Review: The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore

Happy publication day to the brilliant The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore! Due to current circumstances the release date for physical copies of this book has unsurprisingly been pushed back, but it IS available in eBook and audio format from today!

When Benjamin and Edgar Bowen embark on a Grand Tour of Europe, they are ready to meet People of Quality. They have trunks full of powdered silver wigs and matching suits, a hunger to experience the architectural wonders of Ancient Rome and an ability to quote Voltaire (at length). They will make connections and establish themselves in high society, just as their mother has planned.

But it soon becomes apparent that their outfits are not quite the right shade of grey, their smiles are too ready, their appreciation of the arts ridiculous. Class, they learn, is not something that can be studied.

Benjamin’s true education begins when he meets Horace Lavelle. Beautiful, charismatic, seductive, Lavelle delights in skewering the pretensions and prejudices of their milieu. He consumes Benjamin’s every thought.

Love can transform a person. Can it save them?

Review

Benjamin and his brother Edgar are embarking on the Grand Tour of Europe. While Edgar can't wait to meet People of Quality, to be seen in High Society, Benjamin is more hesitant. Enter stage Horace Lavelle. He's beautiful, charismatic, rude, sarcastic, controversial. He breaks every rule of society, just because he can. He aims to shock, to provoke, to tease - to undermine the whole idea of The Tour and expose its hypocrisy. He's intoxicating, and Benjamin is soon deep under his spell.

As the weeks go by it soon becomes clear that there is yet another side to Lavelle, that behind all the bravado lies a deeply troubled man. His outlandish behaviour is a front to push people away - a defence mechanism. But Benjamin won't be pushed.

I knew the minute I heard about this book that I would love it - I'm a sucker for anything set in Europe during this time period, especially when there's a Grand Tour involved! It wasn't at all what I expected, but this is a good thing! It's a story that made me think, and has changed my view point on the supposed romance of The Tour, so it looks like Mr Lavelle has succeeded!

The focus of this novel is not on the historical details; right from the start we are warned that there are anachronisms - The Enlightenment much referenced throughout the novel was a term that had yet to be coined. The settings are well described, but this is a novel about people, not places. Oddly enough this is the second book I've read about a male relationship during The Grand Tour, and so I had expected something similar to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue. I couldn't have been more wrong! Mr Lavelle is much darker, more realistic representation of homosexuality and the attitudes and prejudices of the time. The novel also touches on social inequality - Benjamin and Edgar are sons of a shipping merchant, something High Society laugh at. Class cannot be bought it seems. Edgar's determination to succeed clashes with Benjamin's increasingly cynical world view (brought about by Lavelle of course), and a wedge is driven firmly between the brothers. I didn't particularly care for any of the characters - they are all flawed in some way - but this serves to make them all the more human. Ultimately this is Benjamin's story, as he must decide what he wants out of life - to live or to conform.

Prepare for a Grand Tour like no other.