The UnexceptionableSir Waldo. Sportsman, gentleman, and philanthropist!? Wonderful character and really made the story a joy to read.The heroine! Ancilla Trent was in a word: elegance. Even if she’s in the horrid position of governess or “companion” to a total, complete, and in all ways conceivable: spoiled brat.Secondary characters! Plenty of fun side characters and even another romance.Hilarious. Well, it’s a Heyer novel so of COURSE it’s funny! Happy ending! ;-)The Passable Annoying country society. Meaning a bunch of fussbudgets that like to gossip so much they don’t see how abjectly ridiculous they are. And naturally they all tend to hate Miss Trent for no better reason than: she’s elegant. You know, the usual sort in Regency settings.… or anywhere really. :-)The Most Annoying Chit EVER: Tiffany Wield. WOW did I not like this character! She’s a spoiled brat so wrapped up in herself it is impossible for her to comprehend how ill mannered she is. She was very fond of throwing tantrums in front of everyone when she didn’t get her way. I am at a complete loss as to how any of the men could have put up with that for more than 5 seconds, let alone DANGLE after her.Abrupt ending. The ending wasn’t as cut off as Black Sheep but still a tad jarring. As always I’d have preferred the story to have lasted longer than it did.Hero K-Rating!Does Sir Waldo pass the Mr. George Knightley Standard?That would be a: PASS!! And with flying colors even!No affairs, no mistresses, honorable, virtuous, and the list goes on and on. An extraordinary gentleman! :-DContentAside from some “damns” no real cussing unless you think phrases like “what the deuce” are shocking. :-D Since Sir Waldo passes the K-Test of course nothing improper with the romance at all. A well matched couple which is my favorite sort. Otherwise totally clean as usual for most Heyer’s novels. :-)One of my favorite Heyer’s to date chiefly due to the wonderful Sir Waldo. It’s very nice having such a great gentleman as the hero. Not to diminish Miss Trent of course who was splendid. Wonderful romance, funny situations, great secondary characters. Highly recommended! ;-)Spoiler Comments(view spoiler)[Hard to pick favorite scenes in this one. The first meeting between Sir Waldo and Miss Trent was wonderful. Sparks were certainly flying from the beginning! Waldo was also a wealth of fun quotes:Sir Waldo talking to Miss Trent at the ball: “With you or no one! Come!” Granted not terribly romantic but.. well said! :-)“Your eyes, ma’am – as well you know!! – cried Help me! What could I do but respond to the appeal?”“I have a – a certain proposition to lay before you, ma’am! No, I shan’t tell you what it is tonight: I can see you would bite my nose off!”Talking to the horrid Tiffany: “They say – everyone says I’m beautiful!’He managed to preserve his countenance, but his lips twitched slightly. ‘Yes, of course,’ he replied. ‘It’s well known that all heiresses are beautiful!”I was VERY glad to see Miss Chartley and Julian get engaged. I liked Miss Chartley from the start. Though anyone would be amazing in contrast to the horrid Tiffany!And I’ll end with a quote from the hideous Tiffany: “How dare you speak to me like that? I’m not a scrub! I’m not, I’m not!” You are, you ARE! :-D (hide spoiler)]
2 ½ stars. I was angry with the refusal to communicate. But the rest was enjoyable.STORY BRIEF:Nonesuch is defined as a model of excellence or perfection. Sir Waldo is called the Nonesuch because of his sporting accomplishments and skill with horses. He is wealthy. He establishes and supports orphanages that care for, educate, and provide children with skills. He recently inherited Broom Hall, a rundown estate near the town of Oversett. Waldo stays there to oversee repairs and improvements. He plans to turn it into an orphanage. His cousin Julian accompanies him. While there, Waldo and Julian meet and interact with a number of people who live in Oversett.Ancilla had a season but didn’t fall in love. Her family is low on money so she gets a job as a teacher in a girls’ school. Tiffany attended this school and was so bad she got kicked out. Tiffany was sent to live with her aunt Mrs. Underhill in Oversett. Since Ancilla was the only person Tiffany would listen to, Mrs. Underhill hires Ancilla to be Tiffany’s governess/companion. Tiffany’s parents died leaving her wealthy. She is vain, selfish, narcissistic, irritating, obnoxious, spoiled, and extremely beautiful. She throws tantrums when she doesn’t get her way. She expects all men to fall in love with her.REVIEWER’S OPINION:Like other Heyer books I love the various personalities, their interactions, and their conversations. I enjoyed watching Ancilla influence Tiffany. For example, Tiffany was upset that she wasn’t invited to someone’s party. Ancilla told her that the party would be held in a green room that would clash with Tiffany’s blue dress and why it would be better to … Tiffany accepted this. Tiffany’s behavior throughout the book was bad which was fun reading.Julian is blinded by Tiffany’s beauty. Waldo sees through Tiffany immediately. Tiffany is confused by Waldo’s hot vs. cold treatment of her.Waldo falls in love with Ancilla, but she won’t have him. The author used my pet peeve of a “big misunderstanding based on miscommunication.” When Waldo asked her what was wrong. I was angry that she would not tell him. This continued for much too long. For this reason I gave it 2 stars. If you don’t mind the big misunderstanding and her refusal to answer questions, but you’re a Heyer fan, then you should like it.As far as romance goes, this is typical Heyer with a friendship developing through the book, and a declaration of love at the very last moment. I would have liked more story between the couple after they declared their feelings. I also wanted to know what Waldo was going to do for Laurence at the end. Laurence wanted to borrow money for a business.The book description is somewhat misleading. It mentions “An impetuous flight” and “A Gallant rescue.” This happens at the very end of the book. Most of the story is about other things happening before that.I love the narrator Eve Matheson. I’d almost recommend this just to spend time with her. She has a lovely British accent and does all the voices well.DATA:Unabridged audiobook length: 10 hours 49 minutes. Narrator: Eve Matheson. Swearing language: mild. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1816-1817 England. Book Published: 1962. Genre: regency romance.
