Benjamin and Edgar Bowen are educated and intelligent Englishmen, ready to set out on their Grand Tour of Europe. During their travels, they hope to learn, impress, and most of all, meet People of Quality. Yet their education, clothes and wigs do not mask the fact that they do not belong in the world of the elite. Edgar is keen to fit into this society, but Benjamin understands that they will never truly be accepted…
… Until they meet Horace Lavelle. He is unorthodox, unpredictable, and rejects everything society expects of young men in the 1700’s. Benjamin is instantly captivated by Lavelle and quickly falls in love. Will Benjamin discard the plans his parents and brother so desperately desire, or will he be intoxicated by the world that Lavelle offers him?
This is another exciting post, as this is the first proof I have reviewed on this blog! And what a way to start than with The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore. Set in the 18th century, the book is full of charm and glamour (which you would expect from the elite society at this time). Yet this is contrasted by the Bowen brothers’ harsh reality. Despite the growing values of the Enlightenment, the People of Quality are still very much an exclusive group, and the sons of a merchant are not considered to be ‘one of them’. Benjamin in particular struggles with his identity, as someone who is secretly gay and has recently discovered his Jewish heritage.
This book should also get a special mention simply because of how beautiful the front cover is. All the glitz and glam on the outside prepares you for what to expect on the inside.
The book takes us across Benjamin and Edgar’s European tour, and I loved reading about the stereotypical people they’d meet in Paris and the different cities in Italy.
Lavelle is a wild, charismatic, and often annoying character who sweeps Benjamin off his feet. He challenges everything Benjamin has ever been taught, and it quickly becomes apparent that they are the missing pieces in each other’s lives. Whilst I loved how dramatic and intense Lavelle was, it sometimes felt frustrating how much power he had over Benjamin. The closer these characters became, the more sympathy I felt for Edgar, Benjamin’s brother. He so desperately wanted to fit in and fulfil his parents’ dreams that I wish Benjamin had been more sympathetic towards him.
I have never read a book which predominantly focuses upon homosexual relationships in the 18th century. Whilst I thought that this theme was really interesting, the sex scenes were sometimes a bit too graphic for my liking. Whilst each of these scenes are only a few sentences long, it’s something to watch out for if you’re anything like me!
The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle is full of extravagance, culture, tragedy, and still squeezes in a few surprise twists throughout! As a whole, I thought it was a really fun, enjoyable, and enlightening read (pun intended).
Favourite quotes:
“If we are going to be friends, learn this: I do not give a fuck!”
“Freedom conditional to rules – especially rules like politeness and fairness and being equal, all those horrors – is no kind of freedom at all.”
“Other people’s dreams are no basis for a life. We must seek as hard as we can, as a matter of emergency, to find our own dreams, our own lives.”
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