• Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed
  • Search Site

Polari Magazine

  • Home
  • Up Front
    • Editorial
    • Clementine: The Living Fashion Doll
    • Polari Safari
    • WTF? Friday
    • Bulletin Board
    • Polari Facts
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Features
    • Gallery
    • Opinion
    • Heroes & Villains
  • Community
    • Oral Histories
    • Coming Out Stories
    • Relationships
    • IDAHO
    • LGBT History Month
    • Blogs
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Film and Television
    • Music
    • Stage
    • Visual Arts
    • Classics: Books
    • Classics: Film and Television
    • Classics: Music
  • About
    • About Polari Magazine
    • Contributors
    • Contact

You are here: Polari Magazine / Books / The Pretty Gentleman • Max Fincher

The Pretty Gentleman • Max Fincher

30 May 2013 / Comments Off / in Books/by Tim Bennett-Goodman

The Pretty Gentlemen ★★★★★
Max Fincher
370 pages • Max Fincher • 30 December, 2012 [PB]
………………………………………………………………………………………….

Set amongst the metropolitan circle of artists, collectors and cognoscenti of the early-19th century, The Pretty Gentleman is not only obviously well-researched (as shown by the lengthy bibliography) but it is also complex, intriguing and ingenious. There is, indeed, a hint of Peter Ackroyd in its unblinking exploration of the dark, secretive and seamy recesses of historic London. It is interesting, too, in the way in which it portrays the queer subculture and how, then as now, it transcends class barriers. Barrow boys and peers of the realm mingle, socially and sexually, without distinction – or only the distinction of their natural endowments.

In the case of The Pretty Gentleman this is heightened by the intimate mixing of art patrons, artists and their male models, the latter selected from the lower echelons of society for their handsomeness and muscularity. In this heady and hedonistic milieu, horny-handed sons of toil rub shoulders (and much more) with horny aristocrats.

The Pretty Gentleman, Max Fincher, Review

The chilling subtext here, however, is that whilst to live the gay life openly at that time was utterly impossible, to live it at all was highly dangerous. Because it was illegal it could so very easily lead to blackmail, disgrace, imprisonment and even the gallows. So-called ‘Greek Love’ was a world away from the simple lifestyle choice it is often (rightly or wrongly) portrayed as being today. There was also the notorious Society for the Suppression of Vice which led to raids on ‘Molly Houses’, the secret clubs where gay men, often working class, met for companionship and sex. Such raids led to the ruination, even the brutal ending, of many of their lives.

Against this backdrop of pitiless legal, societal and moral proscription, the lives and loves of Fincher’s gay characters, of all classes, are necessarily closeted, secretive and paranoiac. The consequent intensity of emotions engendered amongst this rarified demi-monde leads to a febrile atmosphere of suspicion, jealousy and betrayal which, in The Pretty Gentleman, ultimately, ends in murder and vengeance.

The Pretty Gentleman includes the stuff of nightmare, the torrid passions of the Gothic Novel being acted out in chilling reality, so it is surely no coincidence that Fincher includes the real-life artist, Henry Fuseli (he of the grotesque 1781 painting, The Nightmare) amongst his protagonists. From the author of the scholarly Queering Gothic Writing in the Romantic Age (Palgrave Macmillan 2007) this should come as no surprise.

But there is pity, redemption and a happy resolution at the end of this novel, which comes as a welcome relief after what is a rather bleak, if compelling, saga. Sadly, as Fincher points out in his Note at the end, historical truth is almost stranger than fiction. There were many actual causes célèbres of this kind in the Georgian and Regency period, which can only make one truly thankful to be living in the age we do.

Several of the novels I have reviewed for Polari Magazine recently have been self-published, which is, of course, a perfectly creditable way of bringing new fiction to the attention of the reading public. The advent of e-books in particular has largely broken down the prejudice against an undertaking formerly (and rather sniffily) referred to as ‘vanity’ publishing.

