By Elizabeth Jewell
opening with accessibility
Co-Regional Coordinator Sara Tavela opened with a brief discussion of the work of the Accessibility group and read the Accessibility Statement. It, and further details, are available here on the JASNA-NC website. Comments and accessibility requests from members are welcome.
talking about heyer and controversy
Nancy Young led our discussion of The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer. Heyer (1902-1974) introduced
the genre of Regency romance novels and did meticulous research into the history, fashion, and cant of the period. She also wrote historical novels and mysteries, but it was her Regency novels that were the
most popular of her works. Members ranged from those who were introduced to Heyer as teens (often
by their mother, librarian, or a friend) to those for whom this was their first reading of a Heyer novel.
Member Jane Axelrod noted that she belongs to an online Heyer discussion group that can be found here.
Austen was Heyer’s favorite novelist. She herself published fifty-five books total; she was responsible for supporting her two younger brothers and generally made more money than her husband, who changed
careers several time before becoming a barrister.
We began by tackling the disturbing portrayal of the Jewish moneylender, Goldhanger, in The Grand Sophy. It’s possible this was simply normal for the period in which she wrote (though this novel was published in 1950, after WWII and the Holocaust) or that Heyer herself was anti-Semitic. The scene with Goldhanger marred the novel for many readers. Comparisons were made to the character of Fagin in Dickens’s Oliver Twist, another unflattering portrayal of a Jewish person, and Dickens sought to edit out the anti-Semitic references towards Fagin in a later reprint. One member mentioned that Dickens later introduced another Jewish character with a much more positive portrayal (Riah in Our Mutual Friend), but that one is not nearly so well remembered.
a modern nod to austen?
We examined the similarities of Heyer to Austen: time period; female perspective; Sophy’s similarity to
Emma in arranging the love interests of others; the fact that Charles, like some Austen heroes, appears
headed for marriage to an unappealing woman with whom he’s not really compatible; Cecelia’s
similarity to Marianne Dashwood; the clashes normal in the meetings between Sophy and Charles being similar to those between Elizabeth and Darcy. Differences between Heyer and Austen included that Sophy doesn’t change/grow as a character; Heyer’s detailed costume descriptions; Heyer’s inclusion of Regency slang or cant; and Sophy’s independence (because, it’s noted, her father raised her that way). Some of Heyer’s tropes mentioned were the saturnine hero, the adventurous heroine, the costume “porn,” and a final mad chase (though some thought Sophy’s trip into the country with Charlbury didn’t rise to that description).
There was an unusual amount of backstory in the first chapter, including twenty-four named characters
being mentioned (most of whom appeared later in the book). Many of the conflicting elements were set
up then, including Charles being in charge of the family’s finances (as his father was a gambler and
Charles had inherited a fortune); Cecelia’s proposed marriage to Charlbury that had been threatened by
his measles and her infatuation with the beautiful poet, Fawnhope; Eugenia, the fiancée of Charles,
being disliked by his family; and Sophy’s father’s engagement to Sancia, who does not want an
unmarried stepdaughter on her hands.
discussing characters
The family awaits the arrival of “little Sophy,” expecting a shy young woman, and is somewhat taken
aback when she arrives, tall, fashionably dressed, self-assured, and bearing a parrot and monkey (as gifts
for the children) as well as a greyhound dog and a beautiful black horse, Salamanca. One early clue to
Charles’s character is that the animals like him.
We discussed how Eugenia was like Sophy: both manipulative and both think they are right all the time.
But while some found Sophy’s manipulations unbearable, others pointed out that she genuinely wanted
others to be happy (which is more than you can say for Eugenia). Sophy was described as lively, vibrant,
vivacious, spoiled, manipulative, extroverted, and arrogant. She was worldly, having lived in a number of
countries. Many readers were not pleased that she had a gun and especially that she shot Charlbury,
with one member noting that Charlbury survived because the author made it so.
Charles values Sophy’s good heart, and most of us agreed that he would not expect her to become
submissive, even if she appears that way briefly at the end of the novel. Is she an interfering busybody?
Possibly, but not to the extent Eugenia is. She wasn’t seen as a feminist, but rather as an
individualist—there’s no sense that she advocates all women act as independently as she does. She does
follow some conventions, as in her dress, her treatment of the Almack’s patronesses, how she behaves
at the opera, or in asking her uncle’s permission to pay for the ball.
We discussed the marriage of first cousins (still legal in the UK) and whether the four couples headed for marriage (or already married, in the case of Sancia and Sir Vincent) would ultimately be happy. Other Heyer books recommended included The Talisman Ring and The Unknown Ajax.
Next Up
JASNA-NC’s next meeting will be December 11, in person at Gisele’s house or online for those further afield or unable to attend in person. We’ll be discussing costuming with member Tracy Mahl leading. Coming up in January, we will discover which Austen character we’re most like with personality assessments, led by Kim Guyer.
Our next Virtual Book Club will be in February when we shall discuss a to-be-selected contemporary of Austen, perhaps some poetry (Byron, anyone?). Stay tuned for more details and a poll to determine that reading selection!
