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The Unknown Ajax
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The Unknown Ajax - Oct 2014 Group Read - Finished with Spoilers
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Amy
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rated it 4 stars
Oct 01, 2014 08:41PM
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yes, that is a good way to put it: the rest of the book kind of moves slowly but once you get to the last scene, it's worth all the time it took to get there.
Definitely the suspense of the last scene keeps you turning the pages, even though the romance has been resolved!
I like the rivalry between Cripplesham and Polyphant.
What is a Demi-beau?
I think demi-beau is a term roughly equivalent to what we might call a metrosexual, but with disparaging overtones. A young man a little too addicted to the extremes of fashion, and perhaps not high enough in the social hierarchy or beautifully enough dressed to be considered an exquisite. I may be wrong, though. Could it be more like an April squire or mushroom?
@AbigailThanks for clearing that up. I tried poking around on the WWW and couldn't find any hints.
I love, love, love the scene with Claude languishing on the couch, and the way his mother sweeps into the room, takes in the situation immediately, and plays her own part to perfection.
yep, it's a great scene. earlier in the book, I also like where the old man finds out Hugo is actually RICH and Hugo tells him, gently, he wouldn't have had any hold on him even if he wasn't - that's wonderful.
@JackieEven if Hugo only had his "prize money" as the old man assumed, I don't think Hugo would have let himself fall into Lord Darracott's power or let himself be intimidated in any case.
But it was great when Hugo stunned everyone when they found out that he was filthy rich!
Wow, it's fallen silent in the Heyer threads.I am wondering what readers think of the fact that Hugo, who is generally law abiding, helps Richmond to evade the law by lying and putting together an elaborate ruse to confuse the authorities.
To me, it shows how much he cares about family loyalty, to go against his principles, even when not all of them have treated him well. In the back of my mind it bothered me a bit, so I assume that it bothered him a lot more.
But of course it shows his ingenuity -- as well as the ingenuity of some of the others, actually. They are rather a clever family though it takes that long to see that. And it is (in my opinion) one of the funniest scenes Heyer ever wrote.
As a major, Hugo also had a lot of experience with high-energy boys and young men who get into scrapes, and probably believed that rather than sit by while Richmond’s life was ruined or ended, he could use the crisis as a learning opportunity and leave Richmond with a sense of obligation, so he could go on to be a more productive adult.
I suspect Hugo felt that Richmond didn't really understand that he was breaking the law or that it was wrong to do so. Remember the whole debate about smuggling at the dinner table? He had been brought up hearing a lot of nonsense about it. he was also very young for his age.
Teresa, you put that well. he was clearly against breaking the law but felt allowing Richmund's life to be ruined by it was worse.
You are right, Abigail -- didn't he even say something about knowing how to deal with boys like Richmond?Not all officers would have been so good about handling them. Some officers would just punish them, because that was easiest. Others, like Hugo, would want to make them into good soldiers. Hugo was the kind of conscientious officer anyone would want to be in command of their son or young brother.
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Not like Richard Sharpe (in Bernard Cornwell's series) who gets an ensign killed in nearly every book!
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I've never been quite sure about 'April squire', but a 'mushroom' is a nouveau riche or a social climber - one whose family has popped up overnight.
OK finished.Loved this book even more on this rereading! Hugo, Vincent, Richmond & to a certain extent Lady Aurelia are quite complex characters by GH's standards.
& by the end you can see that while Hugo & Vincent are never going to be close friends, they do have a family bond & respect each other enormously.
***Carol*** wrote: "Hugo, Vincent, Richmond & to a certain extent Lady Aurelia are quite complex characters by GH's standards. "Maybe that is why the book rewards rereading.
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Jenny wrote: "I just love Lady Aurelia! Sometimes GH's domineering matriarchs can be a bit stereotyped, can't they, but I just love the way she's so much more intelligent than nearly every other character."Yes, and she and Hugo recognise each other's qualities and respect one another. I just re-read April Lady (I won't again) and it really highlights just what a good book The Unknown Ajax is.
I wasn't crazy about April Lady when I read it.I thought the h was sweet, but the story was thin and recycled.
Andrea (Catsos Person) wrote: "I wasn't crazy about April Lady when I read it.I thought the h was sweet, but the story was thin and recycled."
I agree. I've just started a new topic about April Lady because I couldn't find one, and have written about it there.
HJ wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I just love Lady Aurelia! Sometimes GH's domineering matriarchs can be a bit stereotyped, can't they, but I just love the way she's so much more intelligent than nearly every other ch..."Absolutely! She evidently sees through Hugo almost from the beginning! Remember how everyone else is puzzled by her statement, after the card game, that they've been "cutting jokes"?
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