Friday, February 18, 2011

"There was a twinkle in the Nonesuch's eye as he scanned the countenances of his assembled relations ..."

I needed a nice, light read to get me past a small slump and so I chose The Nonesuch from my TBR stacks. It's a fairly standard Georgette Heyer romance and, though I had trouble getting into it at first, I ended up as yet another admirer of the Nonesuch.

If you have read every Jane Austen novel and are looking for something similar, this would be a good choice -- especially since the plot is quite reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice! A rich bachelor, Sir Waldo, heads to a country home that he has just inherited, accompanied by his kind and titled cousin, Lord Lindeth. They are immediately set upon by all of the mothers of eligible girls around. But, of course, Sir Waldo (known in the London Corinthian set as "The Nonesuch" -- meaning "ideal: model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal") falls for the smart and reserved Miss Trent, a mere governess/companion of gentle birth but with no fortune. Against her better judgment and her opinion of Corinthians (playboys), she also falls for him. But their romance will have to be put aside while they deal with the antics of the young heiress, Tiffany Wield, who is as spoiled and selfish as she is beautiful.

This summary is nothing like the one on the back of the book. This is because the one on the back of the book takes a situation that happens in the last 50 pages of the book and presents it as the entire plot of the book. Not only that, but it is inaccurate in what happens anyway (but that's a rant for another day). This was a light-hearted romance with enjoyable characters and one truly odious one, Heyer's specialty. Tiffany Wield is so despicable and self-centered that she has the reader rooting against her for the duration of the story! You will have to pick up this book to find out if she gets her just desserts in the end.

Riding off in a phaeton,
K


Support our site and buy The Nonesuch on Amazon or find it at your local library. We bought our own copy.

5 comments:

  1. I love Austen and everyone (including me) assumed I'd love G Heyer. Alas, it is not to be, I tried three books by her and there's always something that just gets to me. Usually it's my republican side that cannot cope with Heyer's views on the connection between nobility and blood.

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  2. I love Georgette Heyer. I am sad I moved away from my mother's large collection of Heyer novels before reading them all. But Mumsy just sent me one (not this one, another one), so yay! Treat for a rainy day!

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  3. I too like Georgette Heyer very much and have most of her books!

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  4. Georgette Heyer novels are definitely in the comfort read category. When I'm sick or low or just tired, one of her novels is the perfect remedy. I have this one, but haven't read it yet.

    I think the summaries on the back are pretty worthless too--either wrong, as you point out, or full of spoilers. They ought to just talk about Heyer and be done with it.

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  5. Alexandra - I didn't start reading Heyer until last year and while I don't love most of her books, I think they are a good cozy read.

    Jenny - Aw, what a good Mumsy! I don't have any I haven't read on my shelves right now so I'm going to have to go searching for my next one.

    Mystica - I have plenty more to read, especially of the romances. It's nice to have more ahead!

    Jane - Seriously. Like it really matters what the plots are in her books. They are all rather similar (unlikely romance happens in a totally obvious way) so you're just as likely to pick one as another! Great comfort reads.

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