The Nomad Harp

by Elizabeth Neff Walker

THEY WERE SO RIGHT FOR EACH OTHER...
AND SO MUCH WAS WRONG BETWEEN THEM...

Proud, independent, talented, Glenna is about to marry Philip, Viscount Pontley--until a foolish quarrel estranges them.

But Glenna cannot forget him, and when fate throws them together again they struggle to overcome the memory of past bitterness.

Amid the ruins of their former passion, love flames anew. But it may be too late--Philip has become engaged to another. Have they rediscovered love only to lose it again?

Genres: Regency, Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Clean Romance, Traditional Regency

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1980

About the author

A pseudonym for Elizabeth Rotter.
AKA Laura Matthews, Elizabeth Walker

Reviews

[Aneca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glenna Forbes played the harp exquisitely. Which was the major reason Philip Hobart had asked her to marry him. And reassuring her aging father was Glenna's real reason for accepting. Everything changed when the naval captain became a viscount--who expected a different kind of wife than independent Miss Forbes.

This is my second read by Matthews, I had always heard of her sensible characters and when I read the first I was caught by surprise, Lord Clayborne’s Fancy is full of angst and emotional turmoil and the characters are often not very sensible. I do like angst so I was disappointed.

I approached The Nomad Harp with considerable expectation, what kind of story would this be? Well it was a very interesting one!

Glenna Forbes knew her independence would be threatened by a husband, when a naval captain asked her to marry him it seemed the answer to her problems, she could marry, and reassure her father that she would be taken care of after he died, but her husband would spend much of his time at sea and she could still organise her life as she wanted to. Unfortunately Phillip Hobart unexpectedly becomes a viscount and while he feels any woman would be happy to be socially elevated Glenna surprises him by being disappointed in the fact that he now has to give up is life at sea. At Glenna’s insistence they break the betrothal.

While Phillip goes on to devote himself to the managing of his estates Glenna is left caring for her ailing father and after his death she finds herself in a difficult situation. Knowing that Phillip decides to help her and invites her to stay at one of his estates and help him manage it. He has his hands full with the bigger property and she would be doing him a favour he tells her.

I rather liked Phillip, he was not a very conventional man, and he was used to action and was more direct and forward than your usual regency hero. He offers Glenna the position and is very surprised that she actually helps him and finds good solutions to raise money and do renovations on the property. Glenna I had more problems with, she impulsively breaks their betrothal which seemed a bit out of character when she was such a level headed and sensible woman. While they are apart Phillip becomes betrothed to another woman and Glenna renews her acquaintance with an old suitor. They all come together in the country and it’s soon obvious that the young woman that Phillip is betrothed to is highly unsuitable for him and that he and Glenna would be well matched. Social rules don’t allow him to go back on his word though and all seems lost except...

The Nomad Harp gets the name from Glenna’s harp that she carries with her when she moves and in this book they move a lot. It was an interesting change from the London and Bath settings and it gives an interesting glimpse of estate management, what jobs were offered to women and how honour and the given word bound a gentleman. My only complaint is that I wanted a bit more angst; they all seemed so proper and sensible that not only they didn’t show their feelings to the world but they also didn’t show them to the reader.

Grade: 4/5

[Emma]

how was this the slowest book of all time? oh because the premise was “she keeps having to move her harp.”

[Amy S · Rating 2 out of 5]

The slow pace of this one almost completely killed my interest.
The female MC’s motivations were unrealistically modern and ultimately pointless.
The male MC, when he is around, is sort of blandly there.
The ending was a bit odd.
Mild violence, no sex, mild language

[Pauline Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of my birthday Regencies (a selection from 1980 to the present bought with my gift cards), the earliest, written in 1980. The author is new to me, and I found it an enjoyable read, with some humour and a nicely drawn romance.

The premise: a career naval officer finds himself unexpectedly inheriting a viscountcy. He feels obliged to retire from the navy to manage his estates, but there’s a wrinkle: he’s betrothed to a woman he scarcely knows, attracted by her virtuoso playing of the harp. When he goes to visit, he finds her unimpressed by his elevation in rank. She had accepted his offer only because he would be away at sea a great deal, which would allow her to maintain her independent lifestyle. She breaks off the engagement after discovering that he’s falling for a much more suitable young lady.

