The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore starts with brothers Edgar and Benjamin being declared ready by their mother to go on The Grand Tour, where the young and rich would visit Europe, meet people, see historic sites, and make mistakes.  Above all, their mother makes them swear that they will look after each other, and she is sure that this tour will be the making of them in society.

Benjamin is our protagonist, and so it's his experiences on the journey that we see, along with his meeting Mr Lavelle, which changes so many things for Benjamin, and for Edgar.

It is a story of love, of changes, and of consequences.  I thought it was good, and uncomfortable in places, but didn't want to put it down.  

 The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle  was published on 13th August 2020, and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and your  local independent bookshop .

You can follow Neil Blackmore on his  website  and on  Twitter .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Penguin  Random House, Cornerstone (the publishers).

Neil Blackmore’s “The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle” is a sumptuously described 18th century road-trip for the aspiring upper classes. The tragedy and heartache endured en route and afterwards make this a crazy, powerful and heartbreaking story.

Benjamin Bowen is a tortured soul whose eyes are opened on his grand tour when he makes the acquaintance of the “intoxicating” Horace Lavelle. Rachel and William Bowen have been busy making plans for their sons’ futures but first they must go to Europe to establish relationships with upper class folks before returning home to be groomed to take over the family shipping company.

All these plans are put in jeopardy following Benjamin’s introduction to the contrary and free-spirited Horace Lavelle.

For the first third of this book I was convinced it wouldn't be one for me. The writing style takes quite a bit of getting used to, the pace is too fast at times and the historical setting is not very detailed. Much of the time it felt like the story could have been set anywhere and at any point in time. Maybe I was a bit slow, but it wasn't until the end of the book that it hit me... that's completely the point!

Many themes are at play in this story e.g. travel, family history, art, social class and reputation, but the heart of the story is about love and identity. Benjamin is a gay man struggling to find his place in a world where he cannot be his true self, where he cannot love another man publicly and where the risk of doing so would likely result in his death. In meeting "the intoxicating Mr Lavelle" he finds a sense of freedom and belonging that is frequently at odds with the 18th Century world around him where reputation, status and connections are everything.

At times this book is hilarious, as Lavelle revels in calling out the hypocrises of art and culture and enjoys making others uncomfortable. At other times it is heartbreaking and surprisingly poignant. The depiction of unrequited love was particularly touching.

At the start of reading this book I did not expect to end up loving it but once I understood what the book was doing, I really appreciated the message and thought it was executed brilliantly. This book shows how far we have come in terms of attitudes towards those who identify as LGBT+ but also a painful reminder of how much further we still have to go. I will end this review with my favourite quote "The world needs change, not forgiveness".
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC.

3 stars

The writing is not bad but I found the main 'hero' selfish and really disliked the way he treated his brother. Perhaps I wasn't the target audience. I got about half way through and put it aside, perhaps I'll return to it eventually but life is too short to struggle through something, when there's other great stories out there.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I found this book a little difficult to read
Two brothers who have been sheltered by their mother set off on their grand tour in the hope that they will be launched into society but this is the age of the enlightenment and it appears that their background does not come up to muster
Both brothers however explore different areas of society with one embarking on a homosexual relationship and the other trying to gain access into the higher echelons
I found some of the content difficult to read

I wasn’t a fan of this book to be honest. I was expecting more from the “intoxicating” gentleman...all I found was for him to be gay (in a time when you would be hanged for it ), and have a whole load of baggage which I guessed was coming.

All bar one character were absolute shits as well.

There was nothing for me to like, or sympathise with here. I found it all a bit dull...

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the advance copy for an honest review.

Unfortunately this was a book that just didn't pick up for me. Perhaps I wasn't it's target audience but the atmosphere, the characterisation just didn't click. Thank you to netgalley and penguin for the review copy.

The Intoxicating Mr. Lavelle is a historical bildungsroman that follows two brothers on their Grand Tour of Europe. Edgar and Benjamin have lived their entire lives under the care of their overprotective and domineering mother and father, cut off from the rest of society and any of their peers, with only each other for company. Edgar and Benjamin are finally given a taste of freedom for the first time during the Tour, their parents wanting them to make connections for when they will take over their father's trade business. But as they travel, Edgar and Benjamin have wildly different experiences with their peers and society, especially when Benjamin meets the intoxicating and unpredictable Mr. Horace Lavelle.

