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Like most of you, I have a slew of books on my TBR shelves. Some of them are library books, and the library gets snippy about them not being returned on time.

So why did I spend the day rereading THE GRAND SOPHY?

Maybe because when I read Georgette Heyer I can study her craft, to try and learn how she makes secondary characters leap off the page with every bit as much life as primary characters. Maybe it's because I love how she milks the English language for all it's worth, expecting the reader to rise to her level, and not dumbing down.

Maybe because it's just a damned entertaining read that still makes me grin at key passages.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad Heyer's books are being reissued, and I hope a new generation comes to love her writing as much as my generation of romance readers and writers did.

Oh, and if you haven't read it, THE GRAND SOPHY was written in 1950 and is the story of a strong willed young woman in Regency England who sets out to make sure people around her end up with the right mates, not neglecting her own needs in the process. And she does it with style, flair, ducklings and the occasional pistol. Read THE GRAND SOPHY. You'll smile, and you'll thank me for it later.

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