Among the children of the Ombersleys is the beautiful Cecelia, now of marriageable age. She was just about engaged to an extremely eligible and devoted man when her head is turned by a beautiful, dreamy young poet, a younger son of a good family who has no prospects whatsoever. Even his poetry is bad. At the same time, her more eligible suitor has the misfortune of contracting the mumps and having to withdraw from society for a time, which Cecelia takes as a personal affront.
The fortunes of this beleaguered family are about to change. Lady Ombersley’s brother, a diplomat, has been called to Brazil. He must leave his daughter, his little Sophy, behind in England and asks his sister to watch over her for a time and, since it’s time to think of marrying her off, to look about for a match for her. Inconvenient as the request is, Lady Ombersley can not reject her niece or refuse to do her brother the favor.
So Sophy arrives. She is a confident, self-possessed whirlwind, the likes of which London has never seen. A delightful schemer, she assesses the situation in the house at once, and sets her mind to making things right. The household is turned upside down with amusing and fairly predictable results, but it’s a madcap adventure getting to the happy-ever-after. This is classic Heyer Romance and can’t be beat for a light-hearted holiday read.
This is the only Georgette Heyer that I”ve ever read, and I really enjoyed it. Admittedly, I picked it up originally because I had read some Harry Potter fan fiction that was based on this story, and I enjoyed that so much that I thought I should read the original. Very fun and entertaining.
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