The Skull and the Nightingale

May 20, 2013
In order to inherit his fortune, a young 18th-century Englishman must provide his godfather, a staid country gentleman, detailed accounts of his erotic adventures, in Irwin’s debut novel. One could hardly call 23-year-old Richard Fenwick innocent when he returns to England from abroad, yet his godfather’s request that he describe his ongoing sexual conquests and darkest passions begins a series of seductions, indulgences, debaucheries, and betrayals that delineate Richard’s descent into vice and crime, to the voyeuristic delight of his patron. A la Tom Jones, the hero carouses with aptly named characters like Crocker, Horn, and Pike, finds himself in back streets and drawing rooms, and enjoys the occasional tumble in the grass between efforts to win over a particularly virtuous woman. Using language that resonates with the music and manners of the time, Irwin, a Fielding scholar, contrasts pastoral and graphic scenes, proper and pornographic passages, and high-minded theory and base practice. His knowledge of 18th-century social customs, values, and hypocrisies is impressive, but his ardent fantasies are likewise reminiscent of the past: the secret spyhole, the masquerade ball, the jealous husband lurking around the site of his cuckolding, all suggest male-perspective bodice-ripping as much as they reflect the satirical classics whose raunchy romanticism Irwin attempts so earnestly to recapture. Agent: Annette Green, Annette Green Authors’ Agency (U.K.).

March 15, 2013

I've been anticipating this book since Morrow executive editor David Highfill talked it up at last year's Day of Dialog. In late 1700s London, Richard Fenwick has neither money nor family, but he does have a godfather willing to pay for some vicarious thrills. With a 75,000-copy first printing and a reading group guide.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2013

Richard Fenwick, a young man without family or means, returns to England after a European grand tour that was financed by the godfather he barely knows. He wonders what his godfather expects of him, and the proposition James Gilbert has for his godson is surprising to say the least. James is a careful man who led a sedate existence; now he wishes to taste some of the wild side of life through Richard's exploits. It quickly becomes apparent, however, that James is not content to observe but rather is a master manipulator whose experiments with the lives of those around him have already led to heartbreak. If Richard continues on this path, more lives will be ruined. VERDICT Set in 18th-century England, this debut novel of manipulation and seduction evokes Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's classic Les Liaisons Dangereuses. The author brings James Gilbert to chilling life and vividly renders the darker side of the Age of Enlightenment. Readers who like their history served up with conquest and betrayal will enjoy this page-turner. [See Prepub Alert, 2/18/13.]--Pam O'Sullivan, Coll. at Brockport Lib., SUNY

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.