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by Georgette Heyer...for once, the headstrong beauty gets dumped!
If you're weary of impetuous darlings winning the protagonist, try this novel. Lovely Tiffany does not win the charming gentleman, although I thought at the beginning it was another of "those." You know, the selfish chit catches the fella's eye and falls for him, and he teaches her the error of her ways.
In this case, the Nonesuch has a younger, equally handsome relation who forms an entertaining subplot. He falls hard for Tiffany, but a quieter, sweeter girl makes an appearance...a pastor's daughter. (Right up my alley.)
The Nonesuch...This appellation bestowed on Waldo conveys that the man has no equal, sets the fashion and the manners in any circle he graces. Unknown to the country folk orbiting his glow, he has a secret yen to house orphans in his recently inherited estate. This causes a misunderstanding with Miss Trent, who takes a long time anyhow to shine up to Waldo. She's a governess, so the society matrons think she's either looking above her station, or asking for carte blanche.
The dialogue and changing characters are quite charming and humorous, more briskly paced than in The Quiet Gentleman. No sense in me thoroughly revealing the plot--look it up on Amazon. Ancilla embodies grace under harassment as she attempts to corrale her beautiful and willful charge. It's always gratifying when a rich, handsome gentleman shows the good sense to be attracted to the quietly resourceful woman of sterling qualities, even though she lacks a fortune.
The expressions are quite a bit to unravel, but I love learning the lingo of a new (to me) time period. The setting for "The Nonesuch" is in the country rather than London, and presents a different view of gentry and gentlemen. I highly recommend...I'm finding out that every Heyer novel has a genius of its own. And Tiffany gets her just desserts!
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