Bachelorette days

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Junggesellentage (original title :: The Nonesuch) is a novel by Georgette Heyer from 1962. The German translation was published in 1974. The action takes place in the era of the English Regency around 1816/1817 shortly after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte .

main characters

Ancilla Trent

Miss Ancilla Trent is 26 years old, attractive, smart, educated, very controlled and outspoken. She has a sense of humor and a lot of charm. She comes from a good family and after the death of her father is destitute and has no dowry . In order to maintain her independence and independence, she first works as a teacher in the boarding school where she was a student herself. Now she looks after the young heiress Tiffany Wield, who was excluded from the boarding school due to her escapades, in a mixed function of governess and partner .

Sir Waldo Hawkridge

Sir Waldo Hawkridge comes from a philanthropic family , is 36 and a wealthy bachelor who is known for his humor and social outlook. Because of its sportiness and fashionable elegance as well as its refinement, it is called "the Nonesuch" ("the incomparable one").

Lord Julian Lindeth

Lord Julian Lindeth is the younger cousin of Sir Waldo Hawkridge. He is personable, good-looking, amiable, well-behaved and has no arrogance . He prefers the life of a country gentleman to London city ​​life. His mother is not happy with this decision and would like to give him a "good match".

Tiffany Wield

Tiffany Wield is Ancilla Trent's protégé. She is a black haired beauty and rich heiress. She is courted by all men, which she takes for granted. Until her debut next season in London, she lives with her aunt Mrs. Underhill. The lively girl can be charming at times, but she is usually stubborn, selfish, vain and ruthless towards others.

Patience Chartley

Patience Chartley is a symbol of typical Regency country life. The pastor's daughter with her brunette hair was considered the local beauty until Tiffany's arrival. She is adorable and the opposite of Tiffany in every way: modest, unpretentious, social, and selfless. When it comes to supporting the weak, the otherwise calm girl appears courageous and determined.

action

The wealthy bachelor Sir Waldo Hawkridge inherits a country estate in the north of England from a quirky relative that he wants to turn into an orphanage. To advance these plans, he travels to Yorkshire with his cousin Lord Julian Lindeth .

The pending visit is causing a stir in the provincial nest Oversett. The male youth tries to emulate Sir Waldo in a sporty and fashionable way, the mothers plan to couple their marriageable daughters with the two bachelors .

Miss Ancilla Trent also lives in the village. As a governess and teacher, she tries to supervise the young, spirited heiress Tiffany Wield.

With the arrival of Waldo and Julian, a lively social life begins in the tranquil village, in which the ambitious hosts outdo each other. Sir Waldo keeps his orphanage plans secret for the time being, only the pastor is inaugurated. Tiffany succeeds in entering into a liaison with Lord Lindeth. At the same time, she also flirts with Sir Waldo, to which he pretends to be in order to prevent his cousin from entering into an unhappy marriage with Tiffany . For her part, Ancilla tries to save Tiffany from the worst faux pas , which doesn't always succeed.

In the course of the story, Lord Julian experiences the different characters of Tiffany and Patience. While Patience is helping a dirty, injured street boy, Tiffany goes into a fit of tantrum for not being the center of attention. The experience of similar episodes opens Lord Julian's eyes and his previous admiration for Tiffany turned into deep feelings for solitaire.

Ancilla Trent, who recognized early on that Sir Waldo embodies her male ideal, is however aware of the social discrepancy and her subordinate position. She attracts the envy of society ladies when she waltzes at a ball with Waldo. It is assumed that she wants a rich husband. This assumption is incompatible with their desire for independence.

The staunch bachelor Sir Waldo falls in love with Ancilla and wants to marry her. However, Julian causes a serious misunderstanding before Waldo's proposal. In conversation with Ancilla, he indicates without further explanation that Waldo wants to use the inherited house for his "wretched brood". Ancilla concludes from this that Waldo has a whole bunch of illegitimate children and indignantly rejects his marriage proposal.

Inadvertently, Tiffany resolves the misunderstanding: by chance she witnesses Julian asking Patience's parents for their hand. Full of blind anger and wounded vanity, she runs away to her uncle and guardian. Since Ancilla has to act in this emergency situation, she accepts Waldo's help and travels with him to the girl. Waldo can clear up the misunderstanding and the way to a happy ending is free.

Parallels

Echoes of the famous novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen are unmistakable: Two rich, attractive, marriageable gentlemen stir up social life in the provinces. Ancilla could be a sister of the confident Elizabeth Bennet.

Nevertheless, the story is not a copy, but rather an independent one. The main male character is far from the arrogance of Mr. Darcy. "Bachelorette Days" is a great example of Heyer's talent at bringing people and the world of the Regency to life. Charming, amusing, with gentle mockery and attention to detail, Heyer describes the peculiarities of English society. The heroine is one of Heyer's typical, strong and self-contained female characters, she is independent, but still does not pretend to be unhistorically "emancipated". As is so often the case with Georgette Heyer, the defining quality of the two main characters is their humor, which also connects them.

Book editions

literature

  • Mary Fahnestock-Thomas: Georgette Heyer. A Critical Retrospective . Prinny World Press, Saraland, Al. 2001, ISBN 978-0-9668005-3-1 , pp. 191-192 .

Web links