The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer - one of her most amusing

Title: The Unknown Ajax
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication: Ace paperback, originally published in 1959
Genre: Historical Romance/Regency
Setting: England, 1817

Description: The Darracott family is astonished to learn that cantankerous Lord Darracott’s heir is not his third son Matthew, but a grandson they never knew existed, Hugo. Hugo’s father was a military officer whose déclassé marriage to a weaver’s daughter caused Lord Darracott to forbid all mention of his name. Now Lord Darracott has summoned Hugo to the family estate in Sussex where he is greeted by his uncle Matthew; Matthew’s well-bred wife, Lady Aurelia; Matthew’s adult sons, Vincent and Claud; Elvira, widowed daughter-in-law of Lord Darracott; and her children, Anthea and Richmond. 

Hugo receives a chilly welcome, especially from Anthea, furious that her grandfather has suggested she marry her newfound cousin, and it does not help that Hugo, despite being a military officer like his father, seems quite uncouth with a thick regional accent. When Claud and Anthea are asked to make Hugo presentable, they discover he isn’t as hopeless as he seems, and Anthea’s attitude towards him softens as she gets to know him. For his part, Hugo finds his new family alarming, the estate he will one day inherit is rundown, and he is unimpressed by the Darracotts’ tolerance of the local smugglers. Quietly, however, he begins to make himself at home and when he senses something is wrong at Darracott Place, it is up to Hugo to save the family from its own folly.

My Impression: The Unknown Ajax is one of Heyer’s best and most amusing books but it is easy to forget this until you start a reread. Moreover, it is family story more than a romance, which might make it a good first book for those who have not read Heyer previously or do not care for romantic fiction.  It is not set among the London ton but takes place at Darracott Place, a country estate near England's southeastern coast, that has not been well-maintained and is staffed primarily by elderly retainers. Anthea and Richmond live there with their mother, completely dependent on Lord Darracott, who is verbally abusive and has alienated all the locals, including the vicar. Richmond, just 18, is indulged as his grandfather’s favorite but was not allowed to go away to school or join the army as he wished. Anthea had one London season but did not receive a marriage proposal she was willing to accept. Still, she is offended that her grandfather wants her to marry Hugo, sight unseen, but as she gets to know him, she is the first to suspect he is not the bumpkin he pretended to be when he realized what his family expected:

“Nay, don’t fidget yourself on my account, ma’am!” Hugo said, laughing. “I’m not so nesh as my cousin! I’ve been used to sleep in a room that had a fire in the middle of the floor, and not so much as a vent to take off the smoke, so it will need more than a puff or two blown down the chimney to make me uncomfortable.”

His voice, which was a deep one, had a carrying quality. His words were heard by everyone in the room, and were productive of a sudden, shocked silence. He glanced innocently around the table, and added, “A mud floor, of course.”

“How – how horrid for you,” said Mrs. Darracott faintly.

Chollacombe, with great presence of mind, refilled the Major’s glass at this moment, contriving as he did so, to give him a warning nudge. The Major, not susceptible to hints, said cheerfully, “Oh, it was noan so bad! I was glad to have a roof over my head in those days.”

While Lord Darracott is furious that his title and property will be inherited by someone he considers a nobody, it becomes clear to the reader that Hugo, the large, unassuming newcomer, is more capable and appealing than any of his more aristocratic relatives. The Darracotts’ condescending attitude toward Hugo and the determination to whip him into shape prevents them from grasping his real background, but the dramatic finale – one of Heyer’s best – reveals that it is Hugo who has whipped his family into shape.

The Mermaid Inn

Inside the Mermaid

According to one of her biographers, Jennifer Kloester, Heyer was inspired to write The Unknown Ajax after a visit to Rye with her family (it is fun to visualize her strolling the same streets I did with my mother in 2018). In one of the few scenes set away from Darracott Place, Hugo and Claud also visit Rye and the famous Mermaid Inn where smugglers met (we had tea in a smoky room), and the locals gawk at Claud’s over-the-top clothing as they walk through the town. Vincent, who resents that, due to Hugo’s existence, he will not eventually inherit the title and estate, nicknames his large cousin Ajax after a large, doltish character in Troilus and Cressida.

Source: Personal copy. This was a reread with the Heyer Group and my fourteenth book for The Intrepid Reader’s Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Other Heyer Reviews: The Corinthian, Beauvallet, Frederica, Cousin Kate, The Grand Sophy, Behold, Here’s Poison