Grand Sophy

The Grand Sophy is one of Heyer's best books, albeit there are a few things in it which date it. It is a family based story set soon after the Napoleonic wars had ended. Sophy Stanton Lacy is the daughter of a widowed diplomat, and has grown up living mostly in Portugal. Her father, Sir Horace, comes to London to visit his sister, and to ask her to take Sophy in for a while. He is due to go on a mission to Brazil and can't take her. Elizabeth, his sister, is married with a large family, and she is willing to look after her niece. She says though that she is not entertaining very much so she's not sure if she can bring her out in Society. Horace learns that his eldest nephew, Charles, is engaged to a young woman from a very prudish family, called Eugenia Wraxton. Her family have suffered a bereavement and are in mourning so she is not going out very much. Also, Horace's niece Cecilia, who is Sophy's age, is in love with a young man who has no money, so the family are trying to keep social activities to a minimum so that Cecilia won't meet her admirer. Cecilia, who is a beauty, has had a proposal from a well to do young man, Lord Charlbury, but she is infatuated with the young Augustus Fawnhope. He is very handsome and a would be poet. Horace hasn't seen much of his sister in years, and he only learns now that Lord Ombersley, her husband, has had a lot of financial problems. Lord Ombersley had an old uncle who had made a fortune in India. He left the money to Charles, because he thought that he was sensible. Charles paid off the worst debts and pressed his father into letting him run the estates. However, he persuades Lady Ombersley to take Sophy into her care and to take her into Society. She is 20 and has been out for some time but on the Continent.