The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer - 3.5 stars

[annapi]

Amusing dysfunctional family dynamics and a "romance" that is almost an afterthought. I enjoyed this but not as much as Frederica and Venetia. My rating is 3.5 stars, but because of that romp at the end I will round up and not down.

I won't call this hilarious, but it was entertaining and made me smile a lot. Somewhere in the middle it bogged down a bit and got a little boring, before the action moves to the rousing climax at the end that brings the family together in an unprecedented way.

I have to say that these romances between first cousins is pretty distasteful. But it must have been pretty normal for the English, as recently as the 50's and 60's when Heyer wrote, so I have to tolerate it like suspending disbelief in a fantasy. Mary Stewart did the same thing in The Gabriel Hounds, which was the worst of the icky inbreeding scenarios I've come across, because her protagonists were the progeny of TWINS. Talk about double yuck. Thankfully she only did it once.

[Theresa]

annapi wrote: "Amusing dysfunctional family dynamics and a "romance" that is almost an afterthought. I enjoyed this but not as much as Frederica and Venetia. My rating is 3.5 stars, but because of that romp at th..."

I'd forgotten that about Gabriel Hounds! May be why I haven't re-read that one. Yes, I love Mary Stewart! Nine Coaches Waiting.

I have to agree that the first cousins thing is, to my 'enlightened' mind, always hard to take, but also it was extremely common, accepted and often culturally encouraged. It's still frequently encountered today -- especially within certain religions.

[annapi]

My favorite of Mary Stewart's is Wildfire at Midnight. I considered naming my daughter Gianetta from that!