The Grand Sophy, by Georgette Heyer

Sophy Stanton-Lacy, a young unmarried woman, was born in an era of extreme discretion. It is improper for a young lady to allow their affections to show, to ride a large horse, to leave town with a man. This regency woman is very different however from the women of Jane Austin's similarly set novels. She is not concerned with appearances. Her indiscretions range from riding her horse too fast in the park, to standing up to a loan shark armed with a pistol, to running away with the man her cousin has feelings for. All her actions are for good reason though. In the end, everyone ends up married to the right person and no one's reputaion is irreparably damaged.

I enjoyed this novel as well as several other of Georgette Heyer's works. "Devil's Cub" was probably my favorite. All her novels have smart, strong women characters. The men characters are also strong, but usually are won over and somehow made better by the female heroine. I likes the way that the women worked around the restraints of their society to achieve the desired results. Most of the problems in these novels would not exist in today's world, but that is part of what makes them interesting to read.

4 Stars