" Sheringham asked her to be his bride--for although she knew it was a marriage of convenience (his convenience), it eliminated the depressing prospect of life as a governess.
But their marriage soon became a frenetic comedy of errors, as Hero tried to keep up with the fashionable and very unfamiliar society in which she now found herself. From chariot races to gambling tables to exclusive drawing rooms, an exasperated Sherry followed in his wife's wake, trying to clear the air after her well-intentioned but scatterbrained escapades. And it was with great surprise that both Hero and Sherry discovered that even a marriage of convenience can turn into a love affair, under certain circumstances ....

Comment: This was the last book I've read in december...well, that I've started, but I actually only finished it on the 2nd of january.
Anyway, It took me a great effort to start it. The beginning pages are a bit complicated and feel very boring. I had to push myself to keep reading.
The story is about Sherry, a young viscount who proposes to a young woman but she refuses him, so he gets angry and declares he will marry the next girl he sees. This girl turns out to be Miss Wantage, someone he knows since they were children. The thing is, he decides to marry her as an impulse, and gets her to London, where she starts her married live without ever been in Society, and she keeps making mistakes and doing things a Lady shouldn't do, thus making Sherry going after her all the time.
The biggest issue I had with this book was the language. It's much more formal and specific than anyhting I've read in other historicals. Even comparing it to the other book I've read by the auhtor and enjoyed (Sylvester), it seems more evident the fomality of the language. I had to read some sentences twice to get some points, which made this more difficult. However, this only happened until the main couple had their first fight. After that, it seemed to me the plot itself became simpler, and the pieces started to fit together and I managed to read faster.
The story is funny, and teaches not to give into all our impulses...I think all the relationships between the characters were well done and allowed me to have a greater picture of what was going on.
The characters, they all had a role but obviously the main couple was the funnier to watch. Sherry had many vices but with each mistake his wife does, she says it's because he said so, and he learns to grow up in order to help her. It's very amusing actually. I wasn't very convinced of their love, although in the end they declare it to each other, I think it could use some more passion, but this is the author's style so one learns not to expect it. Still, it would be interesting.
I'll certainly read more things by Gerogette Heyer but out of the three books I've read, Sylvester is still my favourite.

Georgette Heyer - Sylvester

Endowed with rank, wealth and elegance, Sylvester, Duke of Salford, posts into Wiltshire to discover if the Honorable Phoebe Marlow will meet his exacting requirements for a bride. If he does not expect to meet a tongue-tied stripling wanting both manners and conduct, then he is intrigued indeed when his visit causes Phoebe to flee her home. They meet again on the road to London, where her carriage has come to grief in the snow. Yet Phoebe, already caught in one imbroglio, now knows she soon could be well deep in another ...

Comment: This is the second book I read by this author and the first romance. I didn't particularly like the mystery I've read before, but this romance is witty, funny and the dialogues are very smart.

Sylvester is a very important duke and is used to others to see him like that. To soem he may appear arrogant but he only sees a natural way of things. Phoebe is a tomboy girl whose step mother wants to see married and out of her hands. These two apparently have notjing in common and the reader is slowly convinced of that, but as in all romances we know something is about to happen. While denying the will to marry Sylvester despite all his status and money, Phoebe starts to be confortable with him because there are no expectations. Slowly they become friends. Until that book comes out...

I was positively engrossed in this story. I didn't have trouble concentrating like it happenned with the other book, and the dialogues were very welld one. There are so many funny and witty things in the character's speeches that I found myself laughing with them, it was that good.

Two things I had problems with, personally, not that it was an issue with the book itself: the language was much more thought and worked than in any other regency book I've read. I understand this is one of the author's strongest points but I guess it takes time for the reader to get used to it...I suppose it was one of my issues with the first book.

Another thing was the end, I'd hope for more explanation on why some things were the way they were, but it suited the story's tone so I can't complain that much.

I'll certainly read more romances by this author, hopefully they will taste as good as this one. But Sylvester will always be a favourite of mine.

Georgette Heyer - Why Shoot a Butler?

Every family has secrets, but the Fountains' are turning deadly…

On a dark night, along a lonely country road, barrister Frank Amberley stops to help a young lady in distress and discovers a sports car with a corpse behind the wheel. The girl protests her innocence, and Amberley believes her—at least until he gets drawn into the mystery and the clues incriminating Shirley Brown begin to add up…

In an English country-house murder mystery with a twist, it's the butler who's the victim, every clue complicates the puzzle, and the bumbling police are well-meaning but completely baffled. Fortunately, in ferreting out a desperate killer, amateur sleuth Amberley is as brilliant as he is arrogant, but this time he's not sure he wants to know the truth…

Comment: Perhaps I didn't choose the better book to start reading this author... I mean, I've heard so many good things about her that I decided right away to pick one book and read it. I chose a mystery but perhaps I should have picked a romance.

The writing is obviously historical related and I guess quite accurate. At least much more that the usual historical book. The plot was ok but I admit it, I had some trouble to follow what everyone was doing. I'm still undecided on whether it was my fault because I wasn't paying enough attention, or if it's the language itself that just didn't appealed to me. I'll try a romance this month to try and decide if mrs Heyer is an author I should keep reading. The fact is, some authors just aren't "made" for us.

The story follows mr Amberley as he drives to visit his aunt. Then he sees a young lady next to a car on the side of the road. He talks to her but doesn't help her for th's next to a dead body and as a barrister he decides not to interfere. Later he changes his mind and helps her throughout the whole book, while solving the mystery and the resulting situation. He also wants to marry the girl. I didn't see any romance in the book, and yes I know it's not one, but what I read didn't convince me. The mystery was confusing. I mean, not the whys and hows but the whole process. I even got tired of trying to figure out how all the characters would connect! All in all not the best thing. I'll try the romance now, hopefully I'll like it much more.