The Grand Sophy

The Grand Sophy 

by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel was silly and predictable. It was also thoroughly delightful. Sophy is a fabulous character who causes trouble everywhere she goes but truly has the best of intentions. Her relatives are fun and interesting characters and the whole complicated mess of their lives is taken in hand by "the Grand Sophy" and sorted out to a happy conclusion. The process of getting there may terrify them more than a little; but it is great fun for the reader.

I had not read any of Heyer's romances before (some credit her with basically creating the Regency Romance genre). I did read (and enjoyed) Why Shoot a Butler? which is one of her mystery novels. Heyer's work in both genres will definitely be on my reading list in the future. 

This book is from my Classics Club list; it counts toward the Back to the Classics Challenge (as a classic by a woman author); and it is on my TBR Pile Challenge list.

Review: Why Shoot a Butler?

Why Shoot a Butler? 
by Georgette Heyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good, old-fashioned mystery story complete with false leads, chases, secrets, and a little romance thrown in for good measure. The book--both the plot and the writing--seemed made to be a movie, probably with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. According to the Definitive Fan Website for Georgette Heyer, there have only been 2 movies based on her novels and this isn't one of them. 

I hadn't read Heyer before, but I would definitely read her again. 

This book counts toward the Vintage Mystery challenge in the category  The Butler Did It...Or Not: a mystery where the butler is the victim, the sleuth....(gasp) the criminal....or is just downright memorable for whatever reason.

Challenge: Vintage Mysteries 2013

My Reader's Block is hosting the Vintage Mystery 2013 Challenge which I have decided to take on. Basically the challenge is to read 8 vintage mysteries (defined as written before 1960) during 2013 which fit into a set of categories (one book per category) defined on the challenge page.

I am little concerned about being able to actually get my hands on copies of the books to meet this challenge, but I am excited about reading more vintage mysteries. Some of the titles I am considering at this point are Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer, The Black Dudley Murder by Margery Allingham (a locked room mystery from 1929), and Nine Wrong Answers by John Dickson Carr. There were a lot of vintage mystery authors discussed in the Alfred Hitchcock bio I just finished which I may want to read as well: British author Edgar Wallace known as "king of the thriller" (p. 124); Edwin Greenwood, author of various mysteries including The Deadly Dowager and Miracle in the Drawing Room (p.160); The Wheel Spins (1936) by Ethel Lina White upon which The Lady Vanishes was based (p. 206); Francis Iles' Before the Fact (1932, p. 267) or Malice Aforethought (1931, p. 278). Books by Dorthy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Agatha Christie are also strong possibilities.