But naturally, that isn’t the end of things. The story devolves into the usual Regency mix-ups and misunderstandings, albeit more believable than is sometimes the case, with an array of minor characters to liven things up. But it’s the main characters which make or break a story like this, and here I had my doubts. Lord Pontley himself is a fairly straightlaced sort of chap, too dour to be obvious hero material, and I confess to not entirely understanding his motives for dealing with the suitable young lady he finds himself engaged to. Indeed, for a serious sort of chap, he gets engaged for the most frivolous of reasons. Still, I rather liked him.

The heroine, Glenna Forbes, I found less likable. For a supposedly forthright and independent-minded young lady, she was a terrible ditherer. It’s conventional in fiction that when a character proposes a plan that the reader can clearly see is going to happen, there’s still a certain amount of argument round and about before it’s agreed to. Here, Glenna protested against perfectly reasonable proposals for far, far too long. I really wanted to slap her upside the head. And some of the things she does are just plain silly (like the whole companion scheme, for instance). The only purpose that I could see was so that she would find out about Lord Pontley’s feelings for the suitable young lady.

Despite all that, however, I found the book very enjoyable. I love a Regency where the romance builds slowly over the whole book, and this is particularly credible example. The minor characters are terrific, the historical accuracy is good and there’s enough humour to leaven the mixture. Four stars.

[Judith Hale Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual story. It starts with a break up and then proceeds to twist and turn and go places you would never expect and that, frankly, were a bit off-putting. There were also some odd decisions and a bit of convenient explaining that threw off the flow, but the characters were so charming I have to say they saved the day. I loved Glenna despite her over-independence and I thought Lord Pontley quite wonderful once he got over his annoying stiffness. And Phoebe and her captain were delightful! A fun read with a lovely, satisfying happily ever after.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say this is on the low end of a three star rating. An acceptable one-time read. The character Jennifer was really irritating. Also, I was not a big fan of Glenna and her bestie calling each other "love" all the time. That just seemed really off.

[Louie Halfacre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love wins out

Another excellent read from Laura Matthews which was greatly enjoyed. Since I also read Historical fiction in he Regency era and enjoy naval adventures I can’t help commenting on the room fireplace aboard a HBM wooden sailing ship. This could never happen since their greatest fear was fire aboard a ship.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these old Regencies.

[Ns2np5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5stars

[Judith Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Story

I enjoyed this book immensely. It had witty dialogue, good storyline, and interesting characters. I definitely recommend reading this book.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a little over the top with "duty".

[Sybil Mcguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

[H2bourne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a fan of this one. Once again, a well-paced novel. There is humour in the dialogue as well as the written correspondence we are privy to. There are twists before the two main characters are able to finally be together. Ah yes, true love always wins out in these story lines, doesn't it? But it is a delight when it's not done in a predictable manner. One character, Jennifer, is an odd one and when she finally becomes engaged to an Irish peer, her aunt has the best line when she declares that their family is better off with Jennifer in Ireland where the Irish won't flinch at her antics as they're already half-mad themselves! Yes, this was definitely a very satisfying read.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seem to be relaxing my criteria for 4 stars. In the past I have usually required that the book teach me something new, and that was not the case for this one. However, the vast majority of regency romances have most of the characters behaving unreasonably at least part of the time, two-dimensional villains, and a pivotal plot point that depends on some unlikely circumstance. This book has none of those problems, and yet still manages to be entertaining while remaining thoroughly believable. Although I have not read any of this author's works recently, looking back I see that I have granted 4 stars to several of them in the past. Time to go back to find more.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was delightful. It had some of my favorite things and I did not know it going in-Philip and Glenna exchange quite a few letters over the course of the book and their story is a twist on reunited lovers/marriage of convenience. Glenna breaks her convenient engagement to Philip at the beginning of the book and the remainder is how they come to appreciate and love one another while apart and caught in the snares of others.

[Griffinyarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the style of this book and it depicted the time period well. I also found the lack of angst refreshing. Despite the bizarre, tangled relationships, the hero and heroine behave as self-possessed, mature adults; no histrionics or descents into the depths of despair. As a result, the reader actually gets a chance to appreciate the character development and the gradual realisation of the hero and heroine of their feelings for the other.

[Lynn Calvin]

Fictionwise multiformat ebook

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for regency romance novels and this one was good. Philip makes a Mr. Darcy-esque type of hero...gruff on the outside, but a marshmallow on the inside. What girl could resist?

[Abra · Rating 3 out of 5]

first read 10/17/15; re-read July 2016

[Susannah Carleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

As delightful a story and characters the fifth--or tenth--read as the first!