Sophia's father has to travel to Brazil and leaves his daughter in charge with her sister in a large family and asks her to find her a husband. The months she lives there are chaotic because she wants to arrange the life of her cousins and does not stop in her decisions for anything. She is an educated, fearless, brilliant woman who gives no importance to conventionality.
It is one of the author's best works. The protagonist is magnificently well constructed and the other characters well profiled. It is a historical novel although for some critics it is also romantic. The style is entertaining, ingenious and the plot is excellent, full of subtleties and fun: that's why it attracts the reader. It is a satire on the English society of the early 19th century, marked by male domination.
The author (1902-1974) has a very good writing style and knows the Regency period in detail. She narrates customs and ways of life typical of the country at that time. The novel has been republished with great success.