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The Unknown Ajax
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The Unknown Ajax Group Read May 2017 Chapters 1-10
Already so many wonderful lines! :)
this is my first audible book and apparently I have been pronouncing the heroine's name wrong all this time!
How should it be pronounced?Please don't keep us in suspense!
This is my third or fourth read, I will use the Kindle e-book available through Scribd ( has the Sourcebooks cover). Just glanced at it the other day, love the opening scene!
This is my umpteenth re-read, so I settled in with a smile on my face...Oh, there's so much to love, starting with Charles the disgruntled footman in Chapter One. Anthea, our heroine, and her mother are so delightful in their close and loving relationship.
I had to laugh over Anthea's craft project. First time I read the book, I pictured modern-day corrugated cardboard for the reticule pattern and was much puzzled. I was way off, of course, though I still find the idea to be rather silly.
Dear old Granddad is a real piece of work--perfect depiction of a petty tyrant.
I'm now awaiting the arrival of 'The Heir'--let the real fun begin!
You’re perfectly correct, of course, Carol, I’m plotzing! I even jumped the gun last month—sorry about that. (My excuse is that my local Jane Austen reading group was discussing it on April 22.) We’ll get to Claud in due course.I believe the pronunciation would be An-THEE-a (with the aspirated, not the hard, th—or, for Anglo-Saxon geeks, the thorn rather than the eth).
My copy (believe it to be my third) is the Harlequin paperback of 2005. Not too bad, typowise, though the simpering miss on the cover can’t even live on the same planet as Anthea.
Not to be a conversation hog, but I’ll start off with this query: why do you think GH opened the book narrating from the point of view of a servant? (I can’t think of another novel in which she does this.)
This is my umpteenth read, reading it on my kindle, and really enjoying it!The beginning is so full of description, I feel I have lived with the Darracotts. Waiting so long to introduce Hugo was brilliant as it allows us to understand the family's feelings towards him, and really has us dying to meet him.
We get to know the family so well so quickly, and then Hugo's character is just so slowly unwrapped, you cannot stop reading.
Abigail wrote: "Not to be a conversation hog, but I’ll start off with this query: why do you think GH opened the book narrating from the point of view of a servant? (I can’t think of another novel in which she doe..."I think that at times Georgette Heyer starts the book from the point of view of someone who is not featured much in the book. Sometimes these characters are servants, other times family members who aren't in the book too much.
I believe Grand Sophy starts out from Dassett's (the butler's) pov, then has a scene with Lady Ombersley and Sir Horace, waiting until much later to introduce Sophy (much like in The Unkown Ajax) and Sprig Muslin starts with Garrett's sister's pov.
I do not have my kindle with me (I am at the library on lunch) so I cannot provide more examples at the moment, sorry!
**edited to add that Dassett was the Rivenhall's butler**
Behold, Here's Poison starts with Mary the maid collecting the shoes in the morning, with her thoughts on their owners.
The characterizations in this book are outstanding. Even the ones who are dead. I find that amazing.
Margaret wrote: "Behold, Here's Poison starts with Mary the maid collecting the shoes in the morning, with her thoughts on their owners."Oh! I think Penhallow starts with the pov of the 'boots'?? Can anyone confirm or disprove? Hmm, not to discuss too much about Penhallow, but starting from that bitter pov really sets the tone of the book. So maybe seeing the family from Charles' freshly hired point of view helps set the tone.
Thanks for the corrections, ladies! I should never trust my shaky memory in this knowledgeable group. Still curious to hear thoughts about why she chose to do it, though . . .
I think too it gives the reader very concise, pungent thumbnail sketches of several of the family from a servant's pov - a wise person once said you learn A LOT about a person from the way they treat those in an inferior, dependent or servile position (to which I personally add how a person treats the elderly, children and animals!)
Happen starting from the servants' viewpoint allows a reet objective pov.
Abigail wrote: "You’re perfectly correct, of course, Carol, I’m plotzing! I even jumped the gun last month—sorry about that. (My excuse is that my local Jane Austen reading group was discussing it on April 22.) We..."How I've always pronounced it.
I'm 10% in & have settled into my usual loathing of Lord Darracott
Good ideas about the servants’ POV, folks! I’m also wondering if we’re not to take away a skeptical attitude toward the Darracotts’ class assumptions.
