The Nomad Harp

by Laura Matthews, Elizabeth Neff Walker, Elizabeth Rotter

Book Overview

Betrothed to sea captain Philip Hobart, Miss Glenna Forbes had looked forward to her husband's absences and the freedom they would give her, so she greatly disappointed when Philip inherits an estate... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451175905
• ISBN13: 9780451175908
• Release Date: May 1993
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

One of Laura Matthews's best...

Sea captain Philip Hobart has succeeded to his cousin's title, and expects to be busy restoring the depredations made by the late viscount. He has therefore given up his naval career. This however is not appreciated by his fiancee Miss Glenna Forbes, who is too used to her independence, and who chose Captain Hobart precisely because of his expected long absences when she could run her own life. Neither Hobart nor Miss Forbes loved the other - he wanted a home and children, and was attracted by her playing of the harp; she wanted to please her ailing father (anxious at the thought that she would be left alone and virtually penniless) and to have a husband who would trouble her as little as possible. She is therefore furious when he gives up his career without consulting her (an unusual attitude by the way for a Regency era lady). Added to this pre-marital disharmony are the machinations of Philip's aunt the Dowager Viscountess who despises so paltry a match for her nephew, and who is determined to marry Philip off to her niece and thus preserve her own influence.The best parts of this book are the long middle where the couple are separated, having broken off their engagement. Philip gets involved with a well-bred but otherwise highly unsuitable lady, and is trapped by convention into an engagement. Glenna is provided with a home and ostensible occupation by Philip when her father dies. She turns a ceremonial position into one of real influence, when she sets about renovating and repairing an old house and improve the revenues from a small estate. She also rejects a proposal from a former suitor, realizing that she prefers the country to a glittering social life.Glenna's harp is the nomad harp, being transported all over the country as Glenna moves from house (and estate) to house, staying with friends, relatives and then finding a job as a housekeeper for a misogynist MP. After a bout of unsatisfactory regencies, it was a delight to read this one, where we see the effects of false pride and hasty decisions from start to finish. The plot summary provided here is deceptive, but this is a book for those tired of the usual London and Almack's. If you wondered just how those lords obtained their revenues and how those estates operated, try this book.Grade = B+ (4.2)Breakdown = plot development B+ (4.2); character development A- (4.5); romance B (3.8); writing A- (4.4)[Written September 19, 2002]