Where I Applaud the Plucky Heroine and Morally Upright Hero

The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the third Georgette Heyer book I've read, and I just keep on enjoying them. Yes, I'm surprised. Not really my genre. This book is a lot of fun, and I'm amazed it hasn't been made into a movie or mini-series or something. Probably a story in that.

I love reading books filled with admirable (but still realistic) characters, and the author creates several here. Sir Waldo is pretty full of himself, but he is a genuinely good guy trying to make a difference in the world, and it's easy to root for him. Ancilla (terrible name but great character) has come down a bit in the world but isn't above working hard to make the best of things, and she has terrific patience for her young charge. The rector's daughter is even more admirable (IMO), and ends up playing Jane Bennet to Ancilla's Elizabeth. (Sir Waldo's cousin is the Bingley character in this scenario.) They are fun to watch in part because you want to see the good guys rewarded and the bad guys be disappointed. I do, anyway, and (not a spoiler) this novel provides that.

The plot requires some screwups and near-villains, and we find this best exemplified by Tiffany Wield, a beautiful but spoiled young heiress waiting for her money while making every young man fall in love with her. She represents the worst tendencies found in all of them--an over-emphasis on appearance, suffering from the selfishness that comes from unearned wealth, and a toxic level of class prejudice. They *all* suffer from this to some extent except maybe the rector's daughter, but we forgive the main characters because they're trying. If they don't quite see the violence inherent in the system, they at least see that things are a bit unfair and try to do better than their neighbors.

At least, that's how I see it.

Ancilla doesn't think it's proper for her, as a governess, to fall in love with a wealthy lord. She's almost more afraid that people will think she's overreaching than that he won't love her back and that creates much of the tension. It's this whole thing. And then the misunderstanding comes....

It's good drama. I liked it.

I'm informed (just today, by accident and to my disappointment) that some of the author's books include anti-Semitic tropes and beliefs, something which I haven't seen yet but suspect is a fair charge based on the source. She is also accused of holding that all virtues reside in the wealthy and all the vices in the poor, but that isn't the case here; not only are many of the wealthy characters made to be seen as very unlikable--heavy drinkers, gamblers, gossips, and thoughtlessly selfish idlers who accomplish nothing with their privilege--but Sir Waldo is notably a philanthropist who sees the potential in underprivileged youths and sets up schools to give them a chance to succeed. This argues against the accusation on both accounts. However, the author has many books that I haven't read yet, so I dunno about the rest.

I will say this: it is tiresome to have class and social standing play such a prominent role in novels set in Regency England, and it's annoying to have the characters accept such an unjust system as perfectly natural. But I can't blame them or the author who invented them; that is a feature of the setting, and I pick up the novels knowing that. Also, the characters who break out of the strict class structure to some degree are generally counted most virtuous. They are the characters we're meant to... admire. Which I do.

To sum up--fun characters, good drama, and an emotionally satisfying conclusion. Ya gotta like that.

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