I'm going to listen to the audiobook, hopefully starting later today.
Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "How should it be pronounced?Please don't keep us in suspense!"
Jackie wrote: "this is my first audible book and apparently I have been pronouncing the heroine's name wrong all this time!"
the audible reader is putting the emphasis on the first syllable "ANN thee uh" where as I have always read it as "ann THEE ah" for some reason.
on listening again it seems like the reader is not stressing ANY of the syllables - more even like ann-thee-uhbut still not the way I have been reading it - like Abigail in post #7.
who else is listening, what does it sound like to you?
I can already tell the audio book is going to take MUCH longer than reading text. and I currently am on "normal" speed when my kindle's default seems to be 1.5x
I like the idea of savoring the book, slowly.
for sure on the dislike for Lord Darracott, what a cranky old coot.
I've to have been reading anthea's name like Abigail does too.
I read The Unknown Ajax just a few months ago, but it's certainly no hardship to read again!
Does anyone know the exact meaning of "once-a-week beaux?" It's found in chapter 1 when Anthea and her mother are talking about the mysterious heir.
I think I have an Elizabeth Taylor look alike on the cover of my edition. Very 50's/60's version of period dress with a ridiculous amount of matching eye shadow. Did the have eye shadow in the regency period?
Pamela wrote: "Does anyone know the exact meaning of "once-a-week beaux?" It's found in chapter 1 when Anthea and her mother are talking about the mysterious heir."Does it mean someone who cannot afford to maintain an upscale lifestyle correctly in town every day, so they take shortcuts with things that make them appear shabby to more snobbish people who can afford more ostentatious luxury?
Oh, and doesn't Lady of Quality start from the coachman's POV?And I love that she sets the beginning up the way she does--there's such a sense of anticipation for Hugo's arrival, so that the reader ends up as anxious to meet him as the family and the servants (who are dying to get a glimpse of their future employer.) Also, since the servants play an important role a little further on in this story, introducing them early makes sense.
Critterbee wrote: "Happen starting from the servants' viewpoint allows a reet objective pov."Haha! Love it!
Heyer has been accused of being a snob by a lot of people, but in most of her books it seems to me that those who think the "under class" are inferior are not those we are supposed to like. Lord Darracott is a great example of a detestable old man being a complete snob, while Charles the footman is very human and likeable.
I first read The Unknown Ajax when I was in the 8th grade, so a very long time ago! (I haven't read it since.) I have the same edition as Carol. After reading the first chapter last night, I thought I would scribble a shorthand family tree. I've noticed this before, that GH will introduce brothers, cousins, uncles, grandfathers in the first few chapters and I get confused.
Sheila wrote: "I first read The Unknown Ajax when I was in the 8th grade, so a very long time ago! (I haven't read it since.) I have the same edition as Carol. After reading the first chapter last night, I thou..."
That is so true, and in Unknown Ajax, absent family members are referred to throughout the first part of the book, although they seem to be used to reinforce character traits of present members.
I have listened to the audiobook by Daniel Philpott several times, and it makes me laugh out loud. His impersonation of Hugo is so wonderful, and his broad Yorkshire accent adds so much to understanding how appalling his fancy relatives found him. Listening to the audio the first time made me realize what a good stage play this book would make, as would several other GH books.
Lady Wesley wrote: "I have listened to the audiobook by Daniel Philpott several times, and it makes me laugh out loud. His impersonation of Hugo is so wonderful, and his broad Yorkshire accent adds so much to understa..."As long as a true Heyer aficionado wrote the script (ahem, I'm available), I, too, would like to see an adaptation!
This is my first read of this story and I'm reading it on my kindle. I'm two chapters in so far and the scene has been set. Just waiting for the arrival of the rest of the relatives and the unknown Ajax!
Emma wrote: "This is my first read of this story and I'm reading it on my kindle. I'm two chapters in so far and the scene has been set. Just waiting for the arrival of the rest of the relatives and the unknown..."Lucky you! The book just keeps getting better, which is not a spoiler, right?
Karlyne wrote: "Emma wrote: "This is my first read of this story and I'm reading it on my kindle. I'm two chapters in so far and the scene has been set. Just waiting for the arrival of the rest of the relatives an..."Absolutely not!