What do You think about The Nonesuch (2005)?
I think Ancilla + Waldo were the chosen character names because Georgette ran out of other ideas. Maybe because this one was published nearing the end of her career. Regardless, they are crazy names, which Heyer is known for--except this time, I tend to think someone in a book named Ancilla or Waldo, would be the evil characters. And they aren't. Both characters are actually some of Heyer's nicest. I get the feeling while reading, that Heyer was largely channeling Jane Eyre and a bit of Persuasion.This one has some good dialog, but only when certain people are present in the novel.Sadly, halfway in, the pacing really slows down and I really didn't love it.This is a later Heyer, and she wrote a lot of older heroine taking care of younger girl stories when she got older. While that formula can work sometimes, the ones Heyer writes don't sparkle half as much as her other younger Heroine stories, aside from The Grand Sophy. The ending bit picks up speed and is fun to read. This makes the book half enjoyable. Its the middle of the book that seems so long. The misunderstanding is, at first, annoying. But then Heyer turns it around and it's hilarious. The ending pretty much has all the shining moments. Tiffany is horridly difficult to read. She needs a huge smack. Her scenes make you annoyed and want to rush thru the novel, but Waldo has the best scenes, despite his silly name.Definitely not the best Heyer, maybe this one would be for the ones wanting to read all her books and judge for themselves.
—Kelli
I'm enjoying rediscovering Heyer in audiobook. The dialogue lends itself to this medium and with a good narrator can keep you smiling.Some people complain that Waldo is almost too good. I like that in a hero. Especially when he can be a manly man at the same time. Cos Waldo is very much a man. He is 'top-of-the-trees' in most forms of sport he undertakes so he will be *cough* well built and physically fit with lots of stamina.Ancilla is rather adorable, having put aside her hopes and dreams of love and marriage to be an independent woman and not be a burden on her family. She deserves the best of happy endings. I love how Waldo brings out the mischievous side of her and her sense of humour which no-one else has ever really appreciated.Some have criticise her reaction to the misinformation about Waldo's secret. I think her reaction and reluctant belief is very credible. Heyer makes sure we understand that Ancilla's only real experience with the Corinthian Set of which Waldo is a leader, is though her cousin Bernard and his friends. These are very likely the kind of loose young men who would do what Ancilla believes Waldo to have done and not see it as very wrong. Combine this with the kindly meant warnings of Mrs Chartley, the half understood ramblings of Waldo's nephew, and it's not surprising that Ancilla is forced to believe the worst.The romance itself is very sweet, growing day by day to it's natural conclusion rather than a thunder-clap of Love at first sight. We can see how perfectly matched they are which makes it doubly hard when things go wrong.Ancilla's charge, Tiffany, is annoying and irritating but not enough to spoil the book, especially as we are meant to find her so. The other characters are well drawn and enjoyable.
—Fiona Marsden
Ahhhh, Georgette Heyer! I've read enough of her books to expect that each one will give me hours of pleasant reading (or listening) and there will always be at least a touch of romance, even in the mysteries. Although I wouldn't place The Nunesuch in my top favorites, I do see it as one with some uniqueness in characters and situations, a demonstration of Heyer's creativity with presenting possibilities, problems and resolutions.This one is a romance, and one in which the main romantic couple is beyond the age of the silliness of Regency debutants and young, foolish rich young men. Instead of centering on a man and woman who fall in love after seeming to hate each other and bandy with much sarcasm, as many of these types of stories do (including many of the Heyer romances) there is a spark of attraction from the beginning that triumphs through overcoming preconceived notions and a comedy-of-errors type of miscommunication. If for no other reason, I raced through this novel to reach the anticipated satisfactory resolution.So many times I have read stories where there is a character who behaves so badly, either from selfishness or evil motives, that I find I love to hate them. However, I think this is the first time I wanted to jump into the story myself, grab the spoiled, tantrum-throwing young woman by the shoulders and shake her until her teeth rattled and to give those characters who put up with the tantrums a good talking to. This must be a sign that the writing is so exceptional that the characters feel as if they are real.I would not recommend this one as a first Heyer read, but if you like Heyer, definitely include this in your to-read list.
—Sally
