The Nonesuch [Paperback]

Society in Oversett may not be what Sir Waldo is accustomed to, but the local residents are very quick to include him in their activities: balls, routs, simple country dinners, the ridotto that no-one came to, and quiet evening entertainments. It helps that Sir Waldo is known in London circles as 'The Nonesuch', a great Corinthian admired by many. And his nephew, Lord Lindeth, a charming and handsome young man, is of course the delight of the young unmarried girls.

However, Sir Waldo appears to be most intrigued by Ancilla Trent, who is, she informs him, a most superior governess/companion. Her charge is the Beautiful Miss Tiffany Wield, quite the most lovely girl Sir Waldo has ever seen... but whose personality by no means matches her looks.

This is where Heyer's talent for humour comes to the fore. Tiffany is an incredibly selfish and self-centred young woman, and Waldo and Ancilla frequently join forces in a hilarious manner in order to make her see the error of her ways - not to criticise her, for she would refuse to listen, but to persuade her that such behaviour would cause her to lose her looks, or to make the mythical Marquis she wishes to marry to have a disgust of her.

Ancilla certainly finds Waldo's company congenial - and more than that, he makes her laugh. But it never occurs to her that his interest in her is any greater than the fact that she is intelligent and can actually make conversation - after all, one of these days he will return to London and forget all about the governess he knew briefly. However, she doesn't know Waldo...

This is a lovely, entertaining read, full of deliciously entertaining character studies (Tiffany, Mrs Underhill, the Squire, Mrs Chartley, Laurie Calver and many more), witty dialogue, a gentle secondary romance and, of course, the main love story, between Ancilla and Waldo. This is another of Heyer's 'older heroine' novels, subtle, romantic and very enjoyable. Highly recommended!

I really think that the whole of my adult reading life has been spent looking for something to fill in the gap left on Georgette Heyer's death. I first read Austen in high school and discovered Heyer in my freshman year at university when someone suggested to me that she was "the next best thing to Austen". I guess that was a truth self-evident.

I've read thousands of romances, sandwiched in between the serious history and biography I adore, on buses, trains, in the car, in waiting rooms, during hurried lunch hours and in bed at night to relax after another stressful, hectic day. But, really, if I am honest with myself, there are just a very, very few authors that are on my keeper shelf. Hundreds of authors have come and gone for me. Some I have dismissed after reading a chapter as too puerile, too facetious, too ill-researched, too derelict in the simple use of the English language.

Heyer, however, rarely disappointed. I adore her later books, filled with characters of great wit, insight, morality and self-knowledge who mature and come together through real life experiences - all conveyed in prose of the very highest standard. I guess that's it - Heyer's exquisitely wrought prose telling stories of genuine human emotional experience, all carefully and perfectly set in the Regency world - immaculately researched and painted for the eager reader.

The Nonesuch is, of course, one of my favourites - and I expect I would say that about most of her works. But Sir Waldo and Ancilla so perfectly epitomise adult love, good works and social constraints and decent moral standards that you have to love them. Village life is portrayed beautifully - so much remains the same!

Rant, rant, rant. Every time I go back to Heyer, I am demoralised when I pick up a modern "wanna be". What to do about that?

The book is placed for the most part in Yorkshire, which at this point in time started to see the appearance of the Neuveau Riche, who had made their money from the wool or other trades that were happening in the area. As always Georette Heyer is accurate historically, I like the difference between what is acceptable at a private dance and a public dance for example. The language used is correct, the minor characters are interesting in themselves. Laurence Calver for example definitely has my sympathy.

From the dust cover of the Heinemann edition....

Old Joseph Calver's will is a surprise to all his relations and a disappointment to most of them. Its consequences also cause a great stir in the parish of Oversett in the West Riding when the news arrives that Sir Waldo Hawkridge is coming north to inspect his inheritance, the late Mr Calver's decaying residence, Broom Hill. For Sir Waldo is the most discussed man in London Society, wealthy, handsome, still a bachelor, the acknowledged leader of the Corinthian set, and known as the Nonesuch for his athletic prowess.

At the Manor and the Rectory, and particularly at Staples, the home of Mrs Underhill, where her tempestuous, beautiful niece, Tiffany Wield, and her governess-companion, Miss Ancilla Trent, are also living, there is excited anticipation of the increase in social activity which the presence of the Nonesuch will bring. The young men of the neighbourhood look forward to learning from him all the latest refinements of dress and the most daring new tricks to be performed with well-bred horses, while their elders express their doubts about the expensive habits in which they expect the None-such to encourage their wives and children. Both excitement and doubts increase when it is heard that Sir Waldo is accompanied by his young cousin, Lord Lindeth.

Miss Heyer writes with her usual wit and grace of the commotion which the arrival of the two fashionable strangers inspires, of Sir Waldo's real intentions and of the unexpected train of events to which they lead. The Nonesuch ranks amongst the most entertaining and accomplished of her Regency romances.