There can be one problematic consequence of this form of publishing and that is the lack of editorial mediation. It may seem paradoxical, but an author working alone is not inevitably best-placed to showcase his own talent to advantage. An intermediary between writer and public can be very beneficial, if not essential, in proofing and revising a manuscript. Self-publishing often circumvents this process, which is not necessarily of benefit to either the author or his work.

The Pretty Gentleman, an otherwise promising first novel, is such an example. On the very first page of the Prologue, there is a typo (lead instead of led). Many similar glitches – including the awkward sentence “I was floating down a river against whose current which it was fruitless to swim against” – are scattered throughout the book. Whilst these are not enough to spoil the reading experience, an able editor would have spared the reader by spotting and eradicating such infelicities. (Having said that, I should reiterate the point I have made before about the lamentable state of in-house proof-reading.)

The Pretty Gentleman would be much improved (and may yet be at a subsequent re-printing) by the input of a ‘critical friend’, not only in ironing out basic typographical errors but in ameliorating the text through tidying up, and tightening up, its structure. That said, I found Fincher’s gay historical thriller, set in Regency London, thoroughly entertaining – an emotionally and intellectually engaging read.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
Tags: first novel, max fincher, pretty gentlemen, queering gothic writing in the romantic age, self-published

Search Polari

Latest Posts

  • Polari Magazine 2008-2014December 3, 2014 - 6:16 pm
  • Tearing Up Their Map: An Interview with LambDecember 2, 2014 - 2:45 pm
  • Future Islands • GigDecember 2, 2014 - 1:41 pm
  • Puppets with Attitude (at Christmas)December 1, 2014 - 6:30 pm
  • The Aesthetic of Voyeurism: Interview with Antonio Da SilvaDecember 1, 2014 - 1:25 pm
  • Broke With Expensive Taste • Azealia BanksNovember 28, 2014 - 3:59 pm
  • Royalty Strutting on an American College Stage: Miss and Mr. Gay ISU 2014November 27, 2014 - 2:59 pm
  • Bright Light Bright Light: Everything I Ever WantedNovember 26, 2014 - 11:15 am
  • Jaime Nanci And The Blueboys: ‘Toy’ TalkNovember 25, 2014 - 4:09 pm

About Polari Magazine

Polari Magazine is an LGBT arts and culture magazine that explores the subculture by looking at what is important to the people who are in it. It’s about the lives we lead, not the lifestyles we’re supposed to lead.

Its content is informed & insightful, and features a diverse range of writers from every section of the community. Its intent is to help LGBT readers learn about their own heritage and to sustain a link between the present and the past.

Polari is designed to nurture the idea of community, whether that be social and political, or artistic and creative. It is your magazine, whether you want to read it, or whether you want to get involved in it, if you're gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, or queer.

Polari Magazine is all these: it's a gay online magazine; it's a gay and lesbian online magazine; it's an LGBT arts and culture magazine. Ultimately, it is a queer magazine.

Latest Posts

  • Polari Magazine 2008-2014December 3, 2014 - 6:16 pm
  • Tearing Up Their Map: An Interview with LambDecember 2, 2014 - 2:45 pm
  • Future Islands • GigDecember 2, 2014 - 1:41 pm
  • Puppets with Attitude (at Christmas)December 1, 2014 - 6:30 pm
  • The Aesthetic of Voyeurism: Interview with Antonio Da SilvaDecember 1, 2014 - 1:25 pm
  • Broke With Expensive Taste • Azealia BanksNovember 28, 2014 - 3:59 pm
  • Royalty Strutting on an American College Stage: Miss and Mr. Gay ISU 2014November 27, 2014 - 2:59 pm
  • Bright Light Bright Light: Everything I Ever WantedNovember 26, 2014 - 11:15 am
  • Jaime Nanci And The Blueboys: ‘Toy’ TalkNovember 25, 2014 - 4:09 pm

Twitter

Tweets by @PolariMagazine

Archive

  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • July 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • May 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
© Copyright - Polari Magazine - Wordpress Theme by Kriesi.at
  • scroll to top
  • Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Website Privacy & Cookies