An English Gentleman
by Sky Gilbert
ISBN 9781896951836 | 5.125" x 7.625" | TPB | $21.95
Categories:Fiction - Literary, Gay and Lesbian
Purchase:Local Bookstores | mcnallyrobinson.com | amazon.ca | chapters.indigo.ca
Synopsis
Winner of the 2005 ReLit Award (Novel)Manny Masters is a failed graduate student of English Literature. He is bequeathed by his mentor, Leslie Sexton, a collection of letters stolen from the home of Nicholas Llewelyn Davies, the only surviving adopted son of J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan. The letters are what survives of a correspondence that included up to 2,000 exchanges between adoptive father and son, Michael Llewelyn Davies. In Manny's hands, these letters become academic fodder — the basis for a dissertation that examines the presumed romantic relationship between Barrie and his charge.
Set against the backdrop of New York City after the worst of the AIDS crisis has passed, the novel explores the relationship between the suppression of sexual desire and the development of a kind of death wish for the beloved.
Media
Reviews
"As gay literature, An English Gentleman reaches out to a wider audience, allowing the outsider in for tea and empathy with a celibate homosexual man, quaint beyond belief." — Montreal Gazette
"Though at times emotionally disturbing, An English Gentleman is a fascinating, vivid book that leaves its reader thinking." — National Post
"Of Gilbert's four novels, this is decidely the most ambitious. His extensive research is lightly worn; the letters between Michael Llewlyn and James Barrie have the ring of authenticity, both in their distictive voices and the deeply subverted emotions they describe." — Xtra! Magazine
"This year marks the centenary of the publication of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. None of the planned commemorations of this event are likely to be as interesting as An English Gentleman, Sky Gilbert's fourth novel and easily his most accomplished fiction to date." — Quill & Quire