The Intoxicating Mr. Lavelle is a wild romp of a novel, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, but always intriguing. This is definitely a quiet novel, more character-driven then anything else, as the book follows Benjamin as his eyes are opened to an entirely different world from the one his mother prepared him for. Even before he meets Horace Lavelle, Benjamin understands that the upper class will never accept himself and his brother, no matter how hard Edgar tries to stick to their mother's plans for them. And then when he meets Lavelle, Benjamin becomes an entirely different person -- or perhaps its better to say, he becomes the person he was always meant to be but had to hide. Benjamin is a very likeable character, and so, to an extent, is Lavelle. At the beginning of their relationship, the reader is like Benjamin, completely drawn in by the untouchable Lavelle and placed under his spell. But as the novel develops, and as Benjamin and Lavelle develop an intense, intimate and loving relationship, we begin to see Lavelle as he really is: an ordinary, vulnerable and traumatised young man.

I will let readers know not to expect a happy queer ending with this novel. I both like and dislike the ending. I felt it fit well with the tragic nature of the novel and realistic for the time period, but there's still a part of me that was devastated and just wanted a happy ending.

The novel is also very easy to read and the chapters just flew by. Blackmore's writing is engaging and more modern than not, in order to appeal to modern readers, as the novel is set during the 1700s. Which brings me to the time period: the book didn't feel like it was set during the mid-1700s, it felt more like it was set during the mid-1800s, a whole 100 years later. I can't even adequately explain why I felt like this, I think it was a mixture of the writing, the philosophical ideas explored in the book, and the discussion of people's places within society.

I still recommend The Intoxicating Mr. Lavelle as I really enjoyed my experience reading the book, but I will let queer readers know to be careful if you are going to pick it up. I'm looking forward to reading more from Neil Blackmore.

Wow what a beautiful cover !

This isnt the normal type of story I read but thought I would try something different.

The novel follows two brothers Benjamin and Edgar who go on a grand tour. The minor characters were well written and interesting. I found that I liked this book but didnt love it, I found it hard to get into and the formatting for the copy I had was not correct.

A son desperate to leave his brother’s shadow becomes an easy target for a charismatic swindler in this sexually-charged novel set across Regency-era Europe. As obsessive as Death in Venice and hedonistic as Dorian Gray; a book for adult fans of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and “uncosy” Regency novels like Death Comes to Pemberly. This book is purely historical fiction but I found myself waiting for a supernatural element to reveal itself, such was the creeping sense of horror and foreboding. There are no gothic monsters here, just handsome human ones.

Every mother wants the best for her children and Rachel is no exception. Benjamin and Edgar Bowen are brothers that have been educated at home, dressed identically all their lives and coached to blend into the high society of Europe. The year is 1793 and when they arrive in France they all their education does is show them just how little they do know. Class cannot simply be learnt.
The brothers have been each other's best friend all their lives until now. The appearance of Mr Horace Lavelle is like a magnet that has an irresistible magnetism for Benjamin while he repels Edgar. Edgar the dutiful son writes to his mother regularly telling her how they have been accepted while feeling very miserable.
Things go from bad to worse when their families past becomes gossip. The two brothers are definitely the talk of the town but not in the way they were intended to be. Mr Lavelle loves to shock, loves the attention, he is colourful, witty and charming and awakens feelings in Benjamin that are extremely dangerous.
This is a story of everything from stigma, to love, to tragedy, it is a whirlwind of desire and at times it is heartbreaking. Mr Horace Lavelle is a vessel of colour and daring but all the characters are beautifully portrayed in the story, so distinctive and unforgettable.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly

Firstly I would like to thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a vibrant, rich and intense story filled with characters who act out the themes of class, social prejudice, sexuality and the social limitations of the era and shame.

Our two protagonists are setting out on a Grand Tour and what they encounter is a much more colourful journey than either of them expected that will test their sibling relationship, values and beliefs.

A note about the book design which captures the essence of the story set in the eighteenth century.

An interesting coming of age. 2 brothers from a mercantile family go on Tour to become a part of the fine English society! A journey of self discovery for Benjamin and a tragic journey of disillusionment for Edgar. A journey full of hard truths for both of them: from secrets in the midst of their family that affect who they are to the hypocrisy of the world and the sad reality of the snobbish English society!

And then there's Mr Lavelle! I loved Mr Lavelle! In fact, I found myself in Mr. Lavelle, well a younger version of myself, but still! "Reject, reject, reject" was my mantra and I totally understand where he's coming from. He is annoying, and he is cruel, he is insufferable, but he is nonetheless RIGHT!!

