Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Argument for Ajax, 6 Feb 2005
By A Customer
This one has always been one of my favourite Heyers, starting from the opening scene. The heir of old Lord Darracot has died on a solitary fishing trip and Lord Darracot's first reaction is: "Damn him! Damn him! DAMN HIM!". We are straight into the cantangerous heart of strained family relations.
The reason some Heyer readers have probably been dissappointed in this is that they have been looking for a traditional romance. Although this book has that, it takes second role in relation to the comedy of family behaviour. Never mawkish, Heyer plays with her cast of characters, recognising the fact that while relationships between family members can change, even rather suddenly, their characters do not...
This is one of Heyer's hero-led novels and there is a feeling that she sets out to counter her usual hero-types, as she does in The Foundling. And who could not love Hugh, our larger than life hero, the Ajax of the title. Hugh is in a way the male version of the irrepressible Sophy of the Grand Sophy and the antithesis of most Heyer heroes, blond, deceptively simple seeming and probably the least egocentric of all Heyer's men.
I love this book for Hugh, for his non-contrived relatioship with the clever Anthea, her cousin Vincent (One of THE usual Heyer-hero types, revealing some distictly unattractive traits...), for the whole Darracot family, in fact! For the pitch perfect comedy - the climax, as the Ajax takes the reigns of the family, is fantastic. For its intelligent observations on how shifts of power play havoc with extended family relations, cutting other members to size and allowing others openings they never imagined...
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hitherto unknown grandson become heir to an estate, 9 May 2000
This is one of my favorite of Heyer's book. I read it for the first time as a sophomore in highschool. I was up until past two a.m. as I couldn't put it down. The next day, my ribs ached from laughing. 24 years later it is still delightful. (I do wish I could read it again for the first time!)Captain Hugo Darracott is heir to his estate, much to the unpleasant Lord Daracott's dismay. Son of Darracott's once favorite son, he is the child of a Yorkshire miller's daughter. Lord Darracott, deciding that Hugo needs to be "whipped into shape" assigns one family member, Claude, the would be leader of the dandy set, to address Hugo's broad Yorkshire speech. Lord Darracott also decides to have Hugo marry his penniless granddaughter Althea. Neither Hugo, nor Althea are delighted by this edict. It doesn't take long for Althea to discover that Hugo isn't everything he seems. Add smuggling, a ghost, and an over-eager young Land Guard officer, and you have a delightful story.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
very funny, unusual hero., 16 Nov 2007
Of course all of Heyer's stories are funny, which is one of their greatest charms, and what sets them apart from the many lesser writers of romance. This one is one of the funniest. It has even less in common with other inferior romances, because it doesn't have the usual cynical romantic hero and young ingenue for a heroine. This is no loss at all if you appreciate Heyer for what she does best - comedy, engaging characters, and excellent writing. Heyer does the hard-bitten hero very well of course, but it is nice to read about an unassuming, gentle hero for a change. As one other reviewer has pointed out - the usual hero figure is there all right - probably a more accurate portrait of what a cynical hero-figure would really be like. And you wouldn't want him! The Darracot family are thrown into disarray by the startling news that the rightful heir to the title is an unlettered, vulgar son of a 'common' weaver. They are gathered at their ancestral home, resentfully awaiting his arrival. Naturally, things are not quite as they seem, and far from being a disaster for the family, it seems like Hugo might be the one to save them from themselves. Anthea, the heroine, plays a lesser role in this story. But she is the typical lively, clever Heyer heroine, who is unnaccountably on the shelf - or almost. If you like Hugo, you will also like Gareth Ludlow (Sprig Muslin).
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