Oh noes!! My e-reader has been possessed by a demon! Actually, it is so old it throws snit fits. And it decided that it didn't like 'The Unknown Ajax'. So tomorrow's mission is to go to the library to pick up the paper copy I just put on hold.The story had just turned a corner, with Anthea and Hugo on good terms--and now I have to wait until tomorrow to continue reading. {{sulk}}.
How dreadful of your e-reader to behave this way! Just reinforces my loathing of electronic devices. Though I suppose one could drop a paper book in a mud puddle by accident.
Interesting observation on the opening POV, Abigail. I think it signals that the book will be something of a family saga, with plenty of disagreements that might render other POVs unreliable. Sometimes it takes an outsider--or at least someone from Downstairs. I enjoyed the footman Charles' observations on the Darracott household vs. more expansive noble households.
Abigail wrote: "How dreadful of your e-reader to behave this way! Just reinforces my loathing of electronic devices. Though I suppose one could drop a paper book in a mud puddle by accident."You ought to see the copy I have! I "inherited" it from a friend of a friend's mother, who obviously dearly loved her Heyer. This one is in several pieces and has quite a bit of tape attached and falling off - but it's readable!
Hana wrote: "Interesting observation on the opening POV, Abigail. I think it signals that the book will be something of a family saga, with plenty of disagreements that might render other POVs unreliable. Somet..."I think Heyer is definitely giving us some food for thought - is the "uneducated", "lower class" servant perhaps just as intelligent and knowledgeable about the household as the "superior" Lord is?
That’s what I’m thinking too, Karlyne. I believe we are meant to challenge the upper household’s ideas of social standing and the value of breeding and an aristocratic upbringing—paving the way for an appreciation of the prodigal grandson from Yorkshire!
Abigail wrote: "That’s what I’m thinking too, Karlyne. I believe we are meant to challenge the upper household’s ideas of social standing and the value of breeding and an aristocratic upbringing—paving the way for..."Clever, very clever, I say! Of course, it's what I expect from her.
Abigail wrote: "That’s what I’m thinking too, Karlyne. I believe we are meant to challenge the upper household’s ideas of social standing and the value of breeding and an aristocratic upbringing—paving the way for..." Yes! this.
Sheila wrote: "I first read The Unknown Ajax when I was in the 8th grade, so a very long time ago! (I haven't read it since.) I have the same edition as Carol. After reading the first chapter last night, I thou..."
Thank you, I was afraid I was the only one! That is a great idea...
Barb in Maryland wrote: "Oh noes!! My e-reader has been possessed by a demon! Actually, it is so old it throws snit fits. And it decided that it didn't like 'The Unknown Ajax'. So tomorrow's mission is to go to the library..."I'm reading the Kindle version through the Scribd app on my iPad, and it's kind of having kitten fits also...and I wasn't smart enough to think ahead and get it from the library, nuts! But thanks for the idea, Barb - I prefer paper books also, Abigail, but read on the iPad when needs must!
Karlyne wrote: "Abigail wrote: "How dreadful of your e-reader to behave this way! Just reinforces my loathing of electronic devices. Though I suppose one could drop a paper book in a mud puddle by accident."You ..."
Just requested the only copy from my city library - its large print and the date says both 1959 and 1980, so we shall see what type of shape it's in!
I'm reading e-books mainly on my Fire and computer these days. My Kindle is over 5 years old and much clumsier to maneuver around as well as all too often spontaneously going back to the beginning of my list. Really annoying when I don't remember the title or author of the book I am reading!
Lady Wesley wrote: "I have listened to the audiobook by Daniel Philpott several times, and it makes me laugh out loud. His impersonation of Hugo is so wonderful, and his broad Yorkshire accent adds so much to understa..."I think like many books, a stage or film production would be very flat without the narrative voice.
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I kid, I kid.
I've read this book many, many times. The last time was for our 2014 Group Read. I've closed those threads to keep all discussion here.
I'm reading the same version that is on the thumbnail above. Arrow has done their usual wonderful job of choosing a totally irrelevant cover. :/
Please remember to use spoiler tags or post spoilers in the spoiler thread. We don't want to ruin a first time read for anyone. :)