<<'The world is rotten,' he said to me one day, as we picked apart a stick of olive bread we had bought from a street-hawker. 'Do not pretend it is not. Lover of books, do you think they do not rape their maids? And philosophers, do they not whip their slaves? They are every bit as ugly and nasty as me, but they laurel themselves with illuminate crowns and pronounce: 'oh, high-minded acolytes, do you not admire me?' and don't people rush forwards, bowing and scraping, and muttering, 'oh, yes, great poet, yes!' They claim to deliver freedom, but freedom strictly of their own design. Freedom conditional to rules - especially rules like politeness and fairness and being equal, all those horrors - is no kind of freedom at all. I will take my own freedom, thank you, where I please, and what philosophers offer me in consolation of my sorrow, they can...'He paused, sighed, smiled'...they can stick it up their puckered arses.>>

Benjamin and his brother Edgar are embarking on their 'Grand Tour'.  Sons of a rich man of trade and educated in a home full of intellectual conversation they are knowledgeable about the works of Voltaire but not of life and society.  Edgar wants to better his social status and currys favour with the beau monde in Paris but is humiliated by the nobility as not being one of them.  Benjamin is more concerned that there are family secrets related to his mother and then he meets Mr Lavelle.  Glamorous and outrageous, Horace Lavelle excites Benjamin like never before and he has to face up to his true nature.

This is an interesting take on society in the 18th Century, the prejudices - whether it is worse to be a molly or a jew - and the way that money can conquer everything apart from class.  I did enjoy quite a lot of it but felt that the story got a little frantic towards the end and I didn't feel that Benjamin's outcome was necessarily what would have happened, rather a convenient plot ending for a certain audience.

Set in 1793. Two brothers, Benjamin and Edgar go on a Grand Tour to set their place in society, to impress the right people and further their parents ambitions for them. Edgar wants to e someone, someone people will talk about. Benjamin is a rebel, he doesn't really know himself. Then they meet Mr Lavelle. He charms Benjamin and ignores Edgar. Benjamin falls head over heels for Horace Lavelle. Horace is a larger then life character. Whomshows Benjamin how to be free of society strictures.

This story is told from Benjamin's point of view. The sec scenes were vulgar and I skipped over these parts. Benjamin and Horace's relationship is difficult. They oth want different things. I couldn't take to any of the characters they felt a bit flat. Benjamin is blindsided by Horace. The random use of capital letters was distracting. This ook won't be for everyone due to it's content.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author Neil Blackmore for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two brothers, home-educated by a redoubtable mother and from merchant stock, embark on the Grand Tour. They set out with the intention of meeting people of Quality, the good and the great of British society, armed with with the classics and a love of Culture. Instead, they find that class cannot be learnt, and that love can be toxic.

First off, great cover. It promises something between Melmoth and The Binding and, actually, this book isn't far off. There's something sinister in the control that the parents exert over Edgar and Benjamin, their sons, in this book, wrapped up in the guise of trying to do what's best for them and the family's social standing.

The period that this book seems more for convenience and setting, than much else, though. It allows the backdrop of the European Grand Tour (which presents images of a romantic and sun-kissed Europe basking in the glow of the Enlightenment) as well as the fear and persecution of homosexuality - two of the main themes of this book. The author admits to anachronisms, of which there feel plenty, which means that at times the only purpose of the time period (and any characters that aren't Edgar, Benjamin or Lavelle) is just as a device for the story.

But the way the characters wield knowledge and learning like blunt weapons, as they were not born into the innate knowledge of the upper echelons, gives across a similar feeling to reading The History Boys - something I'm choosing to interpret this way, rather than criticising the author for.

The description of Mr Lavelle as 'intoxicating' is perfect. Like a strong wine, or a dangerous drug, his enigmatic and classically beautiful character appeals to Benjamin, gradually leading him astray - although, can anyone be led astray unless they really want to be?

Unfortunately, the intoxicating nature of Horace Lavelle means that at times he appears subversive for the sake of it, rude and antagonistic without the charm and charisma that Benjamin apparently sees in him. His desire to 'reject, reject, reject' the substance that society is built on at this time, without the means to do so, or those willing to listen to him, apart from Benjamin, render him somewhat impotent.

The perfect counterpoint to  all of this discovery and revolutionary talk is Edgar, who is desperate to fulfil and realise the wishes of his parents and maintain the status quo, and his place in it. He sees the Grand Tour as his opportunity to ascend into the upper echelons of society, to secure the family's business and you feel both embarrassment for him and his frustrations as he struggles naively against the snobbery of the upper classes, as well as his own brother's apparent desire to thwart everything they've been trained for.

I imagine this would make a very enjoyable book club read. However, I personally found the ending to be more melodramatic than reasonable - it didn't quite stick the landing, which was a shame, as it was one step away from being The Binding levels of enjoyable (at least for me).

Neil Blackmore's historical fiction takes the reader into the eighteenth century and the glamour of the European Grand Tour. Brothers Benjamin and Edgar Bowen have had a sheltered upbringing, educated in culture and the classics. Their ambitious mother, Rachel, has high expectations of them connecting with People of Quality, only for them to encounter hypocrisy, disdain and a rigid social hierarchy ill-disposed to accepting the merchant classes of which they are a part. Whilst Edgar is more inclined to want to fit in with the conventions of society, Benjamin knows that he prefers boys, fated to experience the heartbreak of a love and passion that dare not speak its name, sexual desires that can get you hanged. Benjamin's world is shattered when he meets and is bewitched by the splendidly colourful Horace Lavelle.

Benjamin and Horace drift into an intensely intimate relationship, Horace is like no-one he has ever encountered before. Horace is beautiful, satirical, rebellious, witty, charismatic and utterly anarchic with his uncompromising tenet of reject, reject and reject but he is damaged with a dark side, driven by his own agenda. Benjamin's love is not reciprocated, and he understandably struggles to comes to terms with the pain and heartbreak of such a doomed one sided love affair whilst his relationship with his brother, Edgar, threatens to splinter apart. Blackmore's storytelling is a stunning affair, if uneven in aspects, its historical details are at best superficial as indeed is much of the characterisation in the novel. The emphasis is on its themes of class, social status, social attitudes of the era, sex, shame, prejudice and identity.

This is nevertheless a vividly vibrant read, of family secrets, of being gay, where it is hard to be who you are, with a mesmerisingly unforgettable character in Horace Lavelle. Many thanks to Random House Cornerstone for an ARC.

Intoxicating - “liable to cause someone to lose control of their faculties or behaviour.” Wow, does this book capture this. It’s a book you can’t put down. I don’t think it will be for everyone. At times it is unashamedly crude in its depictions of gay sex - are they necessary? I don’t know. However, they do serve to punctuate Benjamin’s journey and the freeing of his inhibitions as he falls unboundedly in love with Horace Lavelle.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
There are definitely comparisons to both #TheTalentedMrRipley and #TheGentlemansGuideToViceandVirtue which is not a bad thing. This book is expertly researched and captures what constituted a #gaylifestyle in this period, the hardships and the prejudice. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Lavelle isn’t instantly a lovable character, but as his story unfolds you get an understanding of his motivations. His philosophy on life is ‘Reject, reject, reject’, a sentiment that should resonate with all of us now. Don’t accept something because society tells you it has to be this way. Forge your own path, live your own dream.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
From start to finish you’re captured in an emotional tornado, the language is rich, classic, there is love, there is pain, betrayal, utter heartbreak and loss.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A modern #LGBT classic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Contains Spoilers

Edgar and Benjamin are two sons being brought up as gentlemen by their parents in the 18thC and are sent on the Grand Tour to enrich their education, experience culture and expand their connections linked to the family shipping business. The mother is so controlling over their lives that she has produced an itinerary for every day.

The journey out into the big wide world soon reveals that acting like gentlemen doesn't get you anywhere when the great and the good learn you are just merchants and your money is earned rather than inherited. An ill-advised visit to discover their mother's family origins in Paris shatters their illusions and reveals that they have a secret that needs to be kept hidden. Benjamin has other secrets, however, as he has dangerous desires for his own sex. Men have been hanged at Tyburn for sodomy.

In Italy, Benjamin meets Mr Lavelle, a larger than life character who lights up the page with his humour and modern attitudes. His lack of convention and rejection of manners fascinate Benjamin, as well as his handsome beauty. He teaches Benjamin to break free of society strictures and "reject, reject reject". Mr Lavelle has a dark and damaged past, however, which is revealed following a wild and public breakdown in Florence, where he rails against a gathering of vapid tourists.

Horace Lavelle is a complicated and believable person, whose motives for his actions show a conflicted and mistrustful character. I wanted him to find happiness and a healing future with Benjamin. The author's last sentence is "The world needs change, not forgiveness" but if the author had given us a happy ending rather than the same Bury Your Gays trope, he would have been part of the change..

Set in the 1800’s, The Intoxicating Mr. Lavelle is a novel that deals with themes of class, religion and sexuality. It is ultimately a story of love and lust but one that causes grief as it is set during a time when this type of love was abhorred.
The Bowen brothers set off on a European adventure in the hope of being accepted into the upper echelons or European society. However when Benjamin Bowen meets the charming and seductive Mr. Lavelle, plans change and life as they know it will never be the same again.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It covered a range of themes and the narrative was good. I would have liked it if the author had gone into more detail on the places visited on the tour. Overall I would